Passage Analysis

Chapter Nine: The Thief and The Dogs

Passage:

God, it's dark! I'd be better off as a bat. Why is that smell of hot fat seeping out from

under some door at this hour of night? When will Nur be back? Will she come alone?

And can I stay in her flat long enough to be forgotten? You might perhaps be thinking

you've got rid of me forever now, Rauf! But with this revolver, if I have any luck, I can

do wonderful things. With this revolver I can awake those who are asleep. They're the

root of the trouble: They're the ones who've made creatures like Nabawiyya, Ilish and

Rauf Ilwan possible.

Something sounded like footsteps climbing the stairs. When he was sure he

heard someone coming, he crouched and looked down through the banisters. A faint

light was moving slowly along the wall. The light of a match, he thought. The footsteps

came higher, heavy and slow. To let her know he was there and to avoid surprising her,

he cleared his throat with a loud rasp.

"Who is it?" she said apprehensively.

Said leaned his head out between the banisters as far as he could and replied in

a whisper, "Said Mahran."

She ran the rest of the way up and stopped in front of him out of breath. The

match was almost dead.

"It's you!" she said, breathless and happy, seizing his arm. "I'm sorry. Have you

been waiting long?"

Analysis

Although it seems that there is not a lot going on in passage nine of the story, this passage mainly reveals Said's shift of emotions, which portrays his intentions and thoughts to other characters, and also emphasizes on Nur's characteristic and passion toward Said. Mahfouz chose to depict Said's lack of security in a way that damages his mental mind. However, these damages affect Said's mind in both positive and negative ways. 

Through the use of soliloquy on the first part of the passage Mahfouz uses Said's lack of security to create shift in emotion that emphasizes his deadly intention toward Rauf. He internally reveals his future plan through his thought "But with this revolver, If I have any luck, I can do wonderful thing". Said is simply implying that he could and would kill Rauf with his revolver in a sake of revenge. Revenge, which is a force that drives the plot of the story, is frequently emphasized throughout the story, and it is becoming stronger and more violent as the story progresses toward the end. Chapter nine does touch with "revenge", but it does not effectively develop throughout the chapter as it mostly deals with an interaction between Said and Nur. In addition this particular sentence ("But with ....") shows that Said gains power through objects, revolver as shown in this passage and military uniform in the others. The sentence "With this revolver I can awake those who are asleep" simply implies that his brutal deed would create enough resonant sound that spreads his reputation, and therefore some kind of power. "(...)awake those who are asleep" could/might be interpreted as Said's supporters that are waiting for him to lighten pathway to new era of post revolution. Moreover the use of soliloquy also allows Mahfouz to emphasize wrathful thoughts toward Nabawiyya and Illish ,who had betrayed him. When looking broadly, it reveals that those whom Said mentions would eventually be plotted against. 

In contrary chapter nine enhances emotional passions and interactions between Said and Nur. The sentence "When will Nur be back? Will she come alone? And can I stay in her flat long enough to be forgotten?" illustrates that Said sees Nur as a way for seeking security that he had lost. Nur's support is vital for him since she provides shelter and food. And therefore Said starts to have passion toward Nur's action. Conversely Nur has already had full passion for him, and is willing to do anything to comfort Said. It can be seen throughout the story that Nur always loves Said, but Said only starts to express his passion for her in chapter nine. With reference from Said's dialogue above and "(...)breathless and happy, seizing his arm" from Nur, it clearly implies that both of them start to expose fond emotional appeal. "Seizing arm" is definitely illustrating the sense of love that Nur have regardless Said's deeds. 

Ultimately chapter nine still does not show a lot of developing ideas or themes, however it does show some shift in character interactions.