The Thief and The Dogs | Passage Analysis

Chapter Four

Passage:

"You made me and now you reject me: Your ideas create their embodiment in my person and then you simply change them, leaving me lost –rootless, worthless, without hope—a betrayal so vile that if the whole Muqattam hill toppled over and buried it, I still would not be satisfied.

I wonder if you ever admit, even to yourself, that you betrayed me. Maybe you’ve deceived yourself as much as you try to deceive others. Hasn’t your conscience bothered you even in the dark? I wish I could penetrate your soul as easily as I’ve penetrated your house, that house of mirrors and object d’art, but I suppose I’d find nothing but betrayal there: Nabawiyya disguised as Rauf, Rauf disguised as Nabawiyya, or Ilish Sidra in place of both—and betrayal would cry out to me that it was the lowest crime on earth. Their eyes behind my back must have traded anxious looks throbbing with lust, which carried them in a current crawling like death, like a cat creeping on its belly toward a bewildered sparrow. When their chance came, the last remnants of decency and indecision disappeared, so that in a corner of the lane, even in my own house, Ilish Sidra finally said, “I’ll tell the police. We’ll get rid of him,” and the child’s mother was silent—the tongue that so often and so profusely told me, “I love you, the best man in the world,” was silent. And I found myself surrounded by police in Al-Sayrafi Lane—though until then demons themselves with all their wiles had failed to trap me—their kicks and punches raining down on me.

You’re just the same, Rauf—I don’t know which of you is the most treacherous—except that you guilt is greater because of your intelligence and the past association between us: You pushed me into jail, while you leapt free, into that palace of lights and mirrors. You’ve forgotten your wise sayings about palaces and hovels, haven’t you? I will never forget."

Analysis

This passage amplifies Said’s desire to seek revenge on Rauf, Nabawiyya and Ilish. By doing so, the narrator develops vital elements of Said’s tragic hero archetype, specifically his hamartia and hubris. In addition, the passage also reveals underlying themes such as the modernist genre’s concern with the individual and the disenfranchisement with the Egyptian Revolution.

The passage employs the stream of consciousness narration technique to probe deeply into the complexities of Said’s thoughts and motivations, while simultaneously giving clues to his mental condition, emotional stability and intellect. By doing so, Mahfouz characterizes Said Mahran’s external reality and his feelings of rage, revenge and betrayal. Through the use of indirect internal monologue, Mahfouz describes Said’s relationship with Rauf as “You made me and now you reject me: Your ideas create their embodiment in my person, and then you simply change them, leaving me lost –rootless, worthless, without hope”. The use of parallelism within this quote illustrates the changing relationship between Said and Rauf. This leads to his revengeful nature as “a betrayal so vile that if the whole Muqattam hill toppled over and buried it, [Said] still would not be satisfied.” This analogy emphasizes his inability to control his overwhelming emotions of anger. Ultimately, his inability to adapt to change to post-revolutionary Egypt and control such feelings shape his hamartia and evoke empathy from the reader.

Another aspect of Said’s tragic hero archetype is his behavior of always justifying his path of revenge. This is evident in the rhetorical question “Hasn’t your conscience bothered you even in the dark?”. Rather than focusing on Said’s own actions, he justifies his burglary with his feelings of revenge, which develop his hubris. In addition, Said wishes he “could penetrate [Rauf’s] soul as easily as [he] penetrated [Rauf’s] house, that house of mirrors and object d’art, but [he] supposes [he’d] find nothing but betrayal there”. By juxtaposing Rauf’s extravagant house (through the use posh diction) with Said’s actions of burglary, Mahfouz illustrates to the reader the contrasting roles during the Egyptian revolution. Consequently, this develops the underlying theme of Said’s inability to adapt to change to post-revolutionary Egypt.

In addition, the narrator uses animal imagery to characterize Said. For example, the narrator compares Said “like a cat creeping on its belly toward a bewildered sparrow”. The use of animal imagery suggests that Said’s behavior is barbaric; characteristics which are incompetent with the new social changes in Egypt. By doing so, this invites the reader to comprehend Said’s struggle to control his circumstances, a conventional technique used to justify Said’s actions throughout the passage.

Ultimately the ending of the passage marks a flashback in the plot, which marks Said’s reversal of fortunes (peripeteia). After Ilish called the police and Said found himself “surrounded by police in Al-Sayrafi Lane—though until then demons themselves with all their wiles had failed to trap me—their kicks and punches raining down on me,” his fates continue to worsen. Subsequently, this sheds light on Said’s attitude towards Rauf and his hunger for revenge.