The Thief and The Dogs Text Analysis

                

_Yes, these words will glitter; they'll be crowned with a not-guilty verdict. You are sure of what you say. And apart from that, they will believe, deep down, that your profession is lawful, a profession of gentlemen at all times and everywhere, that the truly false values--yes!-are those that value your life in pennies and your death at a thousand pounds. The judge over on the left is winking at you; cheer up!_  

_"I will always seek the head of Rauf Ilwan, even as a last request from the hangman, even before seeing my daughter. I am forced not to count my life in days. A hunted man only feeds on new excitements, which pour down upon him in the span of his solitude like rain."_ 

 The verdict will be no more cruel than Sana's cold shyness towards you. She killed you before the hangman could. And even the sympathy of the millions for you is voiceless, impotent, like the longings of the dead. Will they not forgive the gun its error, when it is their most elevated master?  

"Whoever kills me will be killing the millions. I am the hope and the dream, the redemption of cowards; I am good principles, consolation, the tears that recall the weeper to humility. And the declaration that I'm mad must encompass all who are loving. Examine the causes of this insane occasion, then reach your judgement however you wish!" 

 His dizziness increased.  

Then the verdict came down: that he was a great man, truly great in every sense of the word. His greatness might be momentarily shrouded in black, from a community of sympathy with all those graves out there, but the glory of his greatness would live on, even after death. Its fury was blessed by the force that flowed through the roots of plants, the cells of animals and the hearts of men.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ANALYSIS

               This text uncovers Said’s delusional characteristic which is not only evidence of his hamartia but also his hubris, foreshadowing Said’s later downfall. This part of the novel is situated right after he finds out that he had failed to assassinate Rauf and murdered an innocent man instead, becoming drunk in despair and disappointment of his failure to kill Rauf.  Being drunk, said dreams and talks to himself, thus the text is intentionally italicized to draw a clear distinction between the third-person omniscient view and internal monologues, or in other words, the employment of stream of consciousness. Through this co-existence of both narratives, we as readers are presented with two perspectives, one from the eyes of the publicity of Egypt and the other from the eyes of Said.

               This text, in particular, consists of internal monologues which allow readers to have a glance at Said’s candid mindset. In this case, we see Said’s fervor for vengeance against those who betrayed him and his blindness to realize his wrongdoings; this goes as far as to being overconfidence about himself believing that the public will praise him like a hero. We see him assign heroic archetypes to himself throughout the text when equates his death to the death of the millions, ‘the hope’, ‘the dream’, ‘good principles’, and ‘consolation’.  However, this escalates to be his hubris as exemplified where he calls the peasants as cowards.

               In addition to attributing heroic archetypes to himself to provide justification of his killing of an innocent man, Said appeals to his losses resulting from the betrayal of his wife, mentor, and the society as a whole. Said describes himself as a ‘hunted man’ in ‘Solitude’ and implies that he has been a lone prey to all his enemies. He further adds that he ‘only feeds on new excitements’; the word, excitement, connotes the meaning of bloodthirst to kill and avenge. Said references to ‘Sana’s cold shyness’ and how even a death sentence cannot outweigh the pain, delivering an underlying statement that any consequence of killing is not enough to stop him from beheading his foes.

               The text closes with Said being vindicated and acquiring the title of ‘a great man’ whom all  living organisms-plants, animals, and humans-glorify his greatness. However, we as readers are aware of the asymmetry between Said’s delusions and the corrupt reality of Egypt. By this time of the novel, the readers have observed the “gradual downfall” or precisely, recurring peripeteia, and foresee the death of Said; the only question they have left is whether his death is larger than what he actually deserves.