30 pages • 1 hour read
Og MandinoThe Greatest Salesman in the World
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1968A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 3-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary
Hafid flashes back to when he was a youth and worked for his adoptive father, Pathros of Palmyra, as a camel boy—tending to his animals. In the past, Pathros’s farm sits in a valley on the Mount of Olives, surrounded by olive trees. Hafid becomes enamored with a girl of higher status—Lisha—and decides to pursue sales to become a worthy suitor. Pathros is likely the richest salesman in the region and questions Hafid’s pursuit to test whether or not he is ready. After years of labor, he believes Hafid is strong enough to engage in what he considers a lonely profession. He passes along several pieces of wisdom to Hafid, including the fact that he will spend many weeks away from his family and be tempted to fill this loneliness. The life of a salesman is filled with obstacles, but Pathros asserts that true wealth is in a person’s heart, not their money. Hafid argues that he needs wealth to be happy and provide for a family, his goal being to become the wealthiest salesman in the world and give what he does not need to the less fortunate. Pathros tasks him with selling a red goat-hair robe in Bethlehem, a town known for its poverty. The robe is decorated with Pathros’s logo (a circle within a square) and that of the man who made it (a star). Pathros urges Hafid to repeat a crucial mantra: “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough” (26).
Chapter 4 Summary
After three days of failing to sell the red robe, Hafid sits and eats. He asks himself why nobody seems to care about his pitch and why he feels nervous approaching potential customers. He wonders if he is not meant to be a salesman and if he should give up and return home. Thinking of Lisha, Hafid resolves to sell the robe the following day. That night, he takes his animal to a nearby cave to sleep, but it is already occupied by a man and woman with a newborn baby. He stares at the baby and its tattered fabrics. After a moment of deliberation, Hafid wraps the robe around the baby. The mother thanks him with a kiss, and he leaves the cave to see a bright star shining in the sky.
Chapter 5 Summary
Hafid makes his way back to Pathros. In his shame, he doesn’t notice the bright star following him home, guiding his way. When he reaches Pathros, the man is standing outside, staring at the star. Hafid explains what happened, expecting to be scolded, but Pathros reassures him that his venture was a success. He claims that Hafid opened his eyes and asks him to perform one last task as a camel boy. When they return to Palmyra, Pathros says they have much to discuss.
Chapter 6 Summary
Almost two weeks pass, and Hafid is finally summoned to see Pathros. Hafid is shocked to see Pathros frail and weak, and the man admits he is nearing death. He believes Hafid’s star was the sign he had been awaiting to determine the recipient of his most precious possession: 10 scrolls that reveal the principles of a successful salesman. Like Hafid, Pathros was adopted by a wealthy man and instructed to live by the scrolls. Pathros’s gifted chest contains the 10 scrolls and 50 gold pieces that Hafid can use to start a new life in Damascus, a city of prosperity. Hafid is to invest in rugs and read the first scroll until he embodies it. This scroll contains instructions on how to learn. Pathros presents three conditions for his gifted chest: Hafid must follow the first scroll, give away half his earnings to the less fortunate, and pass on the scrolls when given a sign. Hafid agrees and sheds tears as Pathros expresses relief in knowing he can die in peace. As Hafid leaves with the chest, he repeats the mantra to Pathros one last time.
Chapter 7 Summary
Hafid arrives in Damascus and is immediately surrounded by merchants yelling at and pressuring him to buy their goods. He finds the chaos intimidating and looks at Mount Hermon, which overlooks the city “with tolerance and forbearance” (47). He heads to a local inn and pays a month’s worth of rent. In his room, Hafid opens the chest of scrolls and stares at them. He touches one and it seems to react, and he hesitates once again. Suddenly, he spirals into doubt and fear and sobs through the night. In the morning, a sparrow comes through the window, beckoning Hafid for food. He provides some bread and cheese and thinks about the sparrow’s courage. Feeling inspired, he picks up the first scroll and reads.
Chapters 3-7 Analysis
Chapters 3-7 showcase Hafid as an adolescent. His beginnings were humble and laborious, as he tended animals for his adoptive father Pathros. Hafid spent his youth wondering why he was never given the opportunity to sell Pathros’s wares but eventually brings it up. It turns out that Pathros was waiting for Hafid’s request and gave him difficult work to instill empathy and work ethic. Hafid previously had no desire to become wealthy for its own sake, but falling in love motivates him to fight for more. While the novella is meant to inspire, it perpetuates the false idea that an individual is fully responsible for their circumstances. While agency is key, this philosophy ignores other factors that influence success beyond Living for Today—such as socioeconomic status. Hafid reinforces this idea when he describes poverty as resulting from “a lack of ability or a lack of ambition” (20), as if those in poverty don’t want to rise above their circumstances. This absolutist approach is meant to instill confidence in everyone’s ability to succeed, but financial, physical, and mental struggles cannot be ignored. Hafid also repeats the mantra “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough” (26), further reinforcing the idea that he alone is responsible for his fate. When he is given a red robe to sell, it is his first test of ability—but more so faith.
During Hafid’s journey to Bethlehem and back, divine intervention takes place: He is unknowingly placed in Jesus’ story through his gifting of the red robe. Biblical values, such as sacrificing for those in need, inform his decision to clothe a newborn Jesus rather than sell the robe for profit. This act makes Hafid worthy of receiving Pathros’s 10 scrolls, reframing the idea of being self-made as something that should help others as well. Pathros is also changed by Hafid’s act, as he witnesses the bright star following him home and feels he has misjudged the world. When Hafid voices shame at having failed as a salesman, Pathros reassures him that The Nature of Success is not straightforward and that he has succeeded. Still, he warns Hafid of loneliness, temptation, and other obstacles, as succeeding as a salesman is rare. True to these warnings, Hafid is overcome by doubt upon Pathros’s death, until a courageous sparrow inspires him. He takes the first step in learning The Art and Principles of Sales when he decides to stay in Damascus and read the scrolls despite his fear, thereby conquering both.
