About the story “Qorako‘z majnun”
From the textbook analysis: the story is among Said Ahmad’s best stories of the independence years; its plot is not complicated – an old mother waits for her son. The textbook notes a likeness to the passage “Qochoq” from the “Ufq” trilogy: the relation of mother and child; when the roots of affection dry up, closeness of hearts also disappears. Saodat aya is reflective, a true Muslim grandmother who thinks of both this world and the next; after hearing news of her son, “her pride is broken”. The writer skilfully shows every move of the dog Qorako‘z: his playfulness, chasing cats, joy and sulking. The old woman values her dog like a family member and talks with him. Bo‘rixon seems a stranger in his mother’s arms; the dog too dislikes him and growls. According to the textbook, for the mother faith, national-religious values and her homeland stand above everything, so she withdraws her heart from her son and no longer remembers him in her dawn prayer. In her will she accepts life and death as natural. The epigraph at the start is a verse from the sura “Baqara” (relating to the character of Bo‘rixon) and a hadith about the loyal dog of the People of the Cave (relating to Qorako‘z). The textbook’s conclusion: through the deeds of an unworthy child the value of Uzbek customs is stressed, while the loyalty of a dog stands on a high moral level.
Debate: “Who is to blame?” – Bo‘rixon, the far land, or circumstances? The class splits into two groups and argues with proofs from the text.