Reading Questions Questions for mittee 1. What is mittee and why has the protagonist been brought before it? Why is he nameless? 2. How does the protagonist prepare for his meeting? Why? 3. When questioned, he was asked about “that” year and the years 48, 52, 56, 58, 61, and 67 came to mind, why? 4. Why does mittee ask about the great event(s) of the century, and what came to the protagonist’s mind, why? 5. What assignment does mittee give the protagonist, and what does he decide to do? Why? How does this choice reflect the political climate in Egypt in the 1970s? What makes this assignment so difficult? 6. What real-life experiences contributed to Ibrahim’s penning this work? 7. After mittee convenes a meeting in the protagonist’s apartment, why does “Stubby” remain? 8. What do you make of the list of prominent world figures that the protagonist mentions on p. 103. 9. Why do mittee members find it hard to believe that one can glean information from newspapers? 10. What is the harshest punishment and why?