The Thief and the Dog: Stream of Consciousness

Stream of consciousness is a narrative technique that depicts the different emotional, physiological, and subconscious states to form one's awareness. In effect, the readers are exposed to the mind of the character without any restrictions. This technique is usually shown in the form of internal monologues.

Within the novel, Mahfouz makes use of both third-person omniscient view and internal monologues of said, making the readers understand Said's harsh circumstances such as betrayal of his wife and mentor, Rauf. This technique is especially evident in chapter 11 where Said finds out that it was not Rauf he had shot but it was Rauf's body guard and following this, Nur leaves Said. This chain of externalities is depicted thoroughly and candidly through the third omniscient view, but the readers are exposed to the emotional breakdown of Said through the italicized internal monologues. Thus, marking Said's peripeteia, a change in fortune, and Said's later death is foreshadowed through the death imagery elucidated by diction like 'graveyard'. Because the readers become aware of his unfortunate fate when Said himself cannot, this increase the tension required for a crime thriller.

Furthermore, Said becomes blur in his decisions and becomes irrational as shown by internal monologues and especially when he falls asleep and has a dream that is completely contradictory of the actual situation. In the dream, he imagines himself being vindicated by the common people for being an undercover hero working towards the equal distribution within Egypt. However, this is not the case, as the publicity stands against him; there are news and headlines about Said's crime. This clear disparity highlights his irrationality. Such heroic and competent characterization stands in clear contrast with Said’s failure to rob Rauf’s house, his murder on two innocent people and his eventual downfall. It is important to take note of the combination of both omniscient third-person narration and stream of consciousness narration feeding to the characterization of Said’s dual perspective of justice and revenge.

It is also important to take the context of production into account. As learnt in class, it was after the post-revolution of Egypt, and with this in mind, Mahfouz employs the stream of consciousness style in a deliberate and precise fashion to express his ideologies through the protagonist Said who is constantly characterized as a tragic hero experiencing a contextual movement under Nasser. In chapter 1, for example, as soon as Said is released from prison, the readers are exposed to Said's spiteful monologue regarding his revenge against Ilish and Nabawiyya. This is explicitly shown in the quote: "Nabawiyya. Ilish. Your two names merge in my mind...You'll be watching now, but I won't fall into the trap. At the right moment, instead, I'll strike like Fate.” When the readers are presented with this quote, they are presented with a sudden exposition which they believe to be the driving force of the whole plot. Right away, this motive imbues excitement and suspense they expect from the crime thriller novel. Adding on, this novel has been the pioneering novel of Modernism in Arab canon. At the same time, Mahfouz opens a new realm of psychological realism which allows authors to elicit complexities. 

In comparison to Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart, they clearly use different narrative styles: One using a circumlocutory style and the other using a stream of consciousness. Each is used deliberately by each authors in accordance with the historical, political and cultural contexts.