Stream of Consciousness Technique Analysis

Thief and the Dogs: why does Mahfouz employ stream of consciousness narration in the novel and to what effect; purpose and the complexity of the novel, the shift of narration throughout the novel, an appreciation of language and style, advantages and limitation of this technique, use evidence from multiple chapter- connection looking at similarities or differences with things fall apart

During class, we perceived Mahfouz’s frequent shifts between various narrative techniques. This expectation has been set early from the first chapter of the novel. The novel employs interior monologue- in which we briefly perceive Said’s thoughts- indirect interior monologue- in which a third person narration is influenced by Said’s bias and perceptions of his surroundings- and soliloquy- which is quite similar to interior monologue with the slight difference of his thoughts being directed or guided by keeping a certain character in mind. The text signifies a shift from indirect monologue and objective third person narration to direct monologue, soliloquy, and stream of consciousness by italicizing the text to more easily integrate the various forms and ease the transitions into and out of Said’s mind. However, even without the italics, it is easy to distinguish between narrative styles due to their stark differences.

The text’s first instance of stream of consciousness narration occurs here: 'Confused cries seem to seep from the curbside garbage. (I swear I hate you all). Houses of temptation, their windows beckoning even when eyeless, walls scowling where plaster has fallen. And that strange lane, al-Sayrafi Lane, which brings back dark memories. Where the thief stole, then vanished, whisked away. (Woe to the traitors.) Where police who'd staked out the area had slithered in to surround you'

Mahfouz utilizes stream of consciousness narration to provide readers with additional insight into an explanation of character’s thought processes and their actions, giving a more holistic approach to characterization. Stream of consciousness can manifest in text as interior monologue or indirect monologue. In the case of direct interior monologue, it refers to a continuous ramble of the character’s thoughts while in indirect monologue, the author guides readers through the character’s thoughts. In both cases, readers gain greater understanding of character’s authentic, uninhibited, uncensored emotions and motives.

Stream of consciousness allows the reader to connect to the text on a deeper level and become more engaged with the complexity of characters at hand. However, the technique does so at the expense of a set structure usually found in novels written plainly in the third person in which sentences are constructed with a high level of articulation and syntax. The focus of stream of consciousness is to come as close as to depicting an individual’s jumble of thoughts which can be much more telling than fully thought out, edited sentences. The process gives a more accurate representation of the character’s mental processing when dealing with different events as the plot of the novel unfolds. The information presented to the reader comes directly from the character’s mind, so it may not be completely reliable. Specifically speaking of Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs, Said is a mentally disturbed character, and so this type of narration enables readers to grasp the world as Said perceives it.  Readers are able to more easily empathize with Said after contextualizing the novel through his lens of biases and beliefs, seeing as he is a character motivated more by his emotions and sentiments rather than by logic. It becomes harder to pinpoint Said as a perfect archetype of a protagonist or antagonist after growing close to the main character and understanding their internal struggles. In this aspect, Mahfouz strays from the traditional definitions of good and evil usually depicted in literature and is able to form a very multifaceted character.

Mahfouz combines the two genres of realism and stream of consciousness seamlessly. This combination makes Said's narrative more comprehensible, striking a balance between structured and unstructured writing. I would hypothesize that his reason for doing so reflects the great censorship that surrounded the era he wrote the novel in, which was several years after the Egyptian rebellion. In order to genuinely embody the opinions of the Egyptian people, connecting with laymen to identify with the novel creatively while simultaneously escaping persecution for criticizing Nasser’s post- Revolution regime.

Ultimately, both Things Fall Apart and The Thief and the Dogs provide counter narratives. The Thief and the Dogs is a counter narrative detailing the fight of Egypt’s working class with its intellectuals while Things Fall Apart details a colonial counter narrative revealing the authenticity of African culture. However, while Mahfouz relies on stream of consciousness writing specifically zoomed in on Said’s thoughts, Achebe utilizes third person omniscient to broaden the familiarity of readers with multiple characters in the novel.