TTATD Stream of Consciousness Narration

In the novel, "The Thief and the Dogs" written by Naguib Mahfouz, the authors utilises a stream of consciousness as a style of narration. The book as a whole is a cathartic release release created by Mahfouz as a way of letting out all of his disturbed thoughts and confusion during the Egyptian Revolution. At the time this book was written, Egypt was going through a critical time in history where a new roller came to power (Nasser) and he was changing everything about Egypt. Many people did not agree with what was going on, and even though he was a good leader as well of caring about his people he was extremely violent towards them and had no mercy whatsoever. This aspect of not being remorseful to regretful after committing crimes is portrayed in Said Mahran’s character as throughout the novel he is constantly shutting and killing innocent people, however his conscious is never weighed down by these aspects and is it always occupied with revenge of his “enemies”, the people who betrayed him. 

Furthermore, in his novel, Mahfouz much like Said is paranoid from all that has been happening in Egypt. Mahfouz hopes and dreams must have been crashed to leave him paranoid, much like Sana rejects her father Said and that drives him crazy. Concerning specific moments in the text, “Rauf, your pupil is coming, to relieve you of a few worldly goods.”(pg. 31) Mahfouz describes Said as a projection of his confusion and perplexities. This can be linked to distaste for what Nasser’s revolution became as change attempted to benefit everyone but only changed the lives of some. It describes the struggle of power during that time and even the separation of it through the relationship of Rauf and Said as only one party benefited from the previous action of burglary, even though they were supposed to look out for each other. Chapter 1 conveys the message that the protagonist has an innate inclination to go back to his old ways of theft despite the fact that much of where he previously resided has been completely transformed. This notion could align with the understanding that Naguib himself also struggled with suppressing his perplexities in terms of adapting to the post-revolution period during which he penned his novel. The effect of it on the readers is that they are able to align Mahfouz with Said as well as have a deeper understanding of how Egyptians were unquiet during that time and period.

The passage in itself portrays how during that time and period Mahfouz was undergoing time of pressure. Within Chapter 7 in specific, the narration has many shifts between third person narration and inner narration which contributes to how society was being controlled under Nasser’s ruling. While Mahfouz was writing the novel, he was perplexed as well as feeling as he was being pursued by the government and the new ruling regime. This is then showed in Said’s characterization as well as his thoughts and actions. In chapter 7 Said is being impulsive even though he is having a thinking process before and after each event. Said is aware of what his actions will lead to and he has a “thorn” holding him back to commit homicide which is his daughter Sana. Sana in this aspect is the perfect representation of not only purity and innocence. This symbol of innocence serves to drive Said’s thoughts and Sana eventually becomes the only reason to why he chooses to spare Nabawiyya. Relating back to Mahfouz context, when Egypt was undergoing the revolution, that is the perfect representation of hope to going back to the way that things were. The disturbance that Nasser caused within the its country and people is depicted in how Said is so contradictive as well as being unstable. Said is constantly acting without thinking of his consequences and what exactly might be the effect of his actions towards the other people around him. Just like Said, the people in the country feel lost and disturbed to what to think and what to believe as someone new is coming to power and the conventions of how life used to be is now changing within their society.

In Chapter 11, it is seen that Said seeks answers to his complexities through the ‘stream of consciousness’ by having flashbacks of his father, the death of both parents, and the role Ilwan played during these desperate events in Said’s life. Said tries to find reason and explanation of what went wrong in the present by linking it to the past, but it doesn’t seem to make sense as he could only picture Ilwan in good light and could not find another reason encourage him to turn against Ilwan even more. This is reflective of Mahfouz’s confusion and perplexities as he was having trouble piecing together his thoughts during present events, and it is reflected by Said’s stream of consciousness.Additionally, the search for answers continues in this chapter as Said has the sudden urge to visit Tarzan again as he is impatient for an answer or for an action in response to help sway things in his favour. After, when Nur gets the material for Said’s uniform, this also shows Said’s motive to seek for more answers in the future with the help of the uniform to make the process easier for him. 

Specifically relying to Chapter 15, the author integrates his experiences through the time period through the character of Said. Mahfouz says “A simple crime tale became a philosophical meditation on the times!” As audience members we understand that Mahfouz, or people like himself, although might have not been criminals like Said but did face similar interior turmoil. As intellects they were censored by their ruling class, and left unattended causing them to doubt and question their circumstances, and subsequently where their values lie in response to these circumstances. This can be displayed through the character of Nur, as she challenges Said within this.

In conclusion, Mahfouz manages to effectively embed a stream of consciousness narration within the novel, through a cathartic release methods where he focusses all his paranoia, doubt and disturbed thoughts going through his head in Said’s character. 

 Extension- Comment on how Mahfouz’s narrative style or purpose shares similarities or differences with Achebe.

Achebe’s narration in Things Fall Apart is very circular as well as the whole narration fits the story of the book for it he is telling the story of Okonkwo and how he focussed so hard on not being something that he ended up being something even worse. In a sense both Mahfouz and Achebe’s narration are historically rich as well as reflected on the context of that time and period. Both narrations explore a time a chaos in their countries however one was voluntary and the other was involuntary. As both books progresses it can be seen that Achebe is trying to find the common ground between his traditional culture and the one that got introduced to him, much like Mahfouz, he is trying to find the common ground inside his head within his paranoia and thirst for vengeance. 

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The Study of Literature in Translation

In today's world, more and more societies are hegemonizing as well we indulging other cultures within their own. As the world industrializes and further globalizes, it is crucial to be aware of the other existing cultures in the world and translated texts aid to facilitate the pursuing of this idea. Within Part 3 of the Language and Literature course, Literature Texts and Contexts, translation in general carries a big bag with it filled with cultural significance and social sayings as well as expressions. Furthermore, within each language there is a reputation and a certain way of interpretation which is integrated in the education and ways of living of each society. As said by Amara Lakhous, translating is like smuggling, meaning that it can be seen as wrong however people benefit from it. Translation itself is something that allows us to be able to achieve international mindedness as through translating books, one can gain enriched knowledge about someone's culture, nevertheless, the book was written in a way that captures the essence of that culture. However, the "wrong" aspect of translating texts is that they are not always correctly translated and often are misinterpreted. Translation will never be able to reach complete accurateness as per each word has a different meaning and interpretation as well as not all words can be translated.

Regarding the benefits correlated to translating texts; it enriches a person's understanding of other cultures, hence enhancing international mindedness. Especially concerning education, when exposing students to other cultures, it makes them not only aware but conscious about how diverse the world it. Additionally, for those who cannot have the privilege of education, translated texts can aid in educating them about diversity within our world and the principles followed by each culture. Learning about the functionality of each culture also provides a person with a sharper critical thinking and understanding of the history of the world. Many translated texts comprises of a historical background of the culture of country regarding that period of time, further educating people about the world with simply translated books.

On the contrary, many may argue that translation is not only wrong but it is offensive as it misinterprets messages and cultural values that were represented by the author. In the Arabic language for example, words have more than one meaning and more than one interpretation as well as there are many proverbs and sayings which cannot be translated or would not make sense if translated. Therefore translating a text could potentially jeopardize the value of those words. When words are translated, many words are lost and that can create a chaos and cultural crash because while some might be benefiting from it and learning about another culture that they do not have access to, the culture whose words have been translated are not being interpreted the way they should and that can lead to misunderstandings and protests against translated works or even a certain author.

Overall, translated works can impact the meaning of culture in a good or bad way resulting in misinterpretation or leading to provide international mindedness towards educated and uneducated people. Translated texts can also serve as a voice for not only social commentary but to people to portray their experience with a certain culture. Literary texts are mostly influenced by cultural context which does impact the way and format in which the text is written. Literature is the perfect medium for expression and it allows humans to be free and explore their thoughts in literary works. However once that person's freedom is translated to another language it can sometimes diminish the value of words and reconstruct meaning.

Parody

Link to riginal article- https://townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/2002/11/13/guest-worker-visas-n1222677

Rationale- 
This article outlines that in order to deal with Illegal Immigrants and Legal Immigrants in the country of United States of America, the American government should make them pay an extra tax for living in the USA since they are not Americans. Furthermore it specifically refers to Latinos as aliens using a negative connotation to define Latinos creating bias and further oppressing them through implicitly stating that they do not belong in the USA. The article also disapproves of the creating of Green Cards which created an opportunity for the immigrants to legally work, open bank accounts, fly in domestic flights and obtain driver's license and library cards in the USA. The article further states that this is an encouragement for other countries to take advantage of the vacuum that exists in the American immigration policy hence suggesting that the "aliens" should stay since they help boost the economic status however they can only stay in the condition that they will only work hard labour jobs that pure Americans refuse to do and that they will only be allowed to stay in the USA if the economy is bad, but if it is good and stable they will be sent back home. 

In my parody I utilized specific language to create a realistic connotation towards the Americans which is the word "gringo" devaluing them as foreigners, what most Latinos call Americans as well as referring to Latinos as "slaves" utilizing hyperbole to showcase racism. Furthermore rhetoric questions are utilized as well as bias in the numbers and statistics in order to manipulate and informations and create a sarcastic tone. Lastly bias in the headline is utilized with the aim to create such hyperbole that it will not seem believable.

"Lucky Latinos saved by the new Slave Policy in the United States of America!"

 The world’s fight against racism and inequality has been progressively bettering itself through the years, however United States of America manages to continuously cooperate towards the cause in making the world a better place. Not only do they reinforce racism and oppression against minorities but they are now encouraging slave-like behavior. The gringos are ready to repeat history. Back in 1980 in the United States of America approximately 3,953,761 were slaves representing 12.6% of the population. However this time around things will be different, they have a different focus, Latinos. About half of Hispanics in the U.S. (52%) say they have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity. Why not strive for higher? Make that 52% become 100%. After all, their sole purpose is to serve the gringos with their labour and loyal service hence becoming their little servants. States such as Louisiana, Nevada and Texas are the top 3 racist states in the United States of America and I firmly believe that the rest of the states should follow their exemplary behaviour. 

Modern day methods of discipline are not even close to being as effective as the olden days. The gringos that understand and support the cause have reminded themselves of chains. Chains will be put in every Latino, to ensure that they do not go anywhere besides their labour area. Furthermore, another advancement in that the United States has managed to make is the quick cargo shipping of slaves. Due to gringos being picky when it comes to what slave they want to serve them, if they are not satisfied, they can simply send them back to their store through and airplane and order another slave. Isn’t it fantastic? Being a gringo has never been better in history. 

Slaves have never been more accessible and disposable history. Previously, only a few human rights were given to slaves, but the goal here is to not give a single human right to them, ensuring that they will live a beautifully inhumane miserable and exploited life. Being a Latino has never been more promising. In 2014 it was recorded that 11.7 million of the population consisted of Mexicans. However there are 197.9 million pure gringos in the United States, meaning that more slaves will have to be ordered from the store in order to satisfy the gringo population. Lastly, in order to make sure that the slaves are recognizable from the rest of the population in the united states, they should be limited to one specific type of clothing being a beige jumpsuit with their passport number on it so that shipping becomes easier.

This is Water in Alice Munro

In what ways could Wallace’s theory about education be applicable to the writing of Alice Munro? 

In Wallace's eyes, education and experience shape an individual to become more self aware and aware about the life that they are surrounded by. The way that he views educated people is that they have been through enough experiences in life to have learned values and principles, and simply how to see the world for what it is, the very reality we are living in. Furthermore in Wallace's speech he accentuates the essence of human nature which is to live and learn and then look at things in a different perspective, as for him IQ is not really that important if one does not have an EQ. 

Regarding literature, it develops empathy and emotional intelligence simply becauses reading realistic books and stories are another form of getting experience since the story is about someone's life and not something fictional that would never happen, therefore the audience perceives the story through the narrator's view and the reader lives the experience in the book/story together with the characters. When reading a nonfiction story it is easy for the readers to sympathize with the characters as they are being put in a realistic situation which the people can also imagine themselves in. Furthermore, some stories can even make the readers reflect on their lives if what has happened in the story has happened with them, thus generating empathy which leads to emotional intelligence.

When it comes to nonfiction stories and books, the ideas and themes in it are much more complex to be identified and even such aspects as archetypes are hard to be identified as it the story portray real lives and not some magical experience. Within complex ideas and relatable stories, comes the awareness of human interaction and the interpretation of human beings. 

Alice Munro is a great example of an author whose writing as consistently nonfictional as she explores human relationships in different circumstances and situations which are all realistic.In many of her stories such as in Passions and Runaway realistic ideas are being explored and integrated within the story. In Passions for example Alice Munro explores the loss of innocence, how easily people can get lured in and influenced through bad intentions and how female sexuality is something that should be talked about. All of these ideas are real and still present in today's day. Another example would be the story Runaway where ideas such as dysfunctional marriages which are out of control, seeking attention through lies and dominant over other people are explore and again are realistic and present in today's day. 

To answer the prompt, Wallace's theory about education is somewhat already implanted in Alice Munro's stories as she explores realistic and complex ideas. 

the life of a trilingual student + Boys and Girls

As a trilingual person (portuguese, italian, english), during the holidays things get very confusing. Since in Brazil the only language spoken is Portuguese, I have been speaking Portuguese for one month and a half....
Which mean that my English went back to what it was like when I first got here in Abu Dhabi back in Grade 7, although it will come back eventually. Another aspect regarding languages is my accent. I now realized that when I speak in portuguese I no longer sound like a native, I sound like a foreigner who learned to speak the language. Additionally I have come to realize that my thoughts are now in English and when I spoke them in Portuguese, it sounded as if I had translated them on google translate. Basically, speaking a bunch of languages is pretty hard and it gets messy.

Furthermore, the readings that I was assigned to complete during summer holiday are going pretty well. The analysis part takes a while because it has to be very detailed but the stories itself are interesting. 

My favorite one would have to be Boys and Girls. Firstly I have already read that story back in Grade 11 or 10 (can't really remember the time frame) and secondly that story is more than just a story as it portrayed how women were inferior to men in that century and how the have been fighting since that time which was in 1968 to break the expectations of what a woman should look, do or behave like. Hence reinforcing feministic views. I really enjoyed reading this again because as I feminist myself it pleases me to see the development of it and how women were fighting it with literature. Furthermore what really stood out to me in this specific story is the horse Flora as a symbol of the narrator herself. A wild girl who does not want to be trained by no one and the only thing that she wants is to be free and do whatever may please her. However in the century she is living and in the society she is situated, other factors such as her family corner her into falling into this domesticated girl she is supposed to be. This accurately represents the struggle of many girls and the pressure they suffered form their parents and the people around them. 

Summer Holiday Diary Entry

The summer in the UAE is the winter in Brazil 
The weather could not be better, as a tropical country, it is never too hot or too cold, it is simply perfect. Everything about Brazil's nature is perfect, aside from those destroying it, it is the most beautiful country I've seen and I'm happy to call it my home, even with all the mess going around there. 
My holiday was amazing and I cannot express the love and joy I feel when I go back to my country and visit my family, my home and the nature that I have a deep passion for.
Nothing that I did back in Brazil is considerably interesting and amusing for some, however myself as someone who deeply values family, appreciates the time that I had to spend with my grandfather and my cousins.
Honestly speaking, my holiday was neither too short or too long. It was just the right time.
Back in my town I did many things such as having the pleasure to eat as much as I could (the food there is out of this world), visit new places in the mountains with my family and try to catch the perfect sunset, have long walks and conversations with my grandfather and go out with my cousins a lot. However throughout my holiday there is one thing that stuck to my head. As I went over my old school to visit my friends which now are more of acquaintances, I realized how incredibly lucky I am to have moved over to Abu Dhabi.
I do not speak of the people, since the people there are just as good as the people here. However I do mean that education and experience wise, I obtained more of that after I came here than I would have if I stayed there. In Brazil there is no diversity, pretty much everyone is Brazilian whereas here I live and breathe the same air as other hundred nationalities do as well.
Another two things that I learned this summer and will carry it with me for life is that:
1- People change and that is inevitable
2- We must preserve the good things in our lives.

The three long long questions #TFA

1. What is the significance of Okonkwo’s character? What does he represent or what is he symbolic of? 

2. What is the purpose of Okonkwo’s character within the text? 

3. How does Okonkwo’s character contribute to themes or meaning?

In my opinion Okonkwo's character as a tragic hero represents the bad aspects of the Igbo culture. He is stubborn and does not listen to anyone. He thinks that he is always right. Okonkwo not only disrespects women but beats them. He also does not take advice from wiser people than him, resulting in his tragedy. Okonkwo is symbolic because he is conservative to a bad extreme. Not only does the highlight the bad aspect of the Igbo culture but he gives a bad reputation to them as a whole. Due to his credibility in their community as a man who won many titles thanks to his achievements he could represent the Igbo people in that sense, however since the start of his downfall in the novel he no longer is able to represent his people. 

Although Okonkwo does bring a bad reputation to the Igbo people, the purpose of his character is to enhance the importance of religion and of fear, men, respect, reputation, tradition and customs within the Igbo culture. These themes are highlighted through Okonkwo and he does this through his persistent acts. Okonkwo purpose is to indirectly represent why being extreme is a disadvantage within a community and not being able to efficiently communicate and sacrifice his ideas in order to come to an agreement where all can be benefited through it. 

1. What do contradictions between actions, thoughts, description, and speech say about the character? 

2. How does tone influence our perception of the character? 

Okonkwo is quite a contradicting character. While he claims to follow the Igbo tradition, religion and culture he breaks many rules which are completely against the Igbo beliefs and essentially the steps to his tragedy in the novel. This reveals that Okonkwo is not a consistent character and it is his impulsive acts and dynamic change which make him into a tragic hero. Furthermore his fear of sharing any similarities with his father make him a sour and hateful man, since he does not display any signs of love or joy. 

Okonkwo has a very vigorous and ruthless tone to his speech and that only influences the audience not to sympathize with him. Our perception of the character modifies to a more cynical and less forgiving manner. 

3. How does the order in which we learn the history of a character influence us? 

4. How does the placement within and relationship with family affect our understanding of a character? 

The order in which the audience learns the history of the character is significant because in the very beginning of the novel, the audience perceives Okonkwo as someone who rose from nothing and without any aid. Our perception consists of a strong man who realized that he could be much more what his father ever was. Not only that but someone that could potentially become the greatest member of his community. The beginning builds up our expectation of the character and as the plot develops the audience gets more and more disappointed due to our expectations of Okonkwo being crashed to the ground. 

The placement of the relationships between Okonkwo and his family tells the audience that due to his experience with his father as a child he clearly had some psychological disturbance where he is simply incapable of displaying love and being gentle, therefore attributing to the "male" characteristics which are interpreted as brutal, violent and non-forgiving. 

5. What significance do names have for other characters and for us?

In the Igbo culture every name has a specific meaning. For example the Egwuwus which are the spirits of the Igbo people. However for us as readers of a culture we do not have previous knowledge of, these names are quite insignificant until the book is read.

Furthermore there are some words which Achebe has managed to create meaning within the Igbo culture and connect it with our understanding of what it means. For example, Okonkwo refers to his father as an Agbala. In their tradition Agbala refers to women, therefore comparing his father to a woman insinuating that he has feminine characteristics and that he is not good enough to be called a man.