Class and love and marriage are three of the themes that are portrayed in Naguib Mahfouz’s Midaq Alley. The era which the story takes place is an era where societal norms began shifting towards modernity due to the impact of western colonization. Midaq Alley was written to portray a society within a larger society, which allows for analysis and comparison of the two. Cultural norms are constantly challenged throughput the novel and what is and what isn’t socially accepted is a theme that is recurrent
The story “Half a Day” by Naguib Mahfouz is a mystical tale that cannot be taken literally, but in my opinion has a very powerful message. This story brings up the ideals of conformism in society and also what is the purpose of education? The protagonist of this story does not like the idea of education for the simple reason that he states that the school is a “factory that makes men”. Mahfouz 's use of different elements of tone throughout this story pave the way for a story that is questioning
Naguib Mahfouz is the author of the book Midaq Alley that was translated from Arabic by Trevor Le Gassick. First published in 1966, Midaq Alley displays a historical period of Egypt in the most intimate sense as it is presented through the lives of the characters that inhabit the alley. Although the book is set in the early forties it possesses a taste of eternity as the reader watches the characters struggle through questions of morality, ethics, and traditions. (The answer of which shape their
seems and when something that one does not expect happens. The classic example most commonly used is that of a fire department burning down. Irony can be found in "A Girl's Story" by David Arnason, "Araby" by James Joyce and "The Happy Man" by Naguib Mahfouz. In "A Girl's Story" David Arnason speaks directly to the reader about the process of creating a good story with interesting characters. The most obvious irony of this story is that "A Girl's Story" is written in fact by a man, therefore it should
occurred but were now a scarce occurrence. Midaq Alley is set during the 40’s when the British Army has taken a defensive position against the Nazis in the city of Cairo. Throughout the whole novel characters are brought to life by the author Naguib Mahfouz although the story conspires only a few main characters. Kirsha, is a soft owner of the café in Midaq Alley. Kirsha’s wife Mrs. Kirsha beats him, and a son Hussain Kirsha grew up with Abbas and they are friends but also rivals, Hussain Kirsha
In the novel Fountain and Tomb by Naguib Mahfouz, the reader is thrown into a small alley in Cairo, Egypt in the 1920s. The narrator is an adult reliving his childhood through many random, interesting vignettes of his youth. We learn about many different aspects of Egyptian life from political rebellion, to arranged marriages, to religious devotion, to gang warfare. We are led to conclude that one of the major themes of the book is Truth. We come to question whether Truth is something that always
Naguib Mahfouz's "Zaabalawi.” Zaabalawi is a religious narration whose main protagonist is an unnamed man with dire concerns regarding his failing health and is in search of a miracle cure. Zaabalawi is a holy person who can treat incurable disease, and the story outlines the narrator’s search for this man all over the alleys, offices, and streets in the city. As he begins the search, the narrator visits old acquaintances of Zaabalawi who have now become highly successful and materialistic but have
Midaq Alley, by Naguib Mahfouz, is a narrative told from the third person omniscient point of view. Normally, this means that the reader gets to view the happenings of each of the character’s lives from the same vantage point as God. No one in particular is telling the story, and the reader sees the story from the view of an invisible person always present at the scene. Midaq Alley is decidedly different. Mahfouz creates an impartial character that is able to observe everything that happens in
The book Midaq Alley was written by the author Naguib Mahfouz and then translated into English from Arabic by Trevor Le Gassick. The book was first published in 1966. The themes of Midaq Alley slice through the heart of the Arabic culture. Mainly it shows how a group of people living in a slum neighborhood in Egypt respond to change, a change that is both a promise and a threat of western influenced modernization. Although the book is set in the nineteen forties, the reader gets a sense of eternity
Conflicting Depictions of Female Characters in Mahfouz’s 1966 Novel Adrift on the Nile and Hussein Kamal’s 1971 Film Adaptation Upon reading Naguib Mahfouz’s Adrift on the Nile, and viewing the film of the same title released in 1972, one will undoubtedly notice the stark contrast between the portrayals of women in each of these works. Critics like Ibrahim El- Sheikh and Pamela Allegretto–Diiulio have argued that by realistically depicting the social condition of Egyptian women, Mahfouz’s literature
bypassed by history: "Many things combine to show that Midaq Alley is one of the gems of times gone by and that it once shone forth like a flashing star in the history of Cairo. Which Cairo do I mean? That of the Fatimids, the Mamlukes or the Sultans?" (Mahfouz 1). The book captures a great slice of life in the Cairo of the first half of this century. The novel does not describes the city, but in offers an insight into its culture, and into the profound social changes that took place during the 20th century
Throughout the novels of Naguib Mahfouz' Cairo Trilogy, the most noticeable element is the progression of time. In tracing the lives of three generations of the Abd al-Jawad family, Mahfouz manages to structure a chronicle of Egypt during his lifetime that describes not only the lives of the family but the social, political and philosophical change of the entire nation. While it is dangerous to read only for social analysis in Mahfouz' essentially artistic work, the changes in Egypt during the novel
Naguib Mahfouz’s Religious Ideologies Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian novelist and a winner of the Nobel Prize, was stabbed after expressing his religious philosophies in Children of the Alley (Najjar 1). The writer serves as a threat to the conservative Egyptian society. Religious militants feel endangered by the introduction of westernized ideas, which do not conform to the Egyptian culture and tradition, especially in the 1990s. Mahfouz’ stance regarding religion is veiled in his superficial neutrality
Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006), in his short story “Zaabalawi,” depicts the eponymous sheikh as a spiritual entity. Along his journey to find Zaabalawi, the main character, who remains unnamed throughout, notices many of modern Egyptian society’s flaws. Mahfouz’s main statement is that because religion is no longer held in importance to the point where it is absent in Egypt, such corruptions in the social and political spheres have taken place. The main journey also indicates that, in order to better
Obsession is one of the greatest obstacles for mankind to overcome. In Naguib Mahfouz’s Midaq Alley and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, the motif of obsession helps to both characterize and even foreshadow the fates of the characters. Both novels illustrate that obsessions with an object or person leads to demise, but the novels differ in how they portray the effects of these obsessions on humanity. Before continuing this analysis, obsession will be clearly defined. For the
Self-Determination in Arab Society Since World War Two, much of the developing world has been in transition. One such idea that saw a re-birth was that of self-determination-- be it on the national level or on the personal level. Self-determination on a national level means the independence of a country; on a personal level, it is the determination of one own fate. This can be seen in various ways with our five women characters, Maha, Um Saad, Nadia, Yusra and Suad. In the forward of Daughters