Stream of Consciousness Post

  By using a stream of consciousness narration technique style in his writing, Mahfouz is able to characterize Said within the short period of time he is given, due to the fast-paced and extremely short span of time the story takes up before Said’s death, and also give context on how characters, such as Nabawiyya, may have changed drastically. When speaking of how Mahfouz uses Said’s consciousness to be able to characterize him, we are able to not only see the amount of anger and need for revenge that Said imposes and wishes to exact on his enemies like Ilish, we also see his more personal and sensitive sides. One of which is when he becomes paranoid with worry that is shown from a friend to a friend when Nur, a woman who had helped Said and had not changed during his absence, that later changes to a worry of a lover as he realizes that he loves Nur and, even after his acts of revenge and knowledge that he is a wanted man, wishes to live a life of peace with her. Another example is how Said vividly remembers the way he had tried to win the hand of Nabawiyya when she had stilled worked for the Turkish woman beside the hotel. Said is seen to be clever, a trait he openly expresses, but also kind and endearing as he constantly tries to make Nabawiyya notice him and love him the way he loves her. These memories that sprang from Said’s consciousness allow us to see Said in a more caring manner and characterize him as someone who, when they love, they love deeply. Another way Said is characterized is loyal as, when he remembers his memories with Rauf, we see how Said tried his best to meet his expectations and only answered to Rauf and the needs of the revolution rather than try to live a more calm and less politically-driven life. Even after his release, Said is shown to have strong feelings against the government and keeps his ideals against those in general who have wronged him, both characterizing himself as a loyal person to the cause of the Egyptian revolution and also making him stubborn in his thoughts as he refuses to change his stance on his ideals. This stubbornness is again shown when he refuses to stop in his need for revenge even when Nur begs him to stop killing his enemies. There is also the point that this type of narration shows contrast in characters to also give the audience the same amount of shock that Said has when he sees how much his past friends had changed into his current enemies. The first example is Ilish who, from Said’s memories, once was Said’s lackey and a loyal man to Said and his ideas but currently he abandoned his loyalty and married Nabawiyya, Said’s ex-wife, and took in his only child, Sana. Instead of showing Said respect, he mocks him with his friends and kicks Said out of his house. The second example is when Said remembers how Rauf was just a news reporter and was fighting for the revolution while teaching Said as his mentor. He was a loyal man to his values and hated the government with as much vigor as Said, until we see as Rauf himself is a prominent and rich figure, the embodiment of their past enemies, and instead of supporting the revolution and helping Said to exact revenge on those who wronged him, Rauf becomes one of those individuals and sends Said off without his support for Said’s revenge. Said, being shocked, now notes Rauf as his enemy and the story continues.