Stream of Consciousness

In literature, stream of consciousness is a relatively intimate and revealing form of narration. Also referred to as internal monologue, it is a form of narration that provides insight into the thought process of a character, and this can reveal a lot about the characters personality and emotional state. Internal monologue can be either direct, which are, quite literally, the actual thoughts of a character being spoken out loud, or indirect, where these thoughts are rather narrated to the reader. 

Naguib Mahfouz, in his iconic novel 'The Thief and the Dogs,' decides to incorporate this style of narration. In the spectrum of Arabic literature, it is the first novel to have consisted of internal monologues, as all works prior to it, including those of Mahfouz himself, were written in a realistic style. However, in his novel, Mahfouz is able to combine the sense of realism and stream of consciousness in the novel, and bring the reader in close proximity with the protagonist, Said Mahran, and his thoughts, intellect, and emotional state. The narrative technique seems to decrease the distance between the character and the reader, just as Mahfouz would have intended to achieve.

In the novel, Said is released from prison, with a burning passion to seek revenge. It is this mind set that brings him closer to his own downfall and self destruction. This is particularly obvious to the reader, as his journey to self destruction is revealed through his thoughts of hatred and volatile emotions. Slowly, he loses his own self control. Because the reader is often given direct insight into Saids mind, the reader is able to empathise with him, as the style of narration creates a more intimate literary relationship between Said and the reader. At the same time, however, the reader would begin to question Saids sanity, as his thoughts become more irrational with the progression of the novel.

In addition to revealing the internal struggles of the main character, Mahfouz may also have intended to reveal the external struggles of Said through his use of stream of consciousness in the novel. The thoughts in Saids mind could be seen by Mahfouz as a method of social commentary of the Egyptian revolution, which is where his combination of stream of consciousness and realism is particularly evident. This is where his genius comes into play, as through Saids mindset, Mahfouz is able to share his own political view point, and his dissatisfaction with the outcomes of the revolution. This is how Mahfouz manages to use stream of consciousness to highlight external struggles, in addition to those with are internal.

The use of internal monologue does carry several disadvantages. Two in particular are the decay of character and the death of the plot. The death of the plot refers to the absence of a chronological series of events. Most events are recalled directly from Saids mind through occasional flashbacks. This is much like the first half of 'Things Fall Apart,' where there is no linear plot, but an abundance of flashbacks of past events in the mind of the protagonist. Because of this, there is not true unity between space and time, and more focus is on the psyche of the character than on the development of a linear plot. Another in the decay of the character. In previous novels, the habits, physical appearance, and manners of the characters were clearly depicted. This is not the case for The Thief and the Dogs. With this technique, all focus is on the subconscious or unconscious mind of the character, and modern authors, such as Mahfouz, chose to create an internal war in the characters mind. In this way, the character begins to decay.

Despite the downsides, Mahfouz is successfully able to reach the objectives of his use of stream of consciousness in his novel, which is to emphasise on the internal and external struggles of Said, and to provide direct and indirect insight into the mindset of the character, and the reader can follow along with Said to his own mental self destruction.