Stream of consciousness in TATD

How and to what effect does Mahfouz employ stream of consciousness narration in the novel?

Stream of consciousness is a form of narration that depicts the multitude of thoughts and emotions that go through the protagonist's mind. This method provides a coherent flow of thoughts in the sense that the mechanism very close to the human experience in terms of thought process.  This narrative technique is largely used throughout the novel, and provides a very detailed and complex characterisation of Said Mahran. From the first chapter, Said's intentions of revenge are revealed, through his inner monologue, as his anger is being expressed in a self-explanatory way that the omniscient narrator does not need to touch base on. The escalation of his need for revenge also evolves throughout the book, as readers witness his reaction to the changes that had occurred during his four years in prison. Stream of consciousness characterises Said Mahran as a more despicable character as the plot goes on, and even when readers are made aware of the difficult past he may have had, there is less pity felt for it. This is shown in the ungrateful reaction he had when Rauf offered him money and he refused in the fourth chapter. In this instance, stream of consciousness is essential, as if Said had not voiced his feeling of betrayal seeing that Rauf abandoned his ideals, readers would have assumed he had been struck by jealousy. Said is characterised as spiteful and reckless from external characters, that all claim to know him well (chapter 1 the detective, another chapter Nur said it etc). However, the characterisation of Said from his thoughts shows the different layers of his thought process and how himself lost who he is after 4 years of prison, being guided by his feeling of betrayal, and a sense of loss for a present that looks nothing like his life before prison. 

Oftentimes, Said employs animal imagery to describe his traitors as dogs, which further allows readers to understand his sense of betrayal and almost dehumanisation of his enemies, facilitating his distorted view of the world and his thoughts of murder or committing crime. He calls the people that had betrayed him dogs, which from chapter 3 onwards, becomes mixed entities, rather than the distinct people that have betrayed him. As the plot progresses, there is also use of animal imagery to describe himself, which highlights his loss of control, but also the loss of the capability to think through his actions rather than impulsively act upon them. This also emphasizes his inability to learn from prior mistakes and develops the idea that prison does not change people's nature. Stream of consciousness also contributes largely to the tone and mood of the text, as the plot progresses, not only is Said more driven by his anger, but his despair as well. There is also a revelation of his inner conflict, as even if he is actively considering harming "the dogs", he still aspires for a calm life, which Nur almost gave him by the end of the plot a desire to do so. In addition in chapter 7, he does reveal he will spare Nabbawiyya, as she is the mother of her daughter and he would not want to harm her. Moments like these catalyse Said's rigid nature, however, the stream of consciousness method does favorise the escalation of his thoughts as he believes that the thought of his daughter is negative and holds him back from accomplishing his true goal.This method of narration also allows Said to be able to justify his actions, like why he wants revenge so badly from the "dogs" or what had made him get into burglary in the first place (chapter 11) as he had a difficult life.

Naguib's context of creation is also very essential to consider, as himself in an interview claims he subjected his confusions and paranoia into the thoughts of Said, as he displays these two emotions abundantly. There could be a parallelism between Said's feeling of betrayal towards Rauf's abandonment of his ideals and Mahfouz's dissatisfaction of the results of the Egyptian revolution. The societal issue of elitist society, which was thought to be overthrown with the monarchy but was not, can be examplified in Said's stream of consciousness monologue in the begining of chapter 4. This form of narration splits the writer and the protagonist into two different entities, but also allows Naguib to be able to portray his dislike towards the political climate in an implicit way, as there had been strict censorship after the revolution.

Extension- Comment on how Mahfouz’s narrative style or purpose shares similarities or differences with Achebe.

It is notable that both narrative styles chosen by the writters assure understanding of the context of the story and plot. They are done in a subtle way that encourages the reader themselves to shape their own opinion of the characters, almost like historians shaping historiography. However, it is still different, even if they both have omniscient narrative style, as stream of consciousness does at times conflict with the narrator, or rather than just add details, it just creates more questions for the reader. Both narration styles do recognise the multiple perspectives within a story or lifetime.