Stream Of Consciousness

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

Mahfouz revolutionized Arabic literature as her was the first author in the Arab world to use stream of consciousness within his novel. The author uses this to create a closer insight and connection into the author's mind. This is very obviously distinct from the third person narration, as it is italicized to reveal his darkest and innermost thoughts, which are normally not censored and is rational. Sa’id is the character the Mahfouz uses to manipulate the unfiltered thoughts and opinions toward the reader, making the complexity and depth of the novel much richer. Mahfouz typically uses this when Sa’id experiences very strong emotions of betrayal and anger towards the people around him.

The narration fluctuates from Third person to an indirect narration towards a direct narration when Mahfouz choses to reveal Sa’ids true emotions. This is used because it is better conveyed through a first person narration to show authenticity and to control the distance between the reader and the narrator as opposed to narrating it through a third person. This is also showing the metal state of Sa’d which gradually seems to be getting worse as the structure becomes chaotic.

Mahfouz uses this toward his advantage because it is more modernized and is a cleaner and stronger way to reveal characters unfiltered thoughts. There are more insights that are revealed to the audience compared to other literature. This is also because it follows some of the conventions of Arabic literature where every character is symbolic of something. The audience it easily found to show more emotion toward Sa’id and this is to highlight Mahfouz’s thoughts on politics and conflict within the Egyptian revolution. It also reveals internal monologue and it a very intense emotional experience.

Mahfouz, drives away from the normal conventions of Arabic literature and contextually, the themes of religion and especially society. Mahfouz chose to narrate the streets of Cairo near his hometown, where he was familiarized with the streets, making the narration richer with contextualization within the stream of consciousness. Because of this cultural embedment, there is are dual meaning between the characters making it more challenging for the audience to understand Mahfouz’s attitude towards Egyptian politics.