Season of Migration to the North

by

Tayeb Salih

The Mamur Character Analysis

The Mamur is a government official whom the narrator encounters one day on a train ride in Sudan. The Mamur had been in the same class as Mustafa Sa’eed in school, during the period of British colonialism. On the train ride, he recalls Sa’eed’s genius and precocity to the narrator. The Mamur’s unsolicited memories of Sa’eed represent one of several instances in the novel when Sa’eed, through the memories of others, suddenly appears to haunt the narrator.
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The Mamur Character Timeline in Season of Migration to the North

The timeline below shows where the character The Mamur appears in Season of Migration to the North. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
Migration and Identity Theme Icon
...train journey one day, the narrator begins a conversation with a retired civil servant, a Mamur, who, reminiscing about his school days, suddenly mentions Sa’eed. The Mamur had been in the... (full context)
Migration and Identity Theme Icon
The narrator listens to the Mamur, without mentioning that he himself had known Mustafa Sa’eed, and that he has died by... (full context)
Gender and Violence Theme Icon
Conquest and Colonialism Theme Icon
Migration and Identity Theme Icon
...again appears to the narrator unexpectedly, less than a month after the encounter with the Mamur. At a party in Khartoum, a group of guests begins discussing who was the first... (full context)