The Thief and the Dogs - Stream of Consciousness

        Stream of consciousness is a technique used by the writer to show inside the mind of the main character. In The Thief and the Dogs, the readers are exposed to the twisted mind of the main character, Said. Mahfouz uses stream of consciousness as a way to develop the main character and the overall theme of the novel. When going inside Said’s head, the reader is able to understand the theme of revenge and hatred on a level that could not simply be understood through the narration. From the first page of the novel, the change in text to italics signals the beginning of Saids thoughts. Throughout the novel, italics are used to go inside Said’s head. Being released from jail marks his quest for hate fueled revenge. It is important to know that the original book in Arabic did not have italics. The English translation then used the italics to switch from indirect to direct monologue, thus enriching the stream of consciousness present in the novel. Through being able to go in his head, the reader is able to sympathize with Said. With that being said, it’s difficult not to question Said’s sanity. . The stream-of- consciousness technique used in “The Thief and The Dogs,” is generally different then Naguib Mahfouz’s other work- which tends to be grounded in a more realistic fiction idea.

            The book is very fast paced and switches between several types of narration throughout. The most commonly used form of narration is indirect narration. Soliloquys and direct narration are italicized throughout then novel and go into Said’s thoughts directly. There are abrupt shifts in narration. Throughout the novel, it is clear that Said’s thoughts are evolving as he becomes more fueled by anger and hatred. There is a shift in tone after Said’s daughter rejects him. The narration switches to indirect right after he is rejected and it is clear that it marks the time that Said loses a part of his sanity. His thoughts switch from hatred and turn into anger and a desire of revenge. The one thing that kept him sane was the thought of his daughter and the loss of that drives him over the edge.

            When the reader is able to psychologically understand Said, they are able to understand his external problems that contributed to his internal struggle, thus helping the reader understand this revolutionary counter narrative and the flawed society that Mahfouz is writing about. Because it was a heavy time of censorship, Mahfouz used his characters crazed mind to skillfully explain the problems that he is facing. As Said’s thoughts become more irrational, the reader crafts an idea of his external struggles. In this way, Mahfouz used Said’s internal thoughts as a social commentary of the post-revolution Egypt.       

            With this all being said, several problems arise when and author decides to use a stream of consciousness technique. Firstly, a decay of plot is possible because writers become so entangled in the thoughts and experiences of the character that they often forget to complete a plot. Secondly, the character itself becomes so tangled in the deep psychological thoughts that the writer often disregards the outward appearance that the character is. The writer often believes that the most inner thoughts of the character is impossible to depict to the outside reader, often causing a clash of thoughts in the writer. When these things change, the theme then will change as a result and will lose its meaning.

            Overall, Mahfouz revolutionized Arab writing through his use of the stream of consciousness in The Thief and the Dogs.