Season of Migration to the North

In the last paragraph of Season of Migration to the North the narrator swims out into the river and contemplates being engulfed by the river or asking for help. Once he realizes his decision he says, “…this was the instant of waking from the nightmare…my mind cleared and my relationship to the river was determined. Though floating on the water, I was not part of it. I thought that if I died at that moment, I would have died as I was born – without any volition of mine” (pg. 132-133). This was the first decision he believed he has ever made in his life. The river and water is representative of the European world. This world he has been educated in and lived a large amount of time in. He has finally realized though that he “floats” on this world and does not sink in. He realizes he will always be attached to his roots in the Sudan where he was born and where his family is. He finally decides to start making decisions of his own rather than following the expected plan of education and government set before him. As discussed in lecture today, the author initially sets up this connects to the narrators roots through depiction of his grandfather and loved ones. The author also sets up the curiosity about the unknown figure of Mustafa Sa’eed whom acts as a connector between the narrator and the European world.