The Thief and The Dogs -- Sonnet

Just as the dust clears and the sun rays strike

He believes it is when freedom arise

Fighting for justice, no casual hike

He will take the traitors to their demise.

He lacks self-judgement, just seeks for revenge

Full of confidence, but failed to repent

His old motive has forgotten his hinge

He serves just self-interest like a serpent.

The innocent dying does not faze him

Soon he’s the target of his own fate

The sunset is coming, lights are now dim

Darkness that he escapes quickens its rate

Surrounded by the horror sound of crowns

With his own fate that brings him down.

Sheik al Junaydi -- The Thief and The Dogs

The Thief and The Dogs was published after the Egyptian revolution, where Mahfouz intentionally provides each character with a purpose that enhances the theme of the story. From Rauf that represents betrayal to Nur that represents love, all these themes can simply be seen through their actions and dialogues. In contrary, Sheikh Al Junaydi is a character of which Mahfouz purposely creates provides vague interpretation so as to represent the theme of "fate and free-will".

Looking at the context of this novel, it can be argued that Sheikh Al Junaydi is representing the theme of free-will; when he provides necessary aid to Said. An example is where Said Mahran is released from jail and has no place to stay. Said decides to stay over Sheikh's house, which can be argued that Sheikh's house is a location that is placed outside Said's fate. The author, in this circumstance, provides an opportunity to Said to have a wisely thought and decision about his future plan; either he wants to continue to follow his fate or breaks out to his own free-will. The fact that Sheikhs provides food and shelter to Said extends Said's disaster. 

However, I believe that Sheikh Al Junaydi is also representing God and Fate because of his role in the mosque. Throughout the novel, there are many events that could be used to support the idea of Sheikh's representation of Fate. One thing that could be easily identified is that Said does not or could not actually comprehend most of the Sheikh's words. This has a correlation to Said's fate as he usually questions what happens to him. When Said receives advice from Sheikh and does not understand, it is coherent to when Said could not reflect on his own actions, and still carries on what readers easily identify as morally and physically wrong (killing innocent people for his sake of revenge).

I believe that Sheikh is created to be Said's prospect and security as he tries to lead Said's with his words of thought while provides him with aid. He is the one who provides an opportunity to escape from fate (revenge) and pursue his ordinary life (with or without his daughter). I believe that the Sheikh is added into the novel in order to enhance the theme of fate and free-will. As stated that he could represent both sides of the theme, his contribution to Said Mahran is a development of Said's character. Sheikh is represented as a bridge for Said to be used when Said has obstacles. By including Sheikh to the novel, the readers are provided with two-sided views to the theme, which might enhance understanding of the text.

Thesis Statement -- The Thief and The Dogs

In writing the novel, the characters are represented in which each of them has unique characteristics and flaws that widen the audience's perspective of the theme of justice. However, Mahfouz extends these ideas by using the techniques of stream of consciousness to raise a question of what actually defines "Justice" in non-justified society. (Through the use of each characters, readers are able to interpret the novel distinctively based their ideology and cultural background).

Tragic Hero

--What is Said’s tragic flaw? (Harmatia)
--Because of the rejection of his own daughter, Said’s personality is affected and changed dramatically which brings to his own disaster. His ambition of seeking revenge and the fact that he does not adapt to Egypt post-revolution society has brought him to similar cycle that he passed before his imprisonment. As in the text:

"I was sure of my safety, as usual. It was that dog who betrayed me, in collusion
with her. Then disaster followed disaster until finally my daughter rejected me."

--How does he display excessive pride? (hubris)
--It can be seen at the beginning of the story that he has too much confidence for what he plans (expectation from Sana to belief of orthodox view or pre-revolution Egypt of being a thief). He also does not recognize that post-revolution Egypt has a use of laws which he thinks that he is still able to violate for his own interest. He does display his pride though the use of excessive violence (and wrathful actions) which eventually drags him down. As in the text:

"To kill them both--Nabawiyya and Ilish--at the same time, would be a triumph. Even better would be to settle with Rauf Ilwan, too, then escape, go abroad if possible"
"Nabbawiyya. 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"

--When is his reversal of fortunes? (peripeteria)
--When he meets Nur who has passion for him. Nur provides accommodation and food for him which extends his time for committing his brutal deeds. She even helps him plans and steals car from her own friend when they just meet. In addition, Tarzan is another character that provides the needs that he requires such as revolver and a plan with smuggler. As in the text:

"Would you like me," she said with a sly smile, "to bury him in the sand?"
"I'll be ruined if they find out," she said with sudden seriousness. "His father's an influential man and he comes from a powerful family. Do you need money?"
"Tarzan, holding out to him a revolver in his other hand" (...) "It's a present from me."

--At what moments in the text does he recognize that the reversal was due to his own actions?
--When Nur leaves her apartment and Said, and never comes back to him. He has passion for her and realizes that she is perfect for him. But it’s too late. Also at the end of the story where he realizes that his revengefulness has brought him destruction. As in the text:

  "Said knew, all the malice and revengefulness he'd been running from would be breathed right into his face. He held his gun poised as the barking grew ever louder and closer. And suddenly there was blinding light over the whole area. He shut his eyes and crouched at the base of the tomb."

--Is his fate greater than he deserved? (nemesis)
--I believe no because he is the one who does bad deeds which brings to his own destruction. He always seeks for revenge his companions rather than trying to adapt and understand reasons behind their actions. He deserves his death since he has already killed two innocent people for the sake of his revenge. Therefore, his fate is reasonable enough to accept.

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. 

Narrative Structure Analytical

The stream of consciousness technique is once broadly used by many authors during Victorian era. The technique allows readers to experience actual flow of thoughts and ideas in the mind of the protagonist (or characters) which the author may or may not put that thoughts into action. By alternating between techniques of stream of consciousness, the author is able to enhance the depth of character development as well as the context of the plot in a faster pace.

Mahfouz uses stream of consciousness technique to begin The Thief and The Dogs, which provides more depth of character's introduction and the generic ideas behind the character rather than using normal third person narrative style in order to lay the foundation of the context and plot. By using the techniques, it allows Mahfouz to represent  impressionistic style that portrays the intention and incentive prior action, and realistic style that shows the consequences of the character's action in reality. So Mahfouz's intention of this text was to portray the changes of middle-class people after Egyptian revolution during the 1960's. However the story does not only depict changes, but it also portrays some consequences that one's life has to pass through (treachery, lost of family members and love ones, and friendship).  

The uses of stream of consciousness have many advantages to the novel. It allows the reader to experience thoughts and ideas or may further feel like the character itself since the author gives the description prior the events by narrating through his mind. Moreover the description (the technique) allows the reader to access basic details and emotional appeal that can further make the plot and the overall meaning of the text more realistic.

For example, Mahfouz uses Indirect Interior Monologue in chapter 1 to introduce the protagonist.

"Once more he breathed the air of freedom. But there was stifling dust in the air, almost unbearable heat, and no one was waiting for him; nothing but his blue suit and gym shoes."

He lays the foundation of the protagonist that he has to be someone who did bad deed since there is no one waiting for him when he's set free after custody. The sentence "stifling dust in the air, almost unbearable heat(...)" also shows that he might be detained long enough that he is barely able (or cannot) cope with changes within the community. So this first paragraph is likely to introduce some information of the character which would be more elaborated later on.

However this writing technique also has its disadvantages. Sometimes it might make plot more complicated to follow along which can confuse the reader. Moreover by alternating between reality and the protagonist's thought, it might be difficult to receive the overall meaning of the paragraph or the text as a whole. If the technique was used for entire story, it would double the amount of pages since the author doesn't go straight to the point.  

The uses of techniques combined with his language is one reason that makes The Thief and The Dogs successful. The combination makes overall plot and the protagonist's thought more exciting and comprehensive to the meanings of the text which make it easier for the reader access those meanings.  

Literature in Translation

   Literature in Translation provides various benefits for people who study it, although some might contradict that there are limitations that hinder the values, meanings, or overall message expressed by the author. However, I believe that the benefits of studying literary works in translation can outweigh its limitations because audiences are able to learn and perceive new perspective of exotic culture.

   Through exploring translated literature and word transformation, readers can understand complexity of the language and the meanings that are intended to convey. However, one sentence alone cannot be translated and comprehended perfectly; so, it is better to study everything in order to receive overall meaning and value of the text. By exploring translated literature, culture and indigenous practices are also perceived by the readers, which provides better understanding of their true value. Some might argue that these values are already presented by media on television or internet, but I believe that these media can be altered to serve what audiences want to see. Literature, though it’s translated, seems to bring readers into a different world by which the author creates with themes and context, and this is good because I believe that it provides new experiences that readers can perceive from just reading translated literature.

Although the meaning of words that can be translated from one language to another can differ in regard to original language, I believe that everyone can get something from the literary work if they really want to. I also think that the study of translated literature is a foundation for understanding new cultures and its differences. Therefore, it might be better for knowledge-seeker to reader their literature before actually study their culture.