The Thief and the Dogs
consists of a complex narration whereby Naguib Mahfouz alters between third
person narrative, soliloquy and interior monologue – both direct and indirect.
Mahfouz intentionally creates such a diverse dialogue to enhance the level of
interaction between the character Said Mahran and the reader. Mahfouz wrote
this novel to bring to light his own personal confrontations with the new
Egyptian regime and the conscience suffered by the Egyptian intellectuals
during that period of prevalent disaffection. This encouraged Mahfouz to
experiment with an impressionistic writing style rather than realist, and
represents his psychological implications through a “stream of consciousness”.
Said Mahran, the central figure of the story, essentially becomes Mahfouz and
personifies his mental agony in which he seeks revenge against the corrupt
society of Egypt at the time.
The “stream of consciousness” narration is quite suitable to
communicate the uncensored inner thoughts of the protagonist before him/her has
formulated them in a rational way. The style of this narration is known as
direct interior monologue whereby the narrator disappears and the thoughts of
the character are presented as if this person was speaking aloud. The interior
monologue further amplifies the character’s connection to the reader, as the
audience is exposed to exclusive emotions and views that define and justify the
character’s personality. Example: “You must pull together all the cunning you
possess, to culminate in a blow as powerful as your endurance behind prison
walls. Here is a man – a man who can dive like a fish, fly like a hawk, scale
walls like a rat, pierce solid doors like a bullet!” The reader is provided
with the protagonist’s despair when it comes to Ilish (also referred to as ‘the
dog’) but meanwhile – throughout the rest of the novel – the reader also
obtains intimate and authentic impressions of the values and structures of
Egyptian society of the period: “Where have all your principles gone now, Rauf?
Dead, no doubt, like my, father and my mother and like my wife’s fidelity.”