Khunanup's The Eloquent Peasant

Ancient Egyptian literature is a fascinating point of study because it reveals so much of Egyptian society that is lost to us if we only care to analyze and extrapolate from what limited amount was left behind. It remains incredibly difficult to keep track of what was factual about the society and what was merely fiction, whether it be exaggerations in propagandistic texts or purely fantastical ideas, because so much of what was written down by the Egyptians has been lost to the environmental circumstances that make it so hard for papyrus to be preserved. Fortunately, through the efforts of Egyptologists and archaeologists put together, excerpts of texts from ostraca, papyri, and scribal writing tablets have been pieced together to recreate the literature that scholars today can learn history from.
In this essay, I shall be discussing the tale The Eloquent Peasant and analyzing it further in order to better understand its literary form and genres, its credibility as an accurate source and commentary of Egyptian history, politics, and social justice, how its contents compares to other texts, and its effectiveness in presenting and criticizing the Egyptian political system. Attributed

Nemtynakhte, a subordinate of Chief Steward Rensi, sees Khunanup’s possessions and desires to steal them for himself. His property lies on the path that Khunanup must take, so Nemtynakhte spreads out an expensive cloth to block the peasant's way, leaving Khunanup’s only options as either “trespassing” on the cloth or through his barley fields. Khunanup does not do either, saying that “his path is good”, and tries to make a deal with Nemtynakhte. Meanwhile, his donkey eats an ear of the barley. Nemtynakhte ignores the attempts at negotiation and accuses him of having stolen barley from him. He beats Khunanup up and collects his donkey and goods (Simpson, 2003: