Revenge 

     One of the biggest themes in The Thief and the Dogs is revenge. Almost every one of Said Mahran’s thoughts and actions are based on revenge. Naguib Mahfouz wastes no time in making Said’s one goal known by having the narrator tell us of his intentions. “And the hour was coming when he would confront them, when his rage would explode and burn, when those who had betrayed him would despair unto death, when treachery would pay for what it had done” (13). Said has just been released from jail and his very first thought is of revenge, making it clear that nothing but death can quench Said’s thirst for vengeance. The very first thing that Said does when he gets out of jail is also to help him seek his revenge. He goes and sees his ex-apprentice Ilish to size up his defenses so that he may better plan his retribution. Later, he goes to the Sheik’s home, but not to gain guidance or wisdom, he simply needs a place to sleep so that he may be well rested in order to better perform his plan. However, Said’s plan is unsuccessful. He goes to the house where he believes Ilish and Nabawiyya live in order to kill them. Sadly, Said’s thirst for vengeance is so blindingly strong that he kills the man who lives there even though it is not Ilish. Said’s plans continue to go badly as he tries to kill his ex-friend Rauf at his home. Once again, his need for revenge is so strong that he does not realize the man he shoots is not Rauf, but Rauf’s doorman. Nonetheless, Said feels no remorse for killing either of these innocent people. He only laments that he still has not achieved what is apparently his only goal in life. Even right before his death, Said can not help but think of his betrayers.

Said's Stream of Consciousness

            Naguib Mahfouz employs many different themes in his novel, The Thief and the Dogs.   A very important theme is the insight into the main character’s stream of consciousness.  This is a theme only unique to a handful of novels.  Mahfouz allows the reader to see into the thoughts and emotions of Said.  The English translation places emphasis on this theme by italicizing all of Said’s thoughts.  The original version contains no italics at all.  Mahfouz’s novel was the first to be written and translated this way.  The insight to Said’s stream of consciousness is a huge asset to Mahfouz in Said’s character formation.  Said is a quiet, yet very outspoken character.  As his emotions rise, his actions speak louder than gathering information.  Said does not speak often until his emotions get the best of him, or unless he is working.  He is a thief by trade, and thieves do not generally expose their plans to people.  With all of these characteristics of the main character, how is the reader supposed to know who, what, or why Said is?  Mahfouz creates this character and allows the reader to relate to him than any other character in the novel by giving the reader his thoughts and emotions in Said’s ever changing stream of consciousness.  Mahfouz’s use of this theme is critical to the development of his story and his main character.  

Religion

            In his book, The Thief and The Dogs, Naguib Mafouz uses the theme of religion throughout the text.  He goes to the Mosque and revisits the Sheikh many times throughout the novel.  He knows that no matter what he has done, he will always be welcome in the house of the Lord.  After getting out of prison, and having his confrontation with Ilish, he goes to the Mosque because that’s the only place he is welcome.  The Sheikh tells him that he doesn’t welcome Ilish in, but the “owner of the house” (30) will always welcome him.   After Said kills the innocent man, he again returns to Mosque because he knows that it is the only place that offers protection.  He knows that he has a safe place to spend the night and will have food to eat.  He also goes back to the Mosque after leaving Nur’s apartment towards the end of the novel, because he has no where else to go. The Sheikh is always hinting at him that no matter what he does, he can always seek forgiveness from God.  At the end, the Sheikh still tells Said that  he “can save himself, if he wishes” (146), but Said is stubborn and he doesn’t care so he dismisses the Sheiks comment.

Thieves and Dogs

     Mahfouz establishes his characters as different symbols throughout the novel.  These symbols can be divided into two distinct categories, the thief or the dog.  The thief plays a protagonist role whereas the dog plays its counterpart.  Mahfouz uses this division as black and white. 

The reader can observe the first pair of thieves and dogs in the first chapter as Said versus the world after he gets out of prison.  The world is no longer as he knows it.  The world he once fought, loved, and cared for has deserted him.  Said is not portrayed as your standard thief.  He is the Robin Hood of thieves.  Said wants to make right the things that have gone wrong in the world.    The world at large is corrupt and feeble in his mind.  The majority of the people he knows have become fakes, no longer standing for what they believe in, and choosing a means for an easy way out.  Mahfouz employs this as an underlying theme to state his opinion on the political turmoil that is occurring during the time frame he was writing this novel.

            Another pair of thieves and dogs involves Said once again.  Illish turns out to be the perpetrator in this situation.  He exemplifies the traits of a truly despicable dog.  He betrays his teacher and mentor, Said, by stealing his wife and child, and then setting Said up to get caught by the cops.  This is the general character protagonist, antagonist duo of the novel.  Said struggles the whole story to achieve revenge.  Other dogs include characters like Rauf and Nabawiyya.

Life and Death

     Mahfouz employs an underlying theme of life and death throughout the story.  The key part of this theme comes later in the story when Said is staying with Nur.  It is here that Said opens the chapter with, “What a lot of graves there are laid out as far as the eye can see.  Their headstones are like hands raised in surrender, though they are beyond being threatened by anything.  A city of silence and truth, where success and failure, murderer and victim come together, where thieves and policemen lie side by side in peace for the first and last time.”  Can you get a more compelling and insightful statement?  Mahfouz just breaks the ice with this quote.  He addresses the afterlife as a place where everyone can lie in peace whether you were the thief or the dog.  Said is always on the edge of death.  His next move could be his last.  Mahfouz emphasizes this with a conversation between Said and Nur where said replies to Nur that he had spent his time “between the graves and the shadows.”   The picture most gather from this is that Said has spent his time avoiding death one day at a time, any moment could lead to his last breath.  Mahfouz gives Said’s inevitable ending a sense of peace, knowing that he will eventually lie in peace, free from his pain of his present state of turmoil.