The Sheik

The Sheik is one of the most relevant characters of The thief and the Dogs. He is a symbol of redemption, as religious figures tend to be. And no he is not directly related to the church, but he is religious. The light that reveals Said character, dispute what Said thinks there is a rift between thoughts and interactions. And finally, ritualistic failing of the internal struggle between his perceived fate and free will.
His symbolism as redemption is clear from the start. Religion is traditionally painted as the great redeemer. Brothers and sisters repent your sins and have the evil washed off you in their acceptance and forgiveness of god, or ala, or Buda, or what have you. Halt your sins and ask for redemption, and the past is forgotten. It seems, that in a world where friend, mentor, and love all betray, redemption and acceptance are the one thing he needs. The Sheik offers nothing but wisdom and guidance to our hero lead astray. Well that as well as a bite to eat, and a roof to sleep under. But the abstract way he offered his advice and his forgiveness was beyond Said ability to see.
The Sheik, as mentioned before, brings some light into the question of Said Mahran. The Sheik, on numerous occasions, assists characterize Said in a more reliable way then Said does himself. From Said, we learn that he is the embodiment of the fair, the righteous, the vengeful, the great, and the infallible hero of the masses. By any definition a great man. Of course, we also learn from his untimely demise that he is delusional. So what do we make for our great hero? How do we know who he really is? The answer lies in characters like the Sheik. He as well as Nur, Illish, and Rauf give us our knowledge of Said, or that is the only knowledge to be trusted.  The Sheik gave wisdom and sympathy. Said seemed to acknowledge either. This allows us to see he is hot-headed and just a little thick. He is also stubborn and insensitive. This is revealed through his intolerance for things like prayer, even out of respect for the man who houses him, he refuses these things that seem unnecessary to him. He is of course progressive, wanted something more just, but his is cold and confrontational, not a comforting figure. All of this is revealed through the interactions Said has with the Sheik. And his mannerisms give us our insight into the theme of fate versus free will.
The fate versus free will is one theme thoroughly seen throughout. Now I readily admit to bias, I honestly believe the words spoken by Ben Franklin are true. He said “There are only two things that are certain, death and taxes”. So my thoughts on fate are skewed. But I believe that there is always a choice. Always an alternative for every decision. And each one creates even more alternatives, and the resulting chaos is the thing we call life. That is to say, every man women and child does have control over their destiny, their fate. Whatever they want to achieve is achievable, as long as they are willing to bid their time and be smart about it. In this way, a person can act in a singular way, to a singular goal. And this is where Said fails. His mind is made up from the moment he walks out of prison. Not only on his end goals but on his methods. Acting upon this, he led himself to the gallows. So my view is, there was never any set fate for the Egyptian Robin Hood. He decided his path and his goals and died by them. His fate was to follow his will to the letter. As was the fate of the other characters he fought with. And so he sealed his fate and lost the chance be live and die happy.

Significant Passage, Chapter 5

Nur is one of the most important characters in The Thief and the Dogs. Her necessity is twofold, presenting both a symbol and a humanizing factor. Thus the passage I choose is the one where Nur and Sa’id first see each other again in Mr. Tarzans café. She then agrees to assist Said in stealing a car from the young gentleman she has accompanied. And then later, goes onto vent her disgust and outrage with the former wife of Sa’id.

"How are you, Nur?" he asked.

               "As you can see," Tarzan said for her with a smile, "She's all light, like her name."

               "I'm fine," she said. "And you? You look very healthy. Only what's wrong with your eyes? They remind me of how you used to look when you were angry."

               "What do you mean?" he said with a grin.

               "I don't know, it's hard to describe. Your eyes turn a sort of red and your lips start twitching!"

               Said laughed. Then, with a touch of sadness, he said, "I suppose your friend will be coming soon to take you back?"

               "Oh, he's dead drunk," she said, shaking her head, tossing the hair from her eyes.

               "In any case, you're tied to him."

               "Would you like me," she said with a sly smile, "to bury him in the sand?"

               "No, not tonight. We'll meet again later. I'm told he's a real catch," he added, with a look of interest that did not escape her.

               "He sure is. We'll go in his car to the Martyr's Tomb. He likes open spaces."

               So he likes open spaces. Over near the Martyr's Tomb.

               Her eyelashes fluttered, showing a pretty confusion that increased as her gaze met his. "You see," she said with a pout, "You never think of me."

               "It's not true," he said, "You're very dear to me."

               "You're only thinking about that poor fish."

               Said smiled, "He forms a part of my thinking of you."

Though it may seem it at first, it becomes clear rather quickly that it is more than polite conversation. It is made clear that Nur understands Sa’id more than even we do, as people with access to his mind. When she mentions he looks mad, and is right, based on a twitching lip and prior experience from 4 years ago at the least. He is made genuinely sad when he thinks she has to go back and talk to the man she arrived with, whom she promptly brushes off. She then offers to ditch him in favor for Sa’id. Even from here, it is very clear she loves Sa’id, without even hearing the rant to come, or the comfort he finds in her later in the tale. She even flirts with him after he insists she has to stay with the person she arrived with. This seems rather forward, even for very old friends.

She furthers Sa’id humanity. To clarify, it is possible to say that Nur is a representation of Said happiness and trust, as he losses both with her later in the story. Without Nur, we would Said as nothing more than an animal, anger, vicious, driven, and blood hungry. Nur provides the good that is present in humans, emphasizing that we are at our best in small groups which we trust. With specific focus on Sa’id, Nur represents the light that died in him when he was put into jail. She also represent the future he cannot have, after his actions, but wants desperately. This connection is made very clear later, but is more than subtly hinted at in the fifth and sixth chapter. The manner of their interaction is indicative of at least a long term friendship, if not an actual physical attraction.

She is also useful as a symbol in the greater story arch. In the ideal of the whole, she represents the powerless. She is the manifestation of the public who suffers greatly in the senseless violence. And, those who continue to suffer after the reality of revolution and its dehumanizing products come about. This is better represented in near the end of the story, when she speaks to Said in her home. However, her turn to manipulation and survival in any manner possible, such as with the young rich man, is similar to the way the working classes were treated under Nasser, or so the story goes. She is hopeful but resigned later on, again as a reflection of the hopes of the people, and their subsequent disillusionment with the government that rose to “protect them”.

Stream of Consciousness

The Thief and the dogs is a work of beauty. The complexities in meaning, coupled with the dynamic and life like characters is truly astonishing. And the stream of consciousness technique employed on the novel server to augment that greatly.
Firstly it is necessary to outline the underlying allegory of the book. It is a tale of civil unrest and a failed revolution. That is not to say the revolution did not occur. In fact, as a result of this revolution Nasser took power in Egypt. However, it was held by the common folk that their ideals had been betrayed by exploitative intellectuals, who betrayed the ideals of the revolution in the face of censorship. These intellectuals are represented by Rauf. He was Said, the main characters former mentor. Said finds his teacher has become an ‘intellectual’ who sold his former communist, Robin Hood mix of values for a posh life style. Said is a thief, the Robin Hood and a revolutionary. He is rejected by the system he created, and, as a symbol, his daughter. Said who life after escaping prison is a pass of the government Mahfouz disagreed with as a revolutionary.
The narration of the novel was unique in Arabic literature at the time of its creation. It uses the stream of consciousness technique. This is highly relevant as we switch from third person, direct and indirect mental narration, and soliloquy. Each of these are reflect of differing levels of Said’s mind. The direct and indirect narration are his thoughts. They are eloquent and relatively stable, not making too many impossible or unexplained leaps to different issues. The third person narration is plainly put, and completely factual, with no instability represented. The soliloquy is very extravagant, and highly unstable, fliting from idea to unrelated idea. And is reflective of his sub and unconscious mind. Said is not only a revolutionary, he is the embodiment of the revolutions ideals. And his eventual insanity, as represented by increased use of soliloquy, is a representation of the failed ideals of the revolution. He begins seemingly stable, however it is quickly revealed that he is spiteful and vengeful. And at first he is rational and highly aware. However as the story progresses, we see more indirect and direct narration, then as mentioned before, the madness of the soliloquy. Though this crookedness is mentioned from the beginning, when his thoughts turn to his daughter on the very first page of the book. It is a representation of the slow descent of the public, at the hands of Nasser.
Though it provides a unique perspective, as seen above, it’s limited in several areas. Firstly, we only see one event. Our knowledge of the life Said held before is tainted by his own rage. The traditional character, the hero archetype, is dead in Said. And the traditional characterization, that which leaves no doubt, is not present. Normally, the characters of a book are well defined. Through traditional writing, the traits of a character are revealed by the other characters, or directly by the author. This produces a sort of certainty, and security in what is said of the characters. Through this, there is no such thing. It becomes clear that Said thoughts and actions are desperate, so as a character, we really know nothing about him, except that he is insane. And the traditional story died. The hero often seek to rid the world of some great injustice, and we see his or her life from its humble beginnings, to the extravagant end of relevance after lessons have been learned and everyone has grown. Again, this is not represented. But the most important point is, in this story neither of these things are relevant. Both the nontraditional characterization and the inconclusive plot are reflections of real life. There is no certainty how the failed revolution will affect the affairs of Egypt and maybe the world. There is no way of really forming an authentic opinion of Nasser and his revolution now, with the past as biased as it is.
The final thing to look at is the relation to Things Fall Apart. There are two main points for this relation. Both are a counter to and existing social norm, and both are told in the same way. Things Fall Apart is a counter narrative to the demonization of colonized lands that occurred until several years before colonial powers retreated. The Thief and the Dogs is a counter revolutionary tale. It speaks of the failings of its past, much as the counter narrative brings to light the failing of others to recognized basic human rights, as the revolution did. And both are told as if one with the former culture. Things fall apart is styled as a traditional Igbo tale, on why things are the way they are. It language and unusual plot progression reflect on of the many tales told in the story. And Thief is similar to the stories told by bards in Arabic culture.

Culture

Culture. The only way to sum up any entire peoples thoughts, feelings, actions, history, and customs in one word. The beauty and extravagance held by just one of these beacons of light is indescribable. And it can only really be described and understood through direct experience. But in order to be compassionate beings, we need to see and understand the cultures that may not be our own. This is done through things like documentaries and stories. Most importantly in the stories category are books. But are they accurate? Can one really take some much and put it between two covers? The answer, in short, is no. At least not completely. It is undisputedly valuable to learn and understand the customs and meanings behind other culture. What better way than to hear the tales of tragedy and awe that exist in the world? What better way than to see the politics and intrigue behind every story? But there are two major issues. First, everything is subject to the interpreter’s interpretation. As is evident from the issues raised by Feng Tang in 2014. He retranslated “Stray Birds” a collection of 300 poems by Tangore. He did not except this to be his most controversial work, as his previous works were known to be blunt to say the least. However, this work was called vulgar on multiple occasions by multiple people. All that done on the basis of three slightly, what is the word, sensual poems. He received multiple death threats and media heat from both hi native China and India as well. Though not necessarily a bad thing, it does remind us that the translator has the ultimate power overt the hidden meanings and inflections in the work. The second, and far more dangerous problem, is the loss meaning. It is often said that there are words that cannot be directly translated. For example, in German there is a word for the feeling of being lost in the woods. This word cannot be directly translated as it also implies all of the emotions that can occur in that situation. Another example is the use, in context, of Igbo words in Things Fall Apart. This is done as there was not suitable substitute in English. This furthers the previously made point. This is not to say it is not valuable to study other cultures and translated works. As was said in the earlier, there is much to be learned, but the reader must be aware of the possible loss or distortion of meaning before studying such works.

Comparative assignment

These texts have quite a few similarities and differences. One is an advertisement for a summer cruise in the 1920’s, with such loft locals as Jamaica, Cuba, Panama, Central America, and Colombia. The other is a news article from the Miami Herald from 2007 regarding the encroachment of developers on the squatting place for Panama’s poor. These texts are linked through their opposing stances on colonialism. One of course, is an encouragement to continue the actions of the oppressor. While the other is a call of injustice against him. These articles are greatly removed in audience, purpose, content, theme, tone, mood, style, and structure, and this essay will examine both of them with regards to these things.

The audience of the advert is the upper middle and upper classes of America in the 1920’s. This is evident through the picture as well as the elevated language, and direct targeting. For example, the title read “Reduced Rates for Summer Cruises”. This is not the manner of speech of the common man at that time. Additionally, the ad directly targets richer audience saying things like “Extra Large staterooms” and “cuisine that is noteworthy for its excellence”, both of these are not concerns for the poorer people, suggesting that the cruise is only for the rich. And finally the people in the photo at the bottom of the ad are all dressed very posh, in the recent fashion, with good quality make. This is purposeful as the upper and middle classes are the ones who can pay for the trip. The “Squatters versus Developers” article is addressed to the modern counter part of the last. This is quite obvious for several reasons. The placement of the article, in the business section of the Miami Herald, is only a concern to businessmen and their families. Immediately, with this knowledge, are out of the scope of the lower class. The article then must concern the middle and upper classes. This has to be the case as only those in the middle and upper classes have the power or the money. The advert itself is almost transferring the prestige of those classes into the idea of going on the trip. The article reads as a call to action, this implies that the reader has the ability to act, again implying that the article is targeted towards the upper and middle classes, they have enough funds and voice to affect change. This leads into the purposes of the texts.

 The purpose of the advert is to, as is common amongst adverts, to sell a product. In other words to persuade the reader to purchase tickets for the cruise. This is clear through the persuasive language used, as well as several common advert techniques. The diction is highly persuasive, saying things like “for no more than your average summer vacation” and “the coolest ships afloat”. This makes the reader associate a cool and cheap summer vacation with the trip, something only the rich could do. In addition to furthering the transfer of the prestige onto the reader. On the whole it is almost an ego stroke for those who will attend. The latter is mentioned as something others say, to gain credibility and recognition. The former is a way to paint the cruises as far better for the same price. Further examples include the use of the Great White Fleet, a famous American fleet during WW1, and the mention of the “extra-large staterooms” and “exceptional cuisine”. These are all examples of ethos. They appeal to the baser parts of humanity, being pride and greed, to make the reader need to appear rich and savvy. The newspaper article is similar in that it is a persuasive piece. But the end result is very different. The article, specifically, attempts to persuade the reader that the developers are doing evil things to the poor and helpless poor of Panama. It does this through emotional appeal, both with regards to the people in particular and their commitment to their home. It does this quite effectively in the very start of the article. It say “Jimenez, a 61-year-old retired banana pruner who earned $1 an hour, did not own the waterfront land.” This appeal is strong as it applies force in our desire to assist the weak. Further enforcing the purpose of the article. And, as a whole, this also ends up being ethos as we all compelled to feel sorry for the poor squatters and their families.

The contents differ greatly. One contains information on a cruise line. Where it goes, when it goes, what to expect from the ship, and a few pictures. The other contain information in the plight of those less fortunate. The themes are also very different. The advert has a positive theme. It says “take a luxurious trip into the untamed Central and South America” attempting to make the reader feel like a doper businessman. While the news article is one of grim determination against an injustice unseen until now. It is a call to action against an evil revealed. “Fight for the rights of those less fortunate” so to speak.

The tone varying greatly from one to the other. The advert is very bright and cheery. It seems to say “We are the ticket to your dream vacation in variety of locals”. This is done through several means. Firstly the diction is very bright. Words like tropics, staterooms, and cuisine are used to paint the princely experience as all the more grand. It depicts a group of doper young men and women all smiling and happy, and provides the invitation to join them on a wonderful cruise, with all of the prestige and power associated with the upper classes, truly the opitimy of the American dream at that time.. And of course the trusty granted by a military title such as the great white fleet. The whole is a rather appealing plea to join in the fun. This creates a mood of whimsy and joy. This is an effective way to sell the product. The news article however is very different. Its tone is one of outrage and sorrow, at what these people have had to endure in the past and in the present. Its emotionally charged phrases are geared much differently than that of the other. Its phraseology is very different, geared towards the pity generated by situations less fortunate than ours. The diction is far less positive, saying things like displace, low income, shacks, and cracks to create the depressed image we see. This creates a sorrowful but determined mood. This serves to insight action from the readers to help the squatters gain equality.

The style and structure of the two texts are very different. In the ad, there are three noteworthy components to the structure. There are two pictures, the main body of text, the bolded titles and relevant information. The pictures are a map of the relevant tropical locations, a good way to remove and make them all the more special. The other is one of young men and women happily living the life. This is an incentive almost, a call to come fulfill your dreams. The bolded and enlarged words give the hasty reader all they need to know to buy the tickets and set sail. The main body merely provides the detailed information for those whose interest are piqued . This is done so that only those who want to go see them. The main body itself uses multiple different lit devices and persuasive techniques. The primary being transferal, glittering generalities, and bandwagon. The transferal comes in as the trip being a symbol of prestige and power. The generalities occur in the uniform mention of the ports as similar despite being of many different backgrounds. And the Bandwagon is shown through the picture of the large group of young men and women. The primary literary device is the ethos appeal throughout. It plays upon the desire we have for companionship and fun, as well as darker things like our pride. It is styled as an advertisement from a newspaper. The other is a news article. Its only structural components are the bolded title and the main body. However, within the body several literary devices and persuasive technique are used. The persuasive technique include source manipulation, testimonial, plain folk, and glittering generalities. The source manipulation is evident form the uniformity of the bias within the quotes and statistics, making the problem and resolution seem very one sided. The testimonial and the plain folk are presented by man and his normal family. This generates pity and creates a bond between the reader and the people on the beach. And the generalities come in a no specific companies are named making them all evil. The primary literary device is again ethos. This time however the ethos is used to evoke pity and rage for those who have been wronged and so well painted. The title again severs to give a brief summary, as well as pique the interest of the reader. While the main body develops the ideas and biases while informing on the issue at hand. The second is styled as a wordy advertisement .

In conclusion, these are very different texts. The only similarities are the purposes, and only to the extent that both are persuasive. The audiences are similar but removed in time. The purpose vary in that one is colonial and one is not. They are styled differently but have a few structural components that are similar. They both use very powerful persuasive techniques, and rely heavily on the use of ethos to push their relative agendas. But the only real link is that of the oppression and freedom of the South American countries like panama and their poor. However, despite their differences, both are very powerful versions of their text types.

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Comparative Texts

A:

The audience of the article are the uninformed masses. This is evident as it does not serve a particular candidate, so it is not a campaign ad, and it is not a scientific paper. Instead it is a form of critical satire without a solution, only complaints.

The purpose of the piece is to persuade. It attempts to use the transfer technique to move the feelings of brutish stupidity to the idea of global warming. And, through that, to discredit the claim that global temperatures are rising.

C:

The content is a picture of two dinosaurs talking about the climate. One is meant to represent congress, and it is saying that we should monitor global temperature. The other dinosaur says that the congress has a brain the size of a walnut.

The theme is global warming is stupid.

T:

The tone of the piece mocking. This is enforced by the words of the normal dinosaur.

The mood of the piece disbelief.  It causes doubt of the evidence for this argument that ha been presented before.

S:

The style of the piece is a cartoon. It has a relatively warped manner of drawing, further adding to the “unreal” claim made by the words. Further, there is no division between the words and the picture, which is common amongst cartoons, especially inside a newspaper. Likely that is where this picture appeared in print.

The structure is relatively straight forward. It is a cartoon with a speech bubble and a dialogue bubble over the dinosaurs.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/new-nasa-tool-displays-earths-co2-1511201.htm

A:

The audience is the informed reader. To clarify, the information is available to all. However its placement in a very scientific newspaper makes it more geared towards the knowledgeable reader. This is reinforced by the mention of several of NASA’s other projects, with the assumption that the reader already knows of them

The purpose is to inform, and persuade. It mention data and quotes. However it is a biased piece.

C:

The content of the article is a few paragraphs, regarding the station itself, NASA’s aims, and plans for the future. As well as several pictures from the station itself, showing the CO2 levels throughout the world.

The theme of the article is CO2 levels are rising. This is represented through the higher concentration areas as well as the justifications for them. Every area of high concentration is mentioned, and what is occurring there.

T:

The tone of the article is neutral. This is done to make the article seem more credible and less opinionated. And in enforced through the neutral diction and permeation of facts.

The mood of the article trusting. The use of many facts as well as neutral diction and big names make the article seem valid. As a result the reader finds themselves trusting what is said.

S:

It is styled like a news article. With the images at the front and the development and relevant information given below in the paragraphs.

The structure is simple. Images followed by paragraphs abbreviated by um up sentences as headings for each section. With a few cleverly placed links and ads along the margins, some of which deal with clean energy or efficient use of energy.

4 corners of Propaganda

It is acceptable for the government to try to shape public opinion through information campaigns is a false statement. It is very much not ok for the government to do so. This is when media and news become uniform propaganda outlets. Now this is not to say government and media do not do so, in fact it is a very prevalent problem. Especially in America. Ever since the attack on the twin towers, America’s views have been uniform. We are goo they are evil, no more. Of course, many of the things that outraged the US public are mutual. Americans wept at the dead soldiers, even though more horrific images of Iraqi civilians were present. The American people solidly believed they were doing the right thing while being consistently being lied to. The only way to know if a news outlet is neutral is if both ideas of a conflict claim it is propaganda for the other side. As Al Jazeera was during that Iraqi war. Now the American people are better educated though this does not make them media literate. At times of course it is a necessity to polarize the public opinion. Such as in times of war. This is not to say it is ok. But unfortunately this lack of diversity occurs in times when it is unnecessary. But to readdress the question at hand governmental information campaigns are too likely to become a propaganda parade for them to be a good things. This is furthered proved through the stories of Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman. Both of which were manipulated to suit the government. How could they admit that a star had been shot by his own when he volunteered to fight? Or that the captured heroine had gotten herself captured and was then left by the men who captured her.