Zaat Assignment #5: The Giving Man

Early Years

Every day Aziz dreads the idea of traveling the three plus hours to school from the comfort of his large but humble home in Heliopolis. He believes school is for the weak at heart, which of course, he is not. He sees no point in wasting his time traveling there, then heading straight to the camps in which he devotes his precious hours giving people the gift of his time. Unfortunately for him, his parents value the importance of a well-rounded education and believe that Aziz will succeed as a strong communist man if and only if he finishes his education. That, and only that, is the reason why Aziz travels the three plus hours to get to this dreaded place. Yet despite his parent's wishes, he questions the validity of a strong education after hearing a claim stating that a plumber and a doctor reportedly receive the same salary. As a result, he decides to slack off in his studies since he sees no importance in continuing them.

Studying

At the age of thirteen Aziz is assigned a tutor. Despite his protests and promises to improve his failing grades, his parents hire a boy named Essam to help him with his classes. Although Essam is two years younger, he is considered to be highly knowledgeable in all subjects and only desires 57 pounds, which is a great deal for Aziz's frugal parents. After just a few weeks working with Essam, Aziz’s grades have improved greatly and he has learned the value of receiving a good education.

Attraction

Aziz meets Essam’s older sister, Safiya, as they are leaving school. Although Safiya does not say much, he can tell she, just like many of the other girls, admires his attractive facial features: his chocolate brown eyes inherited from his mother and his strong jawline from his father.  

Safiya

Aziz begins sneaking out of his house in the middle of the night to visit Safiya as their bond grows stronger.

Final Year

Aziz graduates school with the highest of honors and grades, however, he gives up college to help others, just like a good communist man should do.

Marriage

He declares his desire to marry Safiya and moves her to Alexandria with him. She is offered a job in Saudi Arabia as a teacher yet he does not allow her to take the job. She is forced to look for a job closer to Alexandria, with the help of Aziz.

Illiteracy

He discovers the world of adult illiteracy and is compelled to educate the people. He invites Safiya and her companion, Zaat, to accompany him and act as teachers, even though the two have only received a partial education and Zaat suffers from a speech impediment. Zaat leaves immediately after the first session due to her inability to tolerate the incapability of the men to distinguish between masculine and feminine demonstratives.

Children

Safiya and Aziz welcome two children into the world, Adel and Mustafa. Aziz soon spends every Saturday taking the children to camps to learn the satisfaction of helping workers and civilians, while Safiya is distracted with maintaining the well-being of their small, dilapidated flat, which is far from beautiful.

Her garbage is overflowing, forgotten from this week’s chores by the children, which threatens to attract vermin and other unwanted pests; she is consumed by the state of the middle class.

Money

Aziz soon regrets his decision to not continue with his education when the only item in the family’s fridge is a small carton of milk and leftover Koshari from a few nights ago, due to a drop in Aziz’s monthly salary from the camp. The family begins to feel the effects of insufficient schooling.

Following Footsteps

Adel begins to follow in Aziz’s footsteps regarding his schoolwork and begins to skip school. Aziz becomes nervous for his heir’s future, however, he cannot afford to hire a tutor like his parents did for him due to his lack of savings.

The Search

As the man of the family, Aziz concentrates on finding an additional job to finance his son’s education. 

He finds one in the meat-packing industry and begins the following day.

Childhood

Aziz is reminded of his childhood and does not want his son to follow in his footsteps... He receives his paycheck and pays for a tutor.

The Docks

Aziz and his family visit the docks. That day he gives away the saved money for his son’s tutoring and with it his son’s chances to receive a good education.

Death

Aziz lays in the hospital bed, finally accepting the idea that he will never be able to give his children what his parents gave to him: a sufficient education.

Word Count: 778