Narrative Structure Analytical Post

Why does Mahfouz employ stream of consciousness narration in the novel and to what effect?

The novel ' The Thief and the Dogs' by Naguib Mahfouz is best known as being his first novel to break free from his continuous string of realist fiction novels. This is just one example of how he has popularized Arab literature with western audiences, alongside that Mahfouz was the first Arab to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. His novel truly pioneered psychological realism in Arabic fiction.

The events of the novel are set post Egyptian revolution 1952,In order to obtain a much deeper and richer understanding for the novel and it's context, Mahfouz uses the stream of consciousness technique. This technique not only allows us to delve into the protagonist, Said's inner emotions and thoughts but it also provides us with the opportunity to obtain an understanding as to why such feelings and actions were carried out. As the audience in order for us to grasp a much more complete understanding of the novel and it's characters and events, being provided with the opportunity to access Said Mahran's internal experiences enhances the readers understanding of his internal reality. Alongside this stream of consciousness Mahfouz uses both third person and Said's inner monologues (displayed in italics), obtaining such an alternation within the text is very useful to us as the readers because we are presented with an opportunity in which we have the privilege to observe the protagonists thoughts and feelings evolve with the turn of each page.

The novel tends to switch between narrative techniques, as the readers we are presented with an array of narrative techniques such as indirect, direct internal monologues to soliloquy's. Such techniques are displayed throughout the entire novel, an example would be in the first chapter of the novel when Said is first released from prison. The chapter starts off with providing us with an instance of Said's thoughts, which later progresses on to a soliloquy. In that moment Said is thinking of the two who had betrayed and hurt him the most, Nabawiyya and Ilish ( his ex-wife and ex-friend). It is through the transition from one narrative technique to another that we are able to view the various perspectives present in the novel, we are also able to view how his thoughts slowly begin to display to us how they play a major role in expressing and portraying his external conflicts and how his surroundings influence him.

Although the novel is translated from Arabic to English it still bears the same concepts and ideas, however they just have a little bit of a twist mixed in there. In the Arabic version of the novel it did not contain any italics, however in the English version the novel is filled with italics as they represent the switch between the narrative techniques. Such techniques assists in enhancing our knowledge regarding the importance of Said's perspective and how that through the shift between each and every narrative technique we are able to see how Said progressed and grows both emotionally and mentally. This can be shown in the novel that how in the first few chapters Said had only been stating that he would seek vengeance on those who had done him wrong, but as the novel progressed through chapter to chapter we slowly begin to see that rather merely stating that he would seek vengeance Said had reached to a climax in which he resorted to murdering those whom had betrayed him.

Naguib Mahfouz was an impeccable writer who's work had not only raised awareness about particular issues that had risen through the world around the time they were written, but he also had done so in way that allowed for us to see the difference and truly get to piece the puzzle together and figure out things on our own.