The Servant

 

 

 

Author: Fatima Sharafeddine

Title: The Servant  

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Sharafeddine, Fatima. The Servant. Groundwood Books, 2013.

 

Grade Level: 9th Grade

Pages: 144 pages

The Servant by Fatima Sharafeddine is a novel about a 17-year-old Lebanese girl, Faten. Faten is forced by her father to work for a wealthy family in Beirut. She was not given an education and instead is dependent on her father and superiors to provide for her. Her father takes her salary every month, leaving her unable to start a life for herself.  Despite the rules and expectation set out for her, Faten becomes friends with Marwan, a young boy across the street, who helps her realize her dreams of becoming a nurse.

Possible Teaching Concerns:

Personally, I didn’t see any teaching concerns with this specific novel. I felt that this was a great novel that would inspired students to find value in their education.

Personal Reactions:

I liked this book. I think it offers a different perspective on life that many young people have no experienced here in the United States. Most of us have not experienced war firsthand. In this novella, it shows how war is a part of people’s lives all over the world and is still going on today. I think whenever you have the chance to show students another culture or another perspective on life through a book, you should. This is why I think this book should be taught in the classrooms. It is a short novella that is very easy for students to read. It is engaging and has a bit of romance to string students along and keep them interested, while also exploring very impactful themes.  

Canonical Work: 

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adiche is a novel that comes to mind when reading this novella. Although I didn’t read Half of a Yellow Sun until I was in college, I think that is a great book and could be paired with The Servant if it was being taught for an older class. In Half of a Yellow Sun, the reader witnesses a similar story on how war has become a casual day to day thing in the lives of many people in Nigeria. This story follows the perspectives of Olanna, Ugwu, and Richard, characters who come from all walks of life but yet still find themselves being equally affected by the same war. Faten’s story reminds me of Ugwu’s story. He started out as a young village boy would was later sent away to the city by his parents to make money from himself and his family. Here Ugwu is educated and begins to make a life for himself that will one day be more than just a servant boy. I think these novels would pair nicely together and offer similar themes and different perspectives for students to respond to.