The Thief and The Dogs | Fate and Free Will

Prompt: How does Mahfouz illustrate how fate is a major determiner of one’s happiness in life?

Within the novella, The Thief and The Dogs, Mahfouz illustrates how fate is a significant determiner of one’s happiness in life through the main character Said, and the actions of secondary characters.

Said Mahran was born in a lower socioeconomic class, which ultimately leads to a lack of opportunities and interactions with other classes. His circumstances of birth can be considered as a form of fate, as Said is not able to control his destiny. This destiny develops his internal and external conflict with upper classes and post-revolutionary society. His fate continues in his path of revenge and violence and the uncontrollable death of his parents. Said’s father died under mysterious circumstances, and her mother was denied treatment at a luxurious hospital. Both situations are uncontrollable, and we can see how his dissatisfaction drives him to commit his first theft. His predisposition in a social hierarchy was determined by faith and leads to a series of uncontrollable events which fuel his desire and obsession with revenge. With Rauf as his mentor, he believes that his understanding of self derives from his personal perception of the legitimacy of his actions.

This pattern is also evident in the actions of secondary characters. Again, this is identified as a form of fate as Said has little to no control of the behaviour of others. As a result of his turbulent childhood, Said seeks a father figure in Rauf, aligns his actions with the teachings of the Sheikh, and seeks an overly Romantic idealization of his relationship with Nabawiyya. However, through the actions of these secondary characters, he is betrayed by Ilish, Rauf and Nabawiyya. This further constricts his attainability of happiness in life and further motivates his revenge.