Said Mahran passage analysis blog post

Passage:

You wish to recall the sound of the bullet and the screams of Nabawiyya, feeling happy again that you did not hear Sana scream. You'd better greet the Sheikh, but your voice is too weak to say, "Peace be upon you!" There's this feeling of helplessness, as if you were drowning. And you thought you were going to sleep like a log as soon as your skin touched the floor!

How the righteous and God-fearing would have shuddered, turned away from him in fright--until recitation of the name of God had made them less particular, less hard of heart. When would this strange man go to sleep? But the strange old man now raised his voice and began to sing: "In my view, passion is nothing but ingratitude unless it issues from my witnesses." And in a voice that seemed to fill the room, he said: "The eyes of their hearts are open, but those in their heads are closed!" Said smiled in spite of himself. So that's why he is not aware of my presence. But then I too am not fully aware of my own self.

The call to the dawn prayers rose above the quiet waves of the night. It reminded him of a night he'd once spent sleepless until the same call to the dawn prayers, excited over some special joy promised for the following day. On that occasion, he'd got up as soon as he heard the call, happy at release from a night of torment, had looked out of the window at the blue dawn and the smiling sunrise, and had rubbed his hands in anticipation of whatever it was he'd been about to enjoy, something he had since completely forgotten. And therefore he loved the dawn, which he associated with the singing of the prayer-call, the deep blue sky, the smile of the approaching sunrise, and that unremembered joy.

It was dawn now, but he could not move from exhaustion, not even to shift his revolver. The Sheikh rose to perform his prayers. Showing no awareness of Said's presence he lit the oil lamp, spread out the prayer mat, took up his position on it then suddenly, asked, "Aren't you going to perform the dawn prayers?"

Said was so exhausted he was incapable of giving an answer and no sooner had the Sheikh begun his prayers than he dropped off to sleep.

Analysis

The passage reveals Said's conflict that he develops within himself. Mahfouz depicts this conflict in a very metaphorical and vivid manner, through the use of extremities and images that help the reader understand the emotions Said is going through. This conflict of Said with himself repeats throughout the text, as this conflict acts as one of the major contributors to Said's want for revenge.

The first few lines, that make use of the indirect interior monologue style, announce to the readers Said's thoughts about the shooting that had taken place at Ilish's house. He 'wanted to recall' the sounds of the bullet, but he couldn't because he was too tired. These thoughts of Said characterise him as someone vengeful and stubborn. He will do whatever it takes to get revenge. The usage of this narrative technique almost gives the reader a flashback to when Said broke into Illish's house to kill him. By contrasting Said's tired state now and how he felt happy that he hadn't heard Sana scream, Mahfouz establishes Said's character as one who acts as a puppet master: one who wants everything to go according to plan just because he deems himself and his ideals righteous.

But now, after the whole incident, Said is feeling tired and helpless. A parallel can be drawn in between the situation of Said then and the innocent family he attacked unknowingly before. Mahfouz uses the readers association with Said to subtly turn the readers against him. This further leads to Said's characterisation as a vengeful person. Further, he can't even muster strength to greet the people who have been good to him since the beginning, further contributing to his dastardly character.

The next paragraph describes how Said smiles at the Sheikh's clever words. Such an action gives the reader a glimpse of a sane and intelligent Said. However, Said quickly stops smiling, and understands that this is why the Sheikh is not acknowledging him. He then realises that he wasn't too aware of himself at that time, and this juxtaposition of him not being too aware of himself may also refer to him not being aware of the happiness he has in this world. This is another instance where Said is characterised as an antagonist.

A sudden shift in tone in the next few paragraphs is also an important technique that Mahfouz employs in order to show the readers the true colours of Said. Said is thinking about the beautiful morning he had woken up very early and how he saw the beauty of the dawn. However, from this nostalgic, relaxed and happy tone, a sudden change to an urgent and depressing mood is observed. This is obvious due to the deliberate mention of the revolver, meaning that Said still has some good left in him. However, he ends up ignoring it just as he ignores the Sheikh's call to him for prayer, and goes back to sleep in ignorance of the Sheikh and symbolically his 'good' side.

This is why I believe is one of the most important passages in this book. Said's true colours are slowly shown to the reader, and a more holistic version is formed for the reader. No longer is Said just a vagabond who wants revenge for his betrayal, but a once innocent and happy man, who is now enforced by circumstances to extract revenge for his sake.