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How does Mahfouz illustrate how fate is a major determiner of one’s happiness in life? Mahfouz, the author of The Thief and the Dogs, thoroughly present in his novel the idea that fate is a major determiner of one's happiness in life by presenting fate of the protagonist to be 'unlucky'.  One of major determination of 'fate' is the circumstances of the upbringing. The protagonist, Said, is portrayed to experience extremely unlucky situations where his parents both died while he was young. The 'fate' of his parents dying at an early age seemed to determine his later actions where he irrationally believes and follow those who give advice due to lack of attention he should have gained as a child.  Adding on, Mahfouz also allows the readers to accept the fate of Mahfouz due to the actions of those who were around him. This can be seen in two ways: the paths that the surrounding offer or the actions of Illish and Nabawiyaa that provoked emotion of reveng

Passage:  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. As the prison gate and its unconfessable miseries receded, the world- streets belabored by the sun, careening cars, crowds of people moving or still - returned. No one smiled or seemed happy. But who of these people could have suffered more than he had, with four years lost, taken from him by betrayal? And the hour was coming when his rage would confront them, who had betrayed him would despair unto death, when treachery would pay for what it had done. Nabawiyya. Illish. Your to names merge in my mind. For year 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. And Sana? What about Sana? As the thought of her c

How and to what effect does Mahfouz employ stream of consciousness narration in the novel? Stream of consciousness is a technique inside The Thief and the Dogs utilized by Naguib Mahfouz in order to show the inner thoughts of the protagonist Said Mahran. Even as the plot unfolds, the author applies stream of consciousness as a tool to signal foreshadowing. The plot starts with the protagonist walking away from the prison. Mahfouz does not indicate to the readers why or how he got into the prison directly. What Mahfouz does was to give background information to the audience through letting them read the inner 'streams of consciousness narration'.  In other words, the stream of consciousness acts as a tool for letting Mahfouz foreshadow that can 'go on with the flow'. In other words, stream of consciousness allows the readers to understand the emotions and get engaged with the protagonist. Moreover, the way Mahfouz utilizes stream of consciousness is significant c