‘Stream of Consciousness’ is a technique that was first used in the late 19th Century that broke away from the formality of Victorian literature. This technique allows the audience to experience the “emotional, moral, and intellectual thought” from inside a character’s mind, and explored new points of view, beyond the traditional first or third person narration.
With The Thief and The Dogs, Mahfouz starts to write shorter and faster-paced psychological novels, using stream of consciousness narratives. Rather than presenting a full and colorful picture of society as he does in previous realistic novels, Mahfouz concentrates on the inner workings of the individual psyches and its interaction within the social and cultural context. Mahfouz’s style ranges from realistic to impressionistic to surrealist, using a pattern of evocative language and imagery that binds the work together.
Said continuously indulges in long and passionate internal monologues with himself, throughout the novel. Due to his self-denying predisposition, he suffers both internally and externally. Said is unable to come to good terms with his society, and finds it hard to reconcile himself to the bitter reality, which surrounds him. By employing the stream of consciousness narration, Mahfouz presents the protagonist’s inner thoughts as the flow of life and something beyond human control. We, the audience, side with him as we are affected by his torment and suffering, being made painfully aware of his flow of thoughts.
Said’s thoughts and his interpersonal interaction with his interlocutors are loaded with meaning in their Egyptian context. Mahfouz’s careful diction and structures play an important role in the psychological portrayal of an unjustly imprisoned man.
The audience tends to accept Said’s interpretations as we keep developing empathy for him. Mahfouz combines dialogic interactions and monologues in order to subtly engage the reader in favor of Said. He portrays him, in his plights and predicaments as an oppressed and exploited character. Mahfouz skillfully uses the stream of consciousness narration to effectively enhance Said’s characterization. Said’s internal crisis is portrayed explicitly through the stream of consciousness narration.
Great blogpost!
ReplyDeleteAfter defining the stream of consciousness and how Naguib Mahfouz has adopted it within his story, you went on and put forth the effect of it on the audience by saying: "We the audience, side with him as we are affected by his torment and suffering, being made painfully aware of his flow of thoughts." I completely agree with this statement. The blogpost would have been slightly better if you had considered Mahfouz's intended effect on the audience and whether or not he has achieved it or not, linking that with cultural and historical context of the story at the time.