[ENGLISH] The Thief and the Dog - Fate and Free Will
How does Mahfouz illustrate how fate is a major determiner of one’s happiness in life?
Throughout the course of the novel, we can see that Mahfouz is trying to show that fate is a major determiner of one's happiness in life which may have been influenced by cultural and religious influences of Egypt. Mahfouz has portrayed this with the protagonist, Said Mahran, throughout the novel. Being brought up in an underprivileged family with various obstacles he has to face throughout his adolescence, Said is fated to go through such hardships. After he has been released from prison, he realises that he is fated to pursue the path of revenge and violence even though there are other paths that nature has presented him such as the path of love to Nur. This may mean that he is blinded by his lack of understanding of how the world works which may also be limited to his initial upbringing. He sees that seeking revenge of what Rauf Ilwan and Ilish Sidra had done to him which may have affected his mental stability is a path that is pre-determined by nature itself.
If we look closely at the stream of consciousness narrative, we see that Mahfouz is trying to show us that free will is the major determier of one's happiness in life but as the story goes along it seems that Mahfouz is showing that Siad is fated to follow such path due to external circumstances that Said may not have a say in.
Throughout the course of the novel, we can see that Mahfouz is trying to show that fate is a major determiner of one's happiness in life which may have been influenced by cultural and religious influences of Egypt. Mahfouz has portrayed this with the protagonist, Said Mahran, throughout the novel. Being brought up in an underprivileged family with various obstacles he has to face throughout his adolescence, Said is fated to go through such hardships. After he has been released from prison, he realises that he is fated to pursue the path of revenge and violence even though there are other paths that nature has presented him such as the path of love to Nur. This may mean that he is blinded by his lack of understanding of how the world works which may also be limited to his initial upbringing. He sees that seeking revenge of what Rauf Ilwan and Ilish Sidra had done to him which may have affected his mental stability is a path that is pre-determined by nature itself.
If we look closely at the stream of consciousness narrative, we see that Mahfouz is trying to show us that free will is the major determier of one's happiness in life but as the story goes along it seems that Mahfouz is showing that Siad is fated to follow such path due to external circumstances that Said may not have a say in.
Comments
Post a Comment