The False Prophet

At first the character Mahmoud Fall comes across as very mysterious. Mahmoud's selfishness and guiltlessness of pretending to be a preacher present him as a shady, self absorbed individual. One can accumulate the idea that some people will do anything for wealth, just as Mahmoud pretended he was a preacher in order to steal from people who believed in him. Also, the fact that his "followers" believed him so readily shows how easily persuaded people can be when they are promised good things. The theme of the story almost seems as though it revolves around the idea of karma, what goes around comes around. Since Mahmoud took advantage of god and people who believed in god, he was mistreated just as he had mistreated those people. The story reminds its readers that choices must be made everyday, and depending on what choice is made, there will be a consequence. Mahmoud chose to use religion as a means to fool people and in the end he lost all that he worked for, and suffered embarrasment from losing his hair. Sometimes a lesson must be learned the hard way.