Xala Lesson Plan

Why does El Hadji feel like an outsider in Sereen Mada’s community, and how does he cope with his discomfort? What kinds of literary tools does the author use to make us aware of El Hadji’s internal experience in this scene? What does his experience reflect about the values system he has internalized?

Students might point to the sentence, “The village had neither shop nor school nor dispensary; there was nothing at all attractive about it in fact. Its life was based on the principles of community interdependence.” Since Sereen Mada’s society is interdependent and egalitarian, actually embodying the principles of generosity which El Hadji’s group of businessmen pretend...