Said Mahran | Passage Analysis

Chapter One 

Passage: 

not merely because he would soon lose a safe hiding place, but because he also knew he'd lost affection and companionship as well. He saw her there in the dark before him--Nur, with all her smiles and fun-making, her love and her unhappiness--and the terrible depression he felt made him aware that she had penetrated much deeper within him than he had imagined, that she had become a part of him, and that she should never have been separated from this life of his which was in shreds and tottering on the brink of an abyss. Closing his eyes in the darkness, he silently acknowledged that he did love her and that he would not hesitate to give his own life to bring her back safe. Then one thought made him growl in anger: "And yet would her destruction cause so much as a single ripple anywhere?" 

No, definitely not. Not even a pretence of grief would be made for loss of Nur, who was only a woman with no protector, adrift on a sea of waves either indifferent or hostile. And Sana, too, might well find herself one day with no one who cared to look after her. These thoughts scared and angered him and he gripped his gun and pointed it in front of him in the dark, as though warning the unknown. In deep despair, delirious in the silence and dark, he began to sob; and sobbed until late in the night sleep finally overcame him. (Chapter 16) 

Analysis:
Analyze the selected passage and justify why that passage is a significant moment that contributes to the characterization of Said Mahran.

This passage reveals Said’s love for Nur in which he realizes his feelings for her after she disappeared. He is in emotional pain as Nur provided a new life, a new pathway. As Nur had vanished so has his pathway to start a new, better life with her. Nur was his ‘safe hiding place’. Said’s unwillingness to give in to this romantic connection with Nur, due to the betrayal of Nabawiya who he previously loved, turned to ignorance as he had ignored his feelings towards Nur.

He regrets his life choices, the choice of not taking a new pathway together with Nur. Through the use of the contradiction “her love and her unhappiness”, Said is shown to accept Nur’s depression and still love her. By recognizing her pain, he possibly implies that he is aware of the negative impact that his actions had on Nur. By rejecting her, he lost her.

He further characterized the character of Nur as well as himself as he sees Nur as “only a woman with no protector, adrift on a sea of waves either indifferent or hostile”. Thus, he sees her need to be taken care of as she is lost. This is significant as Said recognized Nur’s need to be saved, offering a pathway in which the two of them could start a new life.

However, Said’s tragic downfall is displayed as he has already lost her and thus the opportunity to escape with her. This can be seen in the following metaphor; “from this life of his which was in shreds and tottering on the brink of an abyss”.(Chapter 15)

Said is shown to be frustrated and angry with his situation through the syntax “growl in anger”, in which his ‘rational’ decision making had led him into this miserable position in which he lost both the pathway to a new life as well as his beloved Nur.

Thief and The Dogs | Stream of Consciousness Narration

Why does Mahfouz employ a stream of consciousness narration in the novel and to what effect? 

Mahfouz employs a stream of consciousness narration to manipulate the distance between the novel’s characters and the reader. Mahfouz was the first author to use a stream of consciousness narration in Arabic literature. Through the stream of consciousness narration, Mahfouz creates the illusion that the reader is privy to sensations and uncensored thoughts within a character’s mind before the character has ordered them into any rational form or shape. The character of Sa'id therefore 'manipulates' the reader's sense of rational thinking and reasoning. Mahfouz uses this style of narration to bring to light the complexity of the novel, in which Sa'id experiences irrational emotions such as betrayal and rage.

Mahfouz makes use of shift of narration, between direct to indirect interior monologue. Direct interior monologue is a presentation of Sa'id's thoughts as if he is speaking out loud to himself. An example of this is in the ... of the novel
"Through all this darkness only your face, Sana, smiles. When we meet I'll know how I stand. In a little while, as soon as I've covered the length of this road, gone past all these gloomy arcades, where people used to have fun. Onward and upward. But not to glory. I swear I hate you all."(p.1)

The narrator occasionally shifts to an indirect interior monologue in which the character’s thoughts and emotions take over. It reveals the uncensored ideas and feelings of the character as well as reminiscents. This is often more disorganized and scattered, 'all over the place'. This changes from the beginning to the end of the novel in which Sa'id mental state worsens, visibly through the mind clues as his mind becomes more chaotic.
And example of this is in the ... of the novel
"As the thought of her crossed his mind, the heat and the dust, the hatred and pain all disappeared, leaving only love to glow across a soul as clear as a rain-washed sky."(p.1)
and
"His thoughts turned immediately to the uniform he'd forgotten, to the man who had opened the flat door to him, to Sana and Nur and Rauf and Nabawiyya and Ilish, to the informers, to Tarzan and to the car with which he would break through the cordon. His mind stormed. Clearly neither further patience nor hesitation were now in his interests. No matter what the danger, he had to contact Tarzan that night, even if it meant crawling to him over the desert sands. Tomorrow the police would be busy everywhere and those scoundrels would be out of their wits with fright."(p.66)


Through the psychological reflection of the character through a stream of unconscious narration, the advantages of this modernist style of narration are evident as much more insight is revealed to the audience than previous styles in which a character was described by their actions and by others. The audience is able to empathically connect more with the character through this style and thus is able to understand the hidden implications of politics, conflict, etc much better. It also reveals the internal conflict much more effectively with this style as this is evident through the character's mental state, visible in indirect interior monologue. It provides a much more intensive emotional experience to the audience.

Mahfouz “breaks away from the old technique of meticulous details and panoramic narration.”, with the effect that common themes such as society, religion, and culture, and are replaced with much more complex intentions. By using this type of narration, a duality between the reality in the text and the symbolic meaning is created, which may be more challenging for the audience to fully grasp.


Extension- Mahfouz’s narrative style shares similarities with Chinua Achebe's circular narration as the audience unconsciously forms a strong emotional connection with the character, altering the way the reader percieves the events within the novel. By doing so, the reader is exposed by both authors with the duality of symbolism and realism within the novel.

Literature in Translation

 Literature in translation are pieces in which the historical, cultural and social context are significant to the piece itself. The context in which is piece is written is, therefore, imperative as it not only influences the author's intentions behind every decision he or she makes, but also the way the audience perceives it. The novel The Thief and the Dogs, written by the Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz is an example of such a text. It was originally published in Arabic but translated for non-Arabic readers. The story shows the significance of literature in translation as it displays the complex social and political standpoints through the characters and their actions. Not only do texts in translation show different and refreshing views upon conflicts and ideas, but they also give the reader a much thorough comprehension of the cultural, historical and social contexts of the piece.


The context in which the author has written their piece contributes to the conventions of the genre, and more importantly the content of the novel itself. The author often lies obvious and hidden parallels between the fiction in their story and the reality of the context. These parallels are what are so significant about these texts in particular, as they uncover truths which aren't known to their foreign audience. Not only does it provide a more truthful and honest reflection of situations such as conflicts within countries, but it also offers counternarratives and new prospects upon these and is, therefore, vital for all nations as it enriches our perception and knowledge. The author makes significant decisions through the conventions of the text to express the values and attitude which in turn have a meaningful impact on readers.