J Walstrand MTG2023

A bag of
sweets
AGNES SAM
 J Walstrand MTG2023

• Born in 1942
• Great-granddaughter of labourers from India
who were shipped to SA in 19th century
• Grew up in PE – Catholic education
• Left SA in 1960 (Separate Education Bill)
• Attended university in Lesotho (zoology and
pshycology)
• Qualified as a teacher in Zimbabwe.
• Taught in Zambia
• Exiled from SA in 1973 – moved to England and
Agnes Sam studied literature
J Walstrand MTG2023

Agnes Sam
today

“Culture, tradition and

religion, and how they
Has her own webpage and
combine to shape people's
Lives in York in England blog. ‘writing from the
lives and relationships” are
edge’
important themes in her
writing.

Her writing and research is She met Nelson Mandela,

informed by travels through Thabo Mbeki and
SA Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
 J Walstrand MTG2023

The story in a nutshell

We have a young Muslim woman
called Kaltoum that assists in the One day, she is surprised to see her
Khadidja left the family three years
family shop on Fridays when her estranged sister, Kadidja, entering
before to marry a Christian man.
brothers attend prayers at the the shop.
Mosque.

She has been calling at the family

home daily after the passing away The family refuses her entry and She then decides to change track
of their parents, hoping for a ignores her time and time again. and meet the eldest sister at the
reconciliation. shop on Fridays.

Kaltoum continues to ignore the On a whim, she gives her sister a

advances of her sister even though bag of sweets but continues to
she knows that as the eldest, she ignore her, until finally Khadidja
had the ability to change the mind does not come back on a Friday.
of her family members.
J Walstrand MTG2023

Title Muslims regard giving gifts is one of the good manners

that maintains and strengthens relations between the
giver and the recipient.

This explains why Khadidja hopes for reconciliation

and continues to come to the shop after her sister gives
her the bag of sweets.

It furthermore explains why the brothers endlessly look

for an explanation for the bag of sweets Kadidja gives
her sister, despite the fact that she does not want to
relent and forgive her sister.
J Walstrand MTG2023

The narrator Kaltoum

The characters
Khadija

Abdul
J Walstrand MTG2023

The narrator Kaltoum

• ● She is a young woman who heads her family after the death of her parents due to
her status as the eldest child.
• ● She is a round character, she experiences both inner conflict and outer conflict.
• ● She is cold-hearted and holds grudges, not only because she was hurt that her
youngest sister did not share her secret with her, but also for the betrayal of the family.
• ● She is stubborn because she struggles to forgive her sister for leaving the family and
she believes her leaving was a betrayal causing the death of their parents
J Walstrand MTG2023

Khadija
● She is principled because she marries a Christian man even though she knows it will
cause a rift between her and the family.
She, however, stays true to her Muslim religion and is motivated by love.
● She is unwavering in her pursuit of an improved relationship between her and her
family members.
● She is kind and always smiling.
● She is forthcoming because she expresses her emotions clearly and openly declares
that she misses their family traditions and especially her eldest sister.
● She is loving because she expresses her love for her Christian husband and her baby
J Walstrand MTG2023

Abdul
● He is the eldest brother.
● He follows the example set by Kaltoum and does not speak to Khadija.
J Walstrand MTG2023
The crisis has happened before the story
takes place.

Narrator 
• Kaltoum (cannot forgive her Indian sister for marrying a
Christian)
• Resisting change
Crisis
Turning point Narrator’s sister 
• Khadija (married to a Christian)
• Looking for change

And then

A bag of sweets = another crisis

J Walstrand MTG2023

The story

Structure and
Setting Plot
Development
J Walstrand MTG2023

Setting
In the family shop of a Muslim family

and in the Muslim family house.

• (no clear indication of the location of the shop.)

J Walstrand MTG2023

Exposition
Structure and Rising Action
Plot
Development
Climax
Resolution
J Walstrand MTG2023 • The background information on the characters and setting
explained at the beginning of the story.
• It will often have information about events that happened

Exposition before the story began.

• The exposition is often the very first part of the PLOT

• At the beginning of the short story, the reader is exposed to two sisters,
• Kaltoum and Khadija.
Islam/muslem
• From the start the reader can see that there is tension between the them.
- Prays 5 times a day.
• P67 – first sentence of the story “ the past three years had never happened”
- but, goes to Mosque on a
• P67 – “stepping forward to embrace me. Without thinking, I side stepped”
Friday for prayer (Ṣalāt al-
• P67 – Kaltoum reads a magazine as if she is alone in the shop.
Jumuʿah)
• Kaltoum ignores her sister even though she carries on talking.
• Kaltoum, manages the family shop on Fridays when the brothers attend prayers at the Mosque
• Khadija only comes to the shop on Fridays when Kaltoum is alone.
J Walstrand MTG2023

Rising Action
• We realise that there are past events that influenced Kaltoum’s attitude.
• P68 “as if she still belonged to us”
• “as if she had done nothing to hurt us”
• “as if she had not destroyed our family”…

• Khadija leaves her Muslim family and marries a Christian with whom she has a baby.
• After the death of her parents, Khadija pays daily visits to her family home in the hope of
reconciliation, but she is turned away at the door.
• “waiting like a stranger for someone to answer”

• She then starts visiting the store when she knows she will find her sister, Kaltoum on her own
in the hope that her sister, to whom she used to be very close, will relent and welcome her
back in the family, but to no avail.
J Walstrand MTG2023

Climax
• Kltoum gives Khadija a bag of sweets (cheap sweets).
• Like you would give sweets to a child to get rid of it.

• Khadija might take it as a sign of reconciliation.

• It does, however, make her brothers think that she could be ready to forgive her
which would allow for her return to the family.
• Kaltoum one day realises that her sister has the closest resemblance to their mother.
• At that moment she does not want Khadija to leave because she realises that
Khadija is still related by blood to them, but despite this fact she allows her lack of
tolerance and inability to forgive to allow her to relentlessly ignore her sister.
J Walstrand MTG2023

Resolution
• Khadija finally stops coming to the family shop.
• It seems that Kaltoum regrets her harsh treatment of her sister.
• Kaltoum waits for her sister – even past the shop’s closing time which shows
that she hopes for Khadija to visit again.
• *** “One Friday Khadija did not come to the shop, although I waited for her past
closing time” ***
J Walstrand MTG2023

Themes

Lack of Expectations
Forgiveness Pretence
tolerance vs reality
J Walstrand MTG2023

Evident throughout the short story.

Lack of The family is unable to forgive Khadija for

leaving them to marry into a Christian family.
tolerance

It is ironic, however, that Kaltoum mentions

her own Christian friends, but she shows no
tolerance and acceptance of her sister’s choice
in life.
 J Walstrand MTG2023

• The family blames Khadija for the death of their

parents
• Despite being Muslims (and following the religion
– go to Mosque on a Friday) , they cannot find it in
Forgiveness their hearts to forgive her. (contrast/hypocrisy)
• On the other hand, it appears as if Khadija has
forgiven her family for shunning her all these
years.
 J Walstrand MTG2023

• Kaltoum is adept at keeping up pretences.

• She feels herself softening towards her sister when
she realises that Khadija resembles their mother
Pretence the closest,
but
• she pretends that she feels nothing for her.
 J Walstrand MTG2023

• Khadija hopes that by showing up regularly and

being herself, that her family will relent and
welcome her back into the inner circle.
• In reality it is Kaltoum’s stubborn refusal to accept
Expectations vs her sister into their midst that prevents the
reconciliation.
reality

*** p69 “I had been closest to her and I was now the
obstacle to the rest of the family forgiving her.”
 J Walstrand MTG2023

The Tone and Mood

Tone: Mood:
The tone is gloomy because Kaltoum Angry and upset
only expresses negative thoughts.
J Walstrand MTG2023

Irony
• A bag of sweets is supposed to be a treat and bring joy to the receiver but in this
story, it is used as a form of insult to the one who receives it.
• Khadija is disrespected and she was treated like a child.
• Kaltoum never speaks to her sister and tells her brothers she wishes that she
would come calling at the shop. Yet when Khadija one day does not come,
Kaltoum waits for her until after closing time.