Summary

Mustafa thinks back to life at home, before he was a slave. His father’s health had continued to dwindle. There was a fierce drought and food was hard to come by. Mustafa, like many others, lost his job. He hid this fact from his family. His father passed away in the following year, and after that, the house began to empty as Mustafa’s uncles left because they, too, had no money. Mustafa did what he could to provide, selling the goods he once cherished. He finally had to tell his mother the truth, but she already knew. With nowhere else to turn, Mustafa sold himself into slavery, hoping that the money his family got would be enough to last them for another year.

Analysis

Mustafa realizes that he was wrong to choose to become a merchant, because of the way it made...