Xala Lesson Plan

Why do you think El Hadji is so irritated by the beggar? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your answer.

Students are invited to locate various passages where the beggar appears, including with other characters besides El Hadji. They might observe how other characters’ reactions to the beggar diverge from El Hadji’s, specifically in relation to their economic class (for example, Babacar still gives a few coins to the beggar, even though he lives in a single room house, while El Hadji has multiple real estate holdings and gives nothing). They might consider the vulnerability represented by the beggar, and how El Hadji feels about vulnerability. They might...