Skip to main content

Stream of Consciousness

How, why, and to what effect does Mahfouz use stream-of-consciousness narration in the novel?

Consider:
    • the stream of consciousness narrative technique and how it is used to characterize Said Mahran
    • specific elements of language and style and its effect
    • Mahfouz’s context of production
    • Mahfouz’s literary context
In order to respond to this prompt effectively you are required to use evidence from multiple chapters in the text.
Extension- Comment on how Mahfouz’s narrative style or purpose shares similarities or differences with Achebe.
Minimum 600 words


In the novel "The Thief and the Dogs" Naquib Mahfoux uses two styles of writing, standard 3rd-person and stream-of-consciousness narration. Stream-of-consciousness narration is the flow of thoughts in the minds of characters, in this case the author consistently reveals the inner thoughts of Said Mahran, the protagonist. Said is largely characterized by the exposure of his mind to the audience as it reveals intensity and depth of his nature.  Therefore, the reader is able to see the amount of revenge and anger that Said feels, which has the effect of explaining his violent crimes against Irish Sidra and Rauf.  These acts would otherwise be difficult to communicate through a standard narration describing the plot in the novel. It allows for the reader to empathize with Said despite his murderous acts being terrible in nature. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MLK Response

In the speech “ I have a dream” written by Martin Luther King, metaphors and hyperboles are used to evoke a sense of empathy and support from all Americans. Conveying a message that his dream of racial justice and freedom is for both blacks and whites. Luther compares the massive suffering of the African American community more relatable hardships such as "being bound in chains", "sweltering heat" and "a lonely island of poverty". These metaphors intertwined with hyperboles are far more easy to picture than racial oppression and police brutality.  Furthermore, Luther uses repetition to emphasize on his message of freedom. With every point he tries to make Luther uses  repetition  to  genuinely  impact his audience. Such as " But  one hundred years later , the Negro still is not free.  One hundred years later , the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.  One hundred years l...
7 comments
Read more
Oh hello people, let me introduce myself. My name is Milly, I am from the Netherlands but also have a Canadian passport. Where I am from is quite complicated and explaining takes a whole lot time. At times I don't even know where I am truly from. In fact my parents wanted to move back to Canada this year, for a fear I might have an identity crisis. I have been living in Abu Dhabi for two years now, and its been the best time of my life. The culture and all the diversity is so amazing and such a breath of fresh air from a small town in Canada I used to live in.  Since I am bilingual and english is my second language, I have always struggled with writing. I hope that this year I will be able to improve on those skills. It is important to study language because language is how you communicate with others and express yourself .  The things I most care about would be my family and friends.  These are the people that get me going and the reason I wake up in the morning. I...
6 comments
Read more

For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside of Marriage

How and why is a particular social group represented in a certain way? The article "For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside of Marriage" was written for the New York times to depict single motherhood as a negative thing that increases poverty rates and the suffering of emotional and behavior problems in children. Bias by omission and bias through statistics is used throughout to marginalize single moms.  The authors have presented the social group in a bad light to support their own personal conservative ideologies. This is unfair as it is the job of journalists to be as unbiased as possible in order to highlight the other side of the story. How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? The article "For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside of Marriage" is about the negative impacts of single motherhood. The author uses bias in order to mirror his conservative ideologies. This restricts the reader only to the i...
3 comments
Read more