By Ahdaf Soueif
• In 2010, the call for reverberated throughout
the Middle East and North Africain a movement known as the
Arab Spring.
• In Egypt, the unrest forced Hosni Mubarak’s long-ruling regime
out of power. This excerpt from Ahdaf Soueif’s personal account of
the revolution describes the third day of mass protests in Cairo.
Soueif (b. 1950) was born in Egypt and resides in both Cairo and
London.
• Her novel The Map of Lovewas a finalist for the Booker Prize for
Fiction, and she contributes to the Guardianand other English and
Arabic news organizations.
• 1.Lines 3–13: Based on the author’s description of her
location moments before, ask students to infer why Soueif
is traveling in a boat.
• 2.Lines 5–9: Which details help readers see and feel what
the author experiences?
• 1. (The description of their coughing and choking and the
carrier burning where they were moments before
.)
• 2. Our coughing and choking subsides. We can draw breath, even
though the breath burns. And we can open our eyes— To see an
opaque dusk, heavy with tear gas. Up ahead, Qasr el-Nil Bridge is a
mass of people, all in motion, but all in place.
• (Details such as “our coughing and choking subsides” and “a mass of
people, all in motion” )
• 3.Lines 20–23: What details does Soueif provide about
why she decides to return to the site of the protest? What
can you infer about Soueif’s reasons based on these
details?
• 4.Lines 24–31: Which words in this paragraph help Soueif
convey an attitude or feeling about the events she
describes?
• 3.(Just before she tells the boatman to change course,
Soueif describes, “A great shout goes up from Qasr el-Nil”.
that the protesters’ chants inspire
Soueif and her nieces to rejoin the demonstrations.)
• 4.A great shout goes up from Qasr el-Nil.
• (Words such as suddenly, racing, skittered, screeching,
and scramble help convey an attitude or feeling of
excitement.)
• 5.Lines 44–48: Summarize how Cairo and the
revolution have influenced Soueif as a writer.
• 6.Lines 61–69: Explain how the arrangement of
short and long sentences in these lines has an
impact on the meaning and tone.
• 5.(Although it influenced her thinking, Soueif avoided
writing about Cairo in the past. Now she wants to write
about Cairo because the revolution has made her proud.)
• 6.(The short sentences in lines 66 and 68 help emphasize
the ideas in the surrounding sentences and highlight a
shift in the tone. “Silently” draws attention to the
foreboding, while “We stood” stresses an energized
feeling.)
• opaque: The air is filled with the tear gas security forces
sprayed at protesters.
• ASK STUDENTS what might make water in a glass look
opaque.
(adding baking soda or sugar)
• reclaim: The protesters join in a cooperative effort to
regain their country from the ruling regime that has
repressed their political rights.
• ASK STUDENTS o identify circumstances in which
individuals might try to reclaim land or property. (if
something were lost or taken from them)
• prism: Soueif describes how she understands the world
through the viewpoint of Cairo, her birthplace
• ASK STUDENTS to describe how a writer’s background
may influence the prism through which he or she
approaches subjects. (by relating opics and events to his
or her own experiences)
• intermittent: Soueif’s description of the noises at the
demonstration contribute to a mood of tension.
• ASK STUDENTS to infer what may have caused the
intermittent rattling sound that Soueif describes. (teargas)
• 7.Lines 73–82: How does the description of the events of
eight months ago add to Soueif’s description of the
present?
• (Informing readers that singing the national anthem was a
prosecutable offense provides greater context about the
revolution and highlights the significance of the protesters
singing at Tahrir [lines 73-77].)
Critical Vocabulary
opaque reclaim prism
intermittent momentous
1.Which word is an antonym, or a word opposite in meaning, to the
word insignificant? momentous
2.Which word most closely relates to the word irregular?
• intermittent
3.Which word is an antonym to the word transparent?
• opaque
4.Which word most closely relates to the word reflection?
• prism
5. Which word most closely relates to the word restore?
• reclaim
• 1. Analyze Soueif first describes Cairo as viewed from the
river at a distance, rather than from within the protest.
How does this help the reader visualize the scene?
• 2. Cite Evidence Describe the tone of the first two
paragraphs. How does Soueif’s word choice in the first
two paragraphs affect the tone? Give specific examples to
support your analysis.
1. The description of Cairo as viewed from a distance (lines
8-13) emphasizes the danger and magnitude of the scene.
The reader can visualize the throngs of people who look
like one big solid mass and the air that’s heavy with smoke
and tear gas.
2.Phrases and clauses such as “still, steely grey,” “small
scattered fires burn and fizz,” “opaque dusk, heavy with tear
gas,” “bright new pool of flame,” and “the Opera House
looms dark” contribute to a serious, forbidding tone.
• 3. Infer At the end of the second paragraph Soueif tells
readers that “the lights of Cairo will not come on tonight,”
referring to a government-imposed curfew and shutdown
of Internet and phone communications. How does the
glimpse into the future contribute to Soueif’s description of
the present?
• 4. Cite Evidence Once Soueif and her nieces join the
protest, there is a distinct shift in the tone. Describe this
change, citing specific examples of language that
contribute to the tone.
3. This information makes the scene seem even more
threatening and helps the reader understand the
seriousness of the situation that the author is about to enter
4. While the tone is still serious, it becomes more triumphant and empowered.
Evidence includes her personification of Egypt, “Ya Masr, it’s been a long time”
(line 54) and renewed feelings of ownership for her city, “Because my city is
mine again” (line 49). The images of the hotels with shuttered ground floors and
“stick figures” on the balconies and the sound of the “continuous thud of guns”
still add an element of foreboding; however, this is overshadowed by the
feelings evoked through the descriptions of the cooperation and solidarity
among the protesters, “I stumbled and a hand under my elbow steadied me”
• 5. Interpret Personification is a type of figurative language
in which human qualities are given to nonliving things. In
lines 45–47, how does Soueif personify the city of Cairo?
• 6. Infer In lines 49–54, Soueif provides a description of
the scene in Tahrir on February 1. How does this scene
help the reader understand how the events are unfolding?
• 5. She describes the city as “looking over [her] shoulder.”
• 6.The scene helps the reader understand the energized
mood that the author is describing and the historic
significance of the events. The reference to “it’s been a
long time” helps the reader understand the joy of the
people because of the length of their struggle.
7. Analyze Notice how Soueif ends this diary entry with the
simple sentence,
“Some of us died.”
• How does this sentence contrast with the events she
describes in lines 55–58?
• How does it change the tone of the text?
• This creates a more serious tone in contrast to the
energized, almost celebratory feel of the previous
sentences.
