Stream of Consciousness

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 considering the context of the novel written. Mahfouz did not publish The Thief and the Dogs in a traditional manner; due to the censorship and the pressure given by the Egyptian government towards revolutionary novels, he had to publish chapter by chapter through news magazines. In order for Mahfouz to publish a revolutionary novel, he would have needed to use the protagonist to portray his opinions. To effectively do so, the stream of consciousness is utilized. Moreover, Mahfouz was the first Arab writers to ever use the technique of stream of the consciousness. I believe that when the audience first encountered the stream of the consciousness, they would have appreciated this technique, leading even the government to also be interested in Mahfouz's writing.

Furthermore, stream of consciousness is an effective tool for characterization of Said Mahran. Stream of consciousness illustrates the past of the protagonist and also shows the deep emotion of Said. Adding on, by only providing the stream of consciousness of Said, Mahfouz limits the perspective and knowledge of the audience. Even though the novel is written in third person, the way that Mahfouz constantly switches to stream of consciousness limits the novel to be first person limited. As the readers gain a limited view, this will be an effective tool for creating tension. As the genre of The Thief and the Dogs is crime suspense, the tension created will drift the readers into the novel.

Moreover, considering the fact that Said Mahran shares characteristics of an anti hero, the readers can watch how Said fails in his plans. For example, at the end of the plot where Said believes that he successfully ran away from the police, we as a reader can associate the triumphant emotion that Said portrays. This further builds characterization of Said. Said illustrates rage and revenge throughout the plot due to his sense of betrayal he feels to those that he trusted the most. Without the stream of consciousness, the readers would not be able to understand the rage Said holds. However, as we have the stream of consciousness, we are able to understand the deep rage Said portrays to the people around him. 

Overall, the stream of consciousness utilized by Mahfouz acts as an significant tool for both characterization and foreshadowing. Not only it acts to characterize Said, but also serves to characterize others. For instance, the past of Ilwan, Said's old friend, is presented through the stream of consciousness. How Said remembers Ilwan is clearly different from the current state of Ilwant which acts as a strong contrast. The way that Mahfouz utilizes stream of consciousness is significant and unique in many aspects.