Characters
Narrative
Strucutre
Literary Devices
&Motifs
Plot
100
The name of the protagonist in the story.
Who is Zeinat
100
The geographical setting of the story
What is Egypt
100
A long unisex outer robe with full sleeves worn in Arabic-speaking countries
What is djellaba
100
The city Ni'ma is sent to give birth
What is Cairo
200
The 5 characters in the story
Who are Ni'ma, Zeinat, Hamdan, Mr.Ghobashi, Umm Al-Khair
200
The religion they believed in
What is Muslim/Arabic/Islamic
200

State one allusion that was used in the story

What is Burnt Offering.This allusion refers to the idea of sacrifice

200
Explain what Zeinat said when she told Ni'ma that she knew she was pregnant
"since has the buffalo been with young?" (Rifaat 159)
300
Explain the relationship between Ni'ma and Zeinat. Mention the historical reasoning
What is a bond mother-daughter relationship. Back in time, the women in patriarchal society relied and supported each other
300
Explain how the resolution links to the theme of the story
Ni'ma has to give birth in the big city, and bring her child back at the dead of night without anybody hearing or seeing her is due to the patriarchal society. Women had a lack of freedom and expression. If pregnant while unmarried, it was frowned upon.
300
State the literary device that was used for the quote: “the girl’s body has ripened” (Rifaat 160). Explain the significance
What is metaphor. Ghobashi is comparing his daughter’s female capacity to give birth to a fruit that has ripened for the picking.
300

Explain whether Zeinat made the right decision to hide her work from Ni'ma

Zeinat's decision to hide her work from Ni'ma can be considered a pragmatic choice given the cultural and social norms of their society.

400
Describe the difference between Zeinat's characteristic and Ni'ma's characteristic
Ni'ma is more rash and doesn't think things through whereas Zeinat is more practical
400
Explain the significance of the climax: Zeinat confronts Ni'ma about her pregnancy and asks "since when has the buffalo been with young?" (Rifaat 159)
Zeinat does not ask about Ni'ma's pregnancy straightforward, but instead uses symbolism and compares her with the buffalo.
400
The imagery used in the quote: when Ni'ma "[squats] down and [Zeinat and Ni'ma] sit in silence"
What is visual/auditory imagery
400
Compare how people see giving birth to an illegitimate child now and back in the time
The society is more acceptable to giving birth to an illegitimate child now than 100-200 years ago. Women have more rights and there is less oppression and judgement put on them now.
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