Fate in Thief and The Dogs

How does Mahfouz illustrate how fate is a major determiner of one’s happiness in life?

Fate is a motif which is apparent throughout the novel, the thief and the dogs. It is presented in Said's journey as he faces numerous difficulties and hardships throughout his life which eventually lead him to his death. His tough upbringing with the death of his parents, his father from a mysterious cause and his mother through illness, allow the development for a more complex character within the novel and setup his fate from the beginning. Mahfouz constantly presents Said's constant internal battle by trying to control his own destiny, resisting fate and instead following his chances for free will. After Said leaves prison, with all the built up anger and feeling of betrayal from the closest people around him in the form of Nabawiyya, Ilish and Rauf, he chooses to go into the inevitable path of revenge and violence. His past and the ultimatum in the rejection from his daughter, alongside his pride which is a significant trait of a tragic hero as his hamartia eventually lead him to his own downfall. Throughout the novel, he is able to control his own actions, being presented with numerous chances to pursue different destinies in the form of spirituality with the Sheik or the path of love with Nur. However his past builds walls which block his ability to see these paths as potential chances he could have had, so he eventually succumbs to his own fate, by trying to control and manipulate it for his own. His actions are heavily influenced and justified by the actions of his old closest friends, the secondary characters in the books. Also, the political and revolutionary change of Egypt is a change Said cannot and would not adapt to, as he devotes his life and purpose with the ideology adapted from his old mentor, Rauf. 

Passage from Chapter 4, Pages 47-48

This passage in chapter 4 contributes to the overall characterization of the protagonist and tragic hero, Said Mahran. This is done with the increasing complexity and the continuity of the theme of revenge and his inability to move away from the past in order to accept the reality that things and people have changed in his absence while in jail for 4 years. Through this stream of consciousness narrative technique, the author is able to explore deeply into Said's mental process and his motivations. More specifically, in this passage, Said is further characterized as a man with a significantly revengeful nature, seen by when he says "The other Rauf Ilwan has gone" "like Nabawiyya's love or Illish's loyalty" The author compares the actions of betrayal and change in personality and relations of Rauf with that of his ex-wife and his former friend.

Rauf Ilwan's change in personality and betrayal, as seen from Said's perspective, is a significant one for Said as he was a mentor to him, someone who shaped his ideologies. The actions of Rauf with Said are described with the use of repetition and anaphora of "His" at the start of every sentence, this is done with the purpose of showing all the actions that Rauf is doing and how differently and staged it all is. There is also a juxtaposition added in order to support Rauf's role in his life and his deep betrayal which further enhances the complexity of the protagonist, this is seen with "You made me and now you reject me". This indirect internal monologue continues with the exploration of his thoughts and reflection back on the anger that fills his mind with that of the people who changed and represent his emotional instability. His Hubris is shown as "I wish i could penetrate your soul as easily as I've penetrated your house" this shows his overconfidence which proved to be his eventual hamartia as it is later revealed how he fails in his mission and gets caught by Rauf himself. He is characterized as particularly stubborn and someone who has grown extensive grudges as he starts to classify Rauf as in the same category of people who have betrayed him and left him behind in the past, such as Nabawiyya and Ilish. This is seen with "Nabawiyya disguised as Rauf, Rauf disguised as Nabawiyya, or Ilish Sidra in place of both". The passage ends as the author adds animal imagery and a simile comparing the need of these people betraying him "like a cat creeping on its belly toward a bewildered sparrow". In order to emphasize his emotional instability and how his sense perception mixes with his self conscious thoughts in order to create this image of the people who betrayed him and therefore create a representation of his intentions in getting revenge later on in the chapter.