The Thief and the Dogs passage analysis: characterization
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 crossed his mind, the heat and the dust, the hatred and pain all disappeared, leaving only love to glow across a soul as clear as a rain-washed sky.
Analysis:
This passage is located on the first page of the book. On chapter one the novel unfolds with a grasping image and description of the scenery that the protagonist, Said, is in. As the book starts, this passage allows the reader to be educated with background knowledge about Said. The diction utilized such as prison gate and unconfessable miseries illustrates that Said had been imprisoned for four years. This background knowledge adds on to the characterization of Said. Mahfouz is characterizing Said to be a criminal that is seeking for revenge.
Moreover, the stream of consciousness presented is significant in the characterization of Said. The two names mentioned - Nabawiyya and Illish - presents that Said is remembering them despite the harsh conditions. This characterization will establish a greater sense of betrayal Said will experience as the plot unfolds since the readers already know that Said holds a sense of hatred towards them.
Adding on, Said's stream of consciousness switches to Sana, his daughter. The diction utilized by Mahfouz when depicting emotions of Said when he remembers Sana is clearly distinctive from that of when he remembers Illish and Nabawiyya. This characterizes Said to be a person who is deeply in love with Sana to the extent where he can forget about the unjust situations he experienced. Mahfouz have intentionally characterized Said to hold love towards Sana in order to establish a greater impact of mental deterioration he would experience when Sana rejects him later on in the plot.
Mental deterioration is a significant aspect in characterizing Said as this will cause him to act in impromptus ways which would result in his fall as a tragic hero archetypes.
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 crossed his mind, the heat and the dust, the hatred and pain all disappeared, leaving only love to glow across a soul as clear as a rain-washed sky.
Analysis:
This passage is located on the first page of the book. On chapter one the novel unfolds with a grasping image and description of the scenery that the protagonist, Said, is in. As the book starts, this passage allows the reader to be educated with background knowledge about Said. The diction utilized such as prison gate and unconfessable miseries illustrates that Said had been imprisoned for four years. This background knowledge adds on to the characterization of Said. Mahfouz is characterizing Said to be a criminal that is seeking for revenge.Moreover, the stream of consciousness presented is significant in the characterization of Said. The two names mentioned - Nabawiyya and Illish - presents that Said is remembering them despite the harsh conditions. This characterization will establish a greater sense of betrayal Said will experience as the plot unfolds since the readers already know that Said holds a sense of hatred towards them.
Adding on, Said's stream of consciousness switches to Sana, his daughter. The diction utilized by Mahfouz when depicting emotions of Said when he remembers Sana is clearly distinctive from that of when he remembers Illish and Nabawiyya. This characterizes Said to be a person who is deeply in love with Sana to the extent where he can forget about the unjust situations he experienced. Mahfouz have intentionally characterized Said to hold love towards Sana in order to establish a greater impact of mental deterioration he would experience when Sana rejects him later on in the plot.
Mental deterioration is a significant aspect in characterizing Said as this will cause him to act in impromptus ways which would result in his fall as a tragic hero archetypes.
"Mental deterioration is a significant aspect in characterizing Said as this will cause him to act in impromptus ways which would result in his fall as a tragic hero archetypes."
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