Chapter 11 Passage Analysis

The Sheikh greeted you with that sweet and kindly look of his. And how enchanted you were by his fine white beard! "So this is your son you were telling me about," he said to your father. "There's a lot of intelligence in his eyes. His heart is as spotless as yours. You'll find he'll turn out, with God's will, a truly good man."

Yes, you really adored Sheikh Ali al Junaydi, attracted by the purity in his face and the love in his eyes. And those songs and chants of his had delighted you even before your heart was purified by love.

"Tell this boy what it's his duty to do," your father said to the Sheikh one day.

The Sheikh had gazed down at you and said, "We continue learning from the cradle to the grave, but at least start out, Said, by keeping close account of yourself and making sure that from whatever action you initiate some good comes to someone."

Yes, you certainly followed his counsel, as best you could though you only brought it to complete fulfillment when you took up burglary!

The days passed like dreams. And then your good father disappeared, suddenly gone, in a way that a boy simply could not comprehend, and that seemed to baffle even Sheikh Ali himself. How shocked you were that morning, shaking your head and rubbing your eyes to clear away the sleep, awakened by your mother's screams and tears in the little room at the entrance to the students' hostel! You wept with fear and frustration at your helplessness. That evening however, Rauf Ilwan, at that time a student in Law School, had shown how very capable he was. Yes, he was impressive all right, no matter what the circumstances, and you loved him as you did Sheikh Ali, perhaps even more. It was he who later worked hard to have you--or you and your mother, to be more precise--take over Father's job as custodian for the building. Yes, you took on responsibilities at an early age.

This passage from Chapter 11 of the novel is flashback that Said is having as he remembers events and conversations from his past. In this passage the reader learns detail's about Said's tragic past as he recounts the death of his father and later his mother. From the perspective of both the reader and Said himself this passage is the pinnacle of dramatic irony.  Mahfouz creates a wonderful juxtaposition between Said's past and his present. This conversation with the Sheikh highlights the alternative path that Said could have taken had he not been driven to a life of crime and had not become obsessed with getting revenge. As the Sheikh says "His heart is as spotless as yours. You'll find he'll turn out, with God's will, a truly good man." one begins to wonder how exactly Said has strayed so far from his seemingly bright future. This scene also raises the question of to what extent is Said's current character and predicament due to situational or dispositional factors?

“Making sure that from whatever action you initiate some good comes to someone."

Again we see this contrast of what Said was taught as a boy and the way in which he lives his life in the present. After his release from jail and Sana’s rejection, Said’s actions are of his own self-interest and almost all of his actions result in someone else being harmed.

Furthermore, this passage serves to emphasize the strong bond that Said shared with his beloved mentor Rauf as the reader gains some insight into how the two met and under what circumstances. We see that Said truly looked up to Rauf who symbolized the missing father figure in his life following the death of his father. In the passage Said says “you loved him as you did Sheikh Ali, perhaps even more” which further highlights the deep connection Said felt to Rauf. This gives the reader a deeper sense of understanding as it makes it easier to see why Rauf’s apparent betrayal so deeply affected Said.

This passage is a prime example of Mahfouz’s unique narrative style and the specific way in which he chooses to reveal Said’s story to the reader. Prior to this passage, the reader did not know a great deal about Said’s past or his family. However as seen in this passage, Said’s history and tragic background have actually come to affect his character in a highly negative manner.  We see that following the death of his parents, the bright future that the Sheikh had predicted is exchanged in turn for a much darker future full of thievery and eventually even murder.

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Stream of Consciousness Narrative in The Thief and the Dogs

Stream of consciousness narration is described as “a type of fiction in which the basic emphasis is placed on the exploration of the pre-speech levels of consciousness for the purpose, principally, or revealing the psychic beings of the characters”. This form of narration places emphasis on the thought pattern of an individual and immerses the reader in the innermost thoughts of the character. Through this narration the reader is exposed to the character’s emotions and thoughts in an unfiltered manner, thereby adding depth to the character.

Through an intricate intertwining of realism and stream of consciousness, Naguib Mahfouz establishes and explores his main character Said and his perception of reality in the novel The Thief and the Dogs. Mahfouz employs stream of consciousness narration in order to giving the reader insight into Said’s inner conflicts. To quote one of our readings that I think put it best:  “Access to Said Mahran’s internal experiences enhances the reader’s understanding of his external reality.”

Stream of consciousness narrative also gives the reader a clearer idea of the emotional stability or instability in the case of Said Mahran. In the first chapter of the novel Said ponders that its likely his daughter does not know anything about him however, when faced with her eventual rejection his reasoning and logic become irrational as he feels that Sana rejected and betrayed him. This reaction seen within Said’s thoughts hints at how he may react to similar situations later in the novel. When Said ventures to find his old friend and mentor Raush and discovers that his socio-economic status has been elevated, he once again jumps to hasty conclusions. In this interaction between mentor and student, Said’s previous feelings of paranoia and distrust resurface as he feels that Rauf has also betrayed him. Mahfouz’s style of an alternating narrative voice prompts the reader to establish a closer connection with Said and evokes a deeper sense of sympathy than what may have been achieved through a simple third or first person narration. However as the novel progresses, this sympathetic connection is tested as Said’s thoughts become irrational and his actions become morally unacceptable to the reader.

While this narrative technique does give the novel a unique flair, it also comes with some limitations. The reader’s perception of characters and events can become highly skewed due to the biased portrayal in Said’s thoughts. The reader is never given the opportunity to experience the story from another character’s perspective and therefore their perception of reality within the novel is tainted by Said’s obvious and strong bias. As seen in the novel, it can be difficult to attain an unbiased perspective of certain characters such as Nabawiyya whom Said describes as “that woman who sprang from filth, from vermin, from treachery and infidelity”.

Both Mahfouz and Achebe utilize a distinct form of storytelling in their novels. Mahfouz uses stream of consciousness narration which presents the reader with a highly subjective perception of reality within the novel. While there is some use of an unbiased third person narrative voice, the reader is generally left to establish events and characters through the eyes of Said Mahran. On the other hand Achebe employs third person narration throughout his novel which creates a different effect for the reader. This allows Achebe to present an unbiased view of the story and furthermore allows the reader to make their own moral judgement instead of relying on that of the narrator or a specific character.  Achebe makes it very clear that Okonkwo is a flawed character through the unbiased narrative form. However, the narrative technique used by Mahfouz does not necessarily highlight the flaws of Said but instead leaves the reader to establish this for themselves.

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Texts in Translation

 “So many people consider their work a daily punishment. Whereas I love my work as a translator. Translation is a journey over a sea from one shore to the other. Sometimes I think of myself as a smuggler: I cross the frontier of language with my booty of words, ideas, images, and metaphors.”    -Amara Lakhous

As part of the International Baccalaureate, our courses constantly provide opportunities to assume a perspective that differs from our own. In Language and Literature this opportunity arises in the form of studying one text in translation.  As demonstrated in the above quote by translator Amara Lakhous, the practice of translation is truly an art. A translator is tasked with transforming an entire text while simultaneously remaining true to the author and their style and intentions. However, this can sometimes be quite difficult as a translator always brings their own unique personal style when approaching a text. When Feng Tang published his translation of poems by Rabindranath Tagore he was faced with heavy criticism for some his word choices. Some felt that his translation had disgraced the original poet while Tang himself felt that he was merely suggesting a different reality regarding the poems. However, despite the difficulties posed, translated literature is highly valuable in our world today. Translated literature from Arabic about an Arab city can provide a wider audience with a particular insight that would most likely prove difficult to capture in English. Many stories are often left untold due to the fact they are originally told in only one language. However, by translating literary texts these stories may travel the world and reach a more global audience.

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