56
Tales from the past
Textbook: Part 4, pp. 14–16
GoalGive general information on Abdulla Qahhor’s “O‘tmishdan ertaklar”; recognise the memoir genre; write a memory of the first school day based on our own text.
New words
memoir · xotiraschool · maktabteacher (old usage) · domlaliteracy · savod
Explanation
Abdulla Qahhor was born in Kokand in a craftsman’s family and received the title “People’s Writer of Uzbekistan”. His “O‘tmishdan ertaklar” (Tales from the past) is a work based on childhood memories. The word “tale” is in the title, but it is not a fairy tale: it is close to the memoir genre. We do not retell it; we read our own text. In a memoir the author speaks in his own name with “I”, and the time and place are real. Reading the text, we find memoir signs: speaking as “I”, a date or place, a feeling.
Worked examples
Text “The first day”. I remember well the day I went to first grade. In September 2018 my mother took me to school by the hand. My new bag felt heavy on my shoulder and I trembled inside with excitement. In the class the teacher warmly welcomed us and showed us our desks. The girl beside me asked me for a pencil, and my excitement faded a good deal.
Memoir signs: “I”, a date (September 2018), a feeling (excitement).
Class activity
“My first day”: children write five sentences about their first school day in the first person.
Practice
1
What does the narrator recall in the text?
The day of going to first grade
2
Who took him/her to school?
His/her mother
3
What eased the excitement?
The neighbouring girl asked for a pencil.
4
In whose name does the author speak in a memoir?
In his own name (“I”)
5
Why is “O‘tmishdan ertaklar” not a fairy tale?
It is based on childhood memories.