Passage Analysis (Chapter 14)

The Thief and the Dogs is a novel written by Naguib Mahfouz, which interprets the story of Said Mahran, a thief who is betrayed by his wife Nabawiyya and friend Illish which then leads to him going to jail and losing his daughter. Throughout the novel Said has a desirable thirst to kill them both as well as his ex mentor,  Rauf Ilwan. As the story progresses we see how Said starts to  develop in to a complex character who struggles to deal with himself and the outside world. The complexity of Said’s character and his ego is intriguing and makes the novel an interesting read.

In this passage from chapter 14 of The Thief and dogs, we see how Said , who at this point in time is a broken man incapable of controlling his impetuous 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” 

Establish how Said is a tragic hero

• What is Said's tragic flaw? (harmatia)

Said's constant desire for revenge can be interpreted as his main tragic flaw. Another of Saids tragic flaw would be the fact that he seems to be very hypocritical and tends to not look as both sides of the story, he also seems to go with his actions not thinking about the trail of trouble that he is leaving behind. This is one of the main characteristics that had ,later on in the novel, lead to his downfall. An example from the text would be a quote from him, "“To kill them both Nabawiyya and Illish at the same time, would be a triumph”, his constant expressing of hate towards other characters in the play is considered as his main tragic flaw, since it lead to him getting shot at towards the end of the novel

• How does he display excessive pride? (hubris)

 Throughout the novel, Said tend to blame other characters for being the ones held responsible for  al the trouble and struggles that he is going through, never having himself to blame. He even blamed Sana for not recognizing him "I have no faith in all her sex", the previous line shows how his thinking is that of a 3 year old boy, blaming Sana when she hasn't seen him for all these  years. This shows how excessively his character displays pride, as he sees that he himself is flawless and never to blame to what is happening between him and the other characters in the novel.

• When is his reversal of fortunes? (peripeteia)

Said's reversal of fortunes occurred at the moment when Rauf rejects him for who he truly is, “If I set eyes on you again,” Rauf bellowed, “I’ll squash you like an insect" that is the quote that Rauf said from the text,  This tells us  how Said is now on his own and knows that no body has his back due to the fact that Rauf once used to be his mentor and close friend, but now he is just another upperclass individual who Said attempted to steal from. 

• At what moments in the text does he recognize that the reversal was due to his own actions? (anagnorisis)

There were many moments in the text where he does recognize the reversal was due to his own actions. One of the main moments in the text was when he begged Rauf to not call the police on him. He then realizes that his actions were wrong.  Said deliberately broke into his house in the evening  when Rauf was sleeping. “Yes, I do, but please don’t.” Said says that after Rauf said, “No? Don’t you deserve it?". This shows how Said acknowledges his mistake , and begs Rauf not to call the police, showing that he knows that the reversal of fortunes is due to his own actions.

• Is his fate greater than he deserved? (nemesis)

 In Said case I indeed do believe that his fate was not greater than what he deserved. He deserved everything that got to him due to the fact that he took a path which would eventually lead him to his own destruction. What goes around comes around and everyone must go through life reporting to their own actions. If their actions are good then they must be rewarded, if they are bad then they must suffer the consequences of their actions. Said had to suffer the consequences for his own actions no matter his intentions whether he believed his actions were right or wrong. 

Stream of Consciousness ---- Thief and The Dogs

   Stream of consciousness is a writing technique used by the author in order to show the inside of the main characters mind. In The Thief and the Dogs, the readers are given the opportunity to view ideas and certain opinions about certain situations through the  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 swell as help the audience relate to the main character in a more efficient way. When the novel gives us an insight on what is going on  inside the main characters head, the audience is able to understand the theme of revenge and hatred on a level that could not simply be understood through simple narration. Mahfouz wanted to give us a greater insight on the main characters hunger for vengeance as well as his eagerness to see his daughter an also the pain he feels and all the thoughts going through the main characters mind through the main characters point of view. From the first page of the novel, the change in text to italics tell the audience that the main character is thinking and that we are now inside the main characters head. 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 zooming into the stream of consciousness that is present in the novel. Through being able to go in his head, the reader is able to relate to Said better. The stream of  consciousness technique used in the novel by Mahfouz is generally different then Naguib Mahfouz’s other work which tends to be grounded in a more realistic fiction idea.

In the novel "The Thief and the Dogs", Naguib uses this narration to express Said's thoughts as mentioned before. By shifting and changing between different styles, it allows the audience to dive deeper into the main characters thoughts and significantly bring them back to the reality of his situation. This develops Said as a character due to the fact that  several traits and emotions are clearly expressed in a more efficient manner. It also allows the readers to relate to the main character with his position and his situation in the story. For example, Mahfouz uses this type of narration during Saids first confrontation with his daughter as a free man. His daughter's rejection brings to him the feelings of humiliation and anger. Another example would be every time Said think about his betrayal, which brings back Saids intentions for revenge and retaliation, and serves as an elucidation for these motives. moreover, it creates a larger significance on the reader as they are exposed to Said's distinctive situation. This technique is successfully exposed throughout the whole novel. Through the use of internal soliloquies  and sudden drifts to different types of third person narration, the main characters story is revealed in a circular plot. There is a clear line  presented between past and present, which aids the reader to sense that Said can possibly be in a certain state of remembrance especially during the start of the novel. Saids choices and motives are highly influenced from past events, so it was critical for Mahfouz to include the shift to the past in order to show us the root to all of Saids troubles as well as where all his ideas originate in order to relate to Said and help develop Said's character more efficiently. 

Literature in Translation

Literature in Translation

  Recently there has been a significant increase in the study of literature in translation from languages that were previously unrecognized on a global scale. There are many reasons as to why one must study literature in translation and its importance and the effect it could have on an individual. Studying literature helps us discover and indulge in different cultures and explore a different style of thinking as well as different ideologies than the ones we own. Translating a text requires an ideal amount of studying due to it being a very difficult task due to various reasons. In order to be successful at the task, one must indulge in different cultures and become proficient in the understanding of different beliefs and values. Reading a translated book could be more difficult and complicated than is seems, due to the fact that some meanings and certain characters could have a significant meaning in a certain culture, and another meaning in another culture. This then cause significant meanings to be lost due to a difference in the way certain aspects of the stories are perceived and distinguished. In certain languages, some words cannot be translated word for word, this causes a mass confusion in certain meanings within certain texts/novels/stories. 

Paper 2 - TFA (Thesis + Outline)


Thesis Statement

Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" portrays Africa, particularly the Ibo society, right before the arrival of Europeans. Things Fall Apart analyzes the destruction of African culture by the appearance of the white man in terms of the destruction of the bonds between individuals and their society. Achebe, who teaches us a great deal about Ibo society and translates Ibo myth and proverbs, but most importantly, he emphasizes on how social status plays a big role in the culture.The Ibos rely on one's successes to determine how much one should be respected. In Umuofia, it appears that the big factors in success are the amount of wives and barns that a man has as well as a man social status. Social status plays a big role in characterization, especially with Okonkwo. 

Outline:

Body 1

• The role of social class in Umofia

Body 2

The importance of social class to Okonkwo 

Body 3

How Achebe uses social class as a major contribution to characterization. 

Paper 1 Practice

Paper 1 “Why Fight For Russia”

The following extract that I have received is a leaflet, or one could see it as a brochure. This is decided due to the structure of the extract as well as the heading of the extract, which seems to be advertising the author’s point of view. On the bottom of the page, certain information was given to us about the extract received indicating that the following extract is a leaflet made by a British pacifist in 1914. Since the extract talks about fighting and due to the date given to us, we can now understand that this leaflet revolves around the First World War. This essay is an attempt to analyze this extract identifying the author’s purpose and intended audience as well as different persuasive language and also differ literary features that the author has used in the leaflet provided to us.

As we already understand from reading the text, the extract is a leaflet given to British soldiers as well as the British general public, persuading them to not fight with Russia and not fight the war in the first place. It also attempts to persuade the people to protest against thee war. From this we can then go to understand the purpose of this leaflet is to inform the general public as well as the soldiers about the author’s true opinions on Russia, as well as to persuade the people that fighting in this war would be against British morals. The leaflet talks about Russia’s unethical values so this then helps us understand the purpose of the extract. We can also learn who the authors intended audience are, which from what we already know, are the British general public as well as British soldiers. We can see this from the authors attempt to inform and educate the public and the British army as well as the general public, and the due to the author explaining to the army to not fight with Russia and to not fight the war if they can, and to protest against the war.

As we have learnt from the previous paragraph as well as from the information given to us on from the extract, we come to understand the extract is a leaflet or a brochure which acts as an advertisement used to advertise the authors ideas and point of views about Russia and why he believes that fighting with Russia and fighting in this war is unethical and goes against British morals. He also talks about how the Russians go against all of the British ideologies about liberty and justice, due to the fact that he talks about how the Russians treat their soldiers and how they don’t match the British ideologies of the western world. The leaflet goes on to explain how the country they should side with if they are forced to fight , are the Germans due to their similarities  and how the Russians are different to the Germans and they they are slaves of a corrupt autocracy and they are just violent people in genera and they again go against British ideologies of liberty and justice. The author goes on to explain how he is against the what and actually persuading the general public to take part in protests against England taking part in the war.

As we can see from reading the extract that the author uses a persuasive as well as an informative tone. This is a sort of tone that a teacher would use with their students. The author uses a type of vocabulary that most people would understand and doesn’t use any complicated words, thus we can understand that he is attempting to communicate with everyone in the general public from all different educational levels. The author also uses a large, bold font to catch the readers eye and to grab their attention as he uses sentences such as “A WAR for Russia is a War Against Civilization”, as well as “British Stand Clear”. These types of phrases draw the reader into reading the leaflet and make the leaflet seem more interesting that it actually is. It also shows and acts as if the leaflet is trying to inform the people of a really important situation and a crucial piece of information. The author uses a interesting title that say simply “Why fight for Russia?”, Which then makes the audience curious as to find out what the answer of this rhetorical question is as it has been on peoples minds as thy observe the leaflet to read the authors point of views. It also makes then curious as they want to see if the authors point of view might change their opinion about the war or not.  This then sets an educational mood and it seems as if the audience are learning something and gaining information about Russia’s true colors. It also sets an opinionated tone, which then causes the audience to change their point of view on the war itself.

The author uses many literary devices as well as persuasive language to aid in his persuasion of the British public and the soldiers in not fighting the war as well as not fighting with Russia. The author uses logos as he explains and talks about the amount of money they spent. They also use logos later on as the author explains the amount of Germans compared to the amount of Russians to show they if they ere to fight the war, they had to fight with Germany as they are outnumbered. The author also uses pathos as he explains the audience about the similarities between them and the Germans and how that the Germans are outnumbered thus persuading them to , if they had to fight the war, to side with Germany. The author uses Rhetorical questions to keep the audience thinking and interested to find the answer. The author uses rhetorical questions such as “ What is Russia”, and “Why fight for Russia”. The author uses persuasive language to help in shaping the audience’s opinion about Russia. The author also uses persuasive language as he explains how Russia are cruel not only to others, but also to their own people and how that goes against the British ideologies of justice and liberty. The author then uses ethos as he identifies how the Russians are unethical thus instigating an ethical appeal.

The author uses and unorganised structure of different paragraphs which shows unprofessionalism in the leaflet. He also uses bold and large font titles to help catch the reader’s attention as they receive the leaflet or walk past the leaflet on the street.  The author uses a simple, easily read sized font that is easy to read so that the general public could read the information with no constraints and helps connect with the audience in an easier way. The author also doesn’t use too many words and keeps his information simple and goes straight to the point so that the audience doesn’t get bored whilst reading the leaflet.

In conclusion, we have reviewed the audience and purpose and that the author used this leaflet to help persuade the audience and help shape the audience’s opinion in order to match his. The authors use of literary devices as well as persuasive language has been explained and how the author used the persuasive language in order to persuade the audience that his point of views and ideas about the war and about Russia are the right ideas and the better opinion.  

Media bias post

The prompt that I have chosen to write about is if it is acceptable for a government to try to shape public opinion through information campaigns. I disagree with this statement for many reasons. I don't strongly disagree either due to the fact that there could be a reason for the government to try to shape the publics opinion for a positive reason. After reading the article about the friendly fire that occurred and was covered up by the government to help maintain the positive image of the US military, and watching the documentary as well as analysing the leaflet, I then formed my true opinion on the matter as well as the statement, and in this blogpost I will be discussing these reasons thoroughly.

The article shows how stubborn the government were in this situation due to the fact that friendly fire occurs in wars, it is a normal thing and is seen as a mistake. After the incident occurred where Pat Tillman was shot down by his own troops in a friendly fire situation, the U.S government should have informed the Pat's mother about the incident exactly as it occurred as the mother and the family had an absolute right to know how her son died, especially in an incident like this. The mother had every reason to rant and write a book about the situation. The way that the media manipulated the public and shaping its opinion the U.S army shows the negative aspect of the statement. If the government told the public as well as the family the truth as it is, the publics opinion about the army would have completely changed.

We then watched a documentary called "Control Room", I realised how the media as well as the government would go so far to be able to shape the publics opinions in a certain way. In the documentary, I observed how Al Jazeera were being accused of siding the Arab public and were accused of "lying" as well as "shaping" their news so that the public only get one side of the story. The were also said to falsely accuse the Americans of performing in acts that they were predominantly not a part of. This caused the Arab public to grow hate towards Americans as well as the army. The Americans were wrong to an extent, not the extent to which Al Jazeera were reporting.

I then read a leaflet that was given to the British army during world war 1 as an attempt to help convince the soldiers to not help fight with Russia during the war. The truth is that the government should not give the people one side of the story and ask them to choose sides when they have no information or any clue about the other side. The government as well as the media, should give the people both sides of the story, and then ask them to choose sides so at least they are aware and would be able to choose according to what they believe to be true.