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.

Narrative structure in The Thief and the Dogs

Naguib Mahfouz uses a large array of narrative techniques in his book The 'Thief and the Dogs'. By alternating between techniques such as stream of consciousness, direct or indirect interior monologue, and soliloquy, Mahfouz enriches the character development in this text and allows the reader for a more holistic approach than usual for developing a perception of the character.
Mahfouz's objective with this text was to depict the changes that the Egyptian middle class had gone through. It wasn't simply a narration of a story set in post-revolutionary Egypt. It's purpose goes much more beyond that. By using such a variety of styles, Mahfouz is able to establish the characters the readers are supposed to sympathise with, and hence achieve the goal of the book: to show his dissatisfaction with the current state of Egyptian society then.
Mahfouz draws the readers in and encourages them to take the side of Said Mahran, by using a stream of consciousness narrative technique. For example, when Mahfouz writes Said's thoughs as "Nabawiyya. Ilish. Your two names merge in my mind. For years you will have been thinking about this day, never imagining, all the while, that the gates would ever actually open. You’ll be watching now, but I won’t fall into the trap. At the right moment, instead, I’ll strike like Fate.", the readers are forced to sympathise with Said. This example of stream of consciousness technique is smattered with instances of imagery. When Said thinks of the two faces of Nabawiyya and Ilish merging together, the readers think the same. When he thinks about how they will have been thinking for 'years' that the gates would never actually open, the readers are perturbed by Nabawiyya and Irish's existence and are cajoled into having the same view of the situation as Said. Imagery and personification of Said as Fate, as well as the capitalisation of the f in fate solidifies Said's rage, and provides the reader something to associate with. The readers almost certainly have been a situation like this, and Mahfouz making use of this fact achieves his objectives by using narrative techniques such as this.
Sometimes, the narration includes phrases that are very vague. Indirect interior monologue like"What love he’d had been the exclusively property of that other, unfaithful woman. He’d been made of stone. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than loving someone like that." makes the reader appreciate Said's struggles. The struggle of the woman he loved could also refer to his love for Egypt. He'd devoted his heart to the country he considered his best love; however he never could do anything about it. This made him forget himself, forget that he himself had had a heart at one point. His love for his 'country' turned his heart into stone. When his love for his country is described as heartbreaking, the real situation is depicted accurately. He wanted to make his country a better place because he loved 'her'. However, he couldn't do anything about it, and hence his heart broke. By using such narration here that makes Saids thoughts sound vague in terms of whom he is referring to, Mahfouz is given place in the text to express his disdain with the current state of Egypt then.
However, this usage of stream of consciousness has some drawbacks as well. One must remember that this technique is drawn from other languages, and isn't native to English. This makes such a narration seem rather exotic and not relatable, since the reader understands that the text isn't written in English initially. It also makes the reader take a specific point of view, which is later very hard to change. It might not always be disadvantageous, but a rigid perspective always drags down the credibility of certain literature.
Hence, through the usage of the stream of consciousness technique, Mahfouz ensures that he tells the story in accordance with his objective, and develop conflict that is perceived from only side of the argument. The adoption of such techniques from other languages, however, is only how literature can keep being evolved and bettered.

The Power of literature in translation

There are the usual literary texts, the ones that are found on the best-selling shelves of big bookshops, and then there are translated works. These, even thought usually dense with knowledge and new cultural information, are hidden away as works that are studied by courses in schools examining the relation between culture and literature. Sounds familiar? Well, the reason these books are chosen are because of their power: the Power to spread different ideas and raise different questions all throughout the world. Notice how the word Power is capitalised through this text; it is an attempt to give Power to translated literature.
The first aspect of the uniqueness of these texts is their Power in raising questions we could never think of. If texts in English raised the question of 'pursuing a specific career path solely in order to delay marriage in Egypt', they would be considered backward, and would receive a lot of criticism. Some might even go as far as calling it cultural appropriation. However, when an Arab text does so, it'd be considered organic, and answering questions that are relevant to it's culture. Hence, the context of reception matters a lot, and translated texts hold this power of influencing the reader's mind; to ensure the spread of ideas in an as transparent manner as possible.
The next Power is the use of translated literature itself as a medium to propagate literature continually. Literature has evolved throughout the century, and keeps on doing so. However, without translated texts, literature would be analogous to a sea with only one type of fish. It would eventually become bland. Translated texts bring another dimension to literature, and ensures that literature is diverse, just as it is supposed to be.
However, there are certain drawbacks as well. As the phrase goes, some texts are 'lost in translation'. This is especially true with Arabic texts, since the dialect of arabic spoken usually helps in establishing a setting. However, when it is translated to English, all speech appears to be the same. Arabic is depicted as a single strand when translated to English, when it is in reality a collection of a bunch of different smaller strands. Literature loses its power sometimes, and there is very less one can do to prevent this. However, an overview of the context of the book gives a very good idea of the culture and the setting of the book. This is because the context can affect the interpretation of the book, and is a major factor in how the readers see the chronological position of the book.
As explored above, the Power literature has is immense. It can turn even the most stubborn of minds to a much more flexible one, and provide a platform for topics of debate that are nonexistent. However, with great Power comes great responsibility, and one mustn't forget the responsibility the authors and translators have over the perception of their culture.