The Thief
and the Dogs is the story of Said Mahran, a skilled thief who is betrayed by
his wife Nabawiyya and right hand Ilish Sidra. Throughout the novel Said has an
unquenchable thirst to kill both of them and Rauf Ilwan. As the story
progresses we see the protagonist developing as a complex character who is in
odds with himself and the outside world. The complexity of Said’s psyche is
intriguing and makes TTATD an interesting read.
In this passage
from chapter 14 of TTATD, we see Said Mahran, who at this point is a broken man
incapable of controlling his impulsive emotions. He tries to escape from Rauf’s
compound at which point he comes to a realization that the time is nearing when
he has to enter ‘one last battle’ which foreshadows a tragic death for the
protagonist. Said then hails a cab which he describes as a safe haven. Mahfouz employed
this style of writing where he compares Said’s pain from the wound being
nothing compared to the relief of being safe again. This could indicate that
Said might have been going through the same thought process as the reader that
the metaphorical wound in his heart is nothing compared to the peaceful life he
could have led.
Later when
he gets to Nur’s flat he feels the wound on his leg and identifies it as a
possibly caused by a bullet grazing him without penetrating. This draws the
attention of the readers to the fact that Said had escaped death so many times before
just as he did right now but as all cycles have it there is a peak and a trough
and the reader might foreshadow a trough where Said won’t be so lucky. The text
catches a glimpse irony when Said says “You’ll get away all right.” The style
of writing then shifts to indirect internal monologue where Said questions whether
he might have killed Rauf Ilwan. Mahfouz integrates the possibility that
another innocent person might die to foreshadow the fate of Said’s wasted life.
Said ponders
over the thought of how the bullet that killed Rauf Ilwan would destroy his sense
of loss but little does he know that he has committed a grave mistake again of
killing an innocent man. His actions will eventually lead to his death that has
no meaning to it which is something he did not want to happen to him. “A world
without morals is like a universe without gravity”
Good blog post, Rohit! I like how you explore the significance of Said realizing, for the first time, that he has been injured. Previously he considered himself to be catlike: sneaky and having many "lives" as he has frequently escaped death unscathed. Now, his actions are catching up to him. His inability to slow down is what will ultimately cost him his life.
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