Said my friend,
I have gotten news of your release from jail. I apologize that I was not there to take you home myself. Your family misses you but I know it came as a shock to you considering that your wife is no longer married to you. The message you left me deeply concerned me. My friend revenge is not always the best path. I agree with you , you deserve justice as does anyone and as your lawyer no as your best friend I have worked tediously on your case the minute you were forced behind bars. Justice is a system that can be quite corrupt as the irony is the ones who deserve justice are often the ones who pay the price for it.
My friend I advise you to let your old family go, they have taken much from you but the minute you begin to accept that it is over the faster you are on the road to recovery.Let them go and come join me, I can help you get on your feet and find you a job at my law firm. The revolver is not an escape from this fear, and if you shoot someone then it is set in stone for life. Give it back, no throw it away it is only darkness.
My friend if you accept Allah study Islam, the the lord will give you the justice you deserve. Do not dirty your hands with the fouls of human.
As always your friend
Aymaira
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Poem- Tragic Hero
A story not of a villan or foe
but one that exists with a tragic hero
Said a man whose fallen from grace
is not a story that cannot be traced
Confined Contained this man's hate
became revenge, a nasty trait
Release was not enough justice had to be served
For Said's hubris told this was not what he deserved
Rejected from Sana a rose so sweet
he blamed it all on his wife's deceit
Though sheikh gave him a light to prevail
he only thought of the rotting jail
As darkness all but took over him
Nur gave a light to room almost dim
Although her love would brighten his heart
he'd still remember his start
As revenge became anger
and anger, revenge
Hamertia became his tragic end
Monday, January 25, 2016
Passage Analysis
Passage: Chapter 1
How will he look when he first sees you? How will his eyes meet yours? Have you forgotten, Ilish, how you used to rub against my legs like a dog? It was me, wasn't it, who taught you how to stand on your own two feet, who made a man of a cigarette-butt cadger? You've forgotten, Ilish, and you're not the only one: She's forgotten, too, that woman who sprang from filth, from vermin, from treachery and infidelity.
Through all this darkness only your face, Sana, smiles. When we meet I'll know how I stand. In a little while, as soon as I've covered the length of this road, gone past all these gloomy arcades, where people used to have fun. Onward and upward. But not to glory. I swear I hate you all.
The bars have shut down and only the side streets are open, where plots are hatched From time to time he has to cross over a hole in the pavement set there like a snare and the wheels of streetcars growl and shriek like abuse. Confused cries seem to seep from the curbside garbage. (1 swear I hate you all.) Houses of temptation, their windows beckoning even when eyeless, walls scowling where plaster has fallen. And that strange lane, al-Sayrafi Lane, which brings back dark memories. Where the thief stole, then vanished, whisked away. (Woe to the traitors.) Where police who'd staked out the area had slithered in to surround you.
The same little street where a year before you'd been carrying home flour to make sweetmeats for the Feast, that woman walking in front of you, carrying Sana in her swaddling clothes. Glorious days--how real they were, no one knows--the Feast, love, parenthood, crime. All mixed up with this spot.
Analysis
The following passage is taken from chapter 1 from the novel the Thief and the Dogs. Naguib Mahfouz paints the story of Said, a man who feels betrayed by his family and friends after his prison release. The key elements in this are the plot development, imagery, and characterization. Considering the audience has just been introduced to Said they are able to understand conflicts from his view points. With the use of stream of consciousness Mahfouz is able to reveal Said's darkest innermost thoughts making the audience aware of his revenge plot. In this passage he has gone to his wife's house to retrieve his daughter, but is rejected.
Said's charterers is a complex one as it times the audience is meant to sympathize with him when he is rejected from his daughter, whereat other times they are given justification for his actions. The best example of this switch is the passage above. The passage reveals the interactions between Illish (Said's friend) and Said. As it can be seen that Said begins with the remark "How you used to rub against my legs like a dog". At this point the audience is able to see the connection with animal imagery and the title of the book, implying the dogs are the betrayers. This stated the audience is able to understand the relationship Said and Illish had before where they were genuinely close to the extent where Illish would worship Said. This stated the reader is unable to understand why their relationship deteriorated hence setting a sense of mystery.
Further looking into the use of dogs and its imagery in chapter 1 specifically in Arabic and English there are multiple interpretations that arise. Depending on whether the reader is reading the translated novel, or the actual novel when looking at how dogs are portrayed this can be seen as ironic, because dogs are known as extremely loyal, although when looking at this from the Arabic culture this makes more sense as dogs are looked down upon. Further going into the animal imagery it further emphasize the betrayal Said is facing. In the sense of characterization the audience is able to understand Said's point of view.
As the passage continues the reader is able to see the switch in behavior when Said addresses his daughter, Sana. The way Sana is described tells the reader that she is innocent, and almost a father's child. In the sense that Said's affections describe her the way he remembered her before he went to prison. He also describes her in another light looking at her now, seeing a grown up child. The reader is able to see through Said's eyes and feel an intimate connection as this feeling is a relatable one. As the reader gets attached to Sana the way Said is, Mahfouz uses her coming of age as a way to reject Said resulting in the reader's feeling of sympathy for said.
How will he look when he first sees you? How will his eyes meet yours? Have you forgotten, Ilish, how you used to rub against my legs like a dog? It was me, wasn't it, who taught you how to stand on your own two feet, who made a man of a cigarette-butt cadger? You've forgotten, Ilish, and you're not the only one: She's forgotten, too, that woman who sprang from filth, from vermin, from treachery and infidelity.
Through all this darkness only your face, Sana, smiles. When we meet I'll know how I stand. In a little while, as soon as I've covered the length of this road, gone past all these gloomy arcades, where people used to have fun. Onward and upward. But not to glory. I swear I hate you all.
The bars have shut down and only the side streets are open, where plots are hatched From time to time he has to cross over a hole in the pavement set there like a snare and the wheels of streetcars growl and shriek like abuse. Confused cries seem to seep from the curbside garbage. (1 swear I hate you all.) Houses of temptation, their windows beckoning even when eyeless, walls scowling where plaster has fallen. And that strange lane, al-Sayrafi Lane, which brings back dark memories. Where the thief stole, then vanished, whisked away. (Woe to the traitors.) Where police who'd staked out the area had slithered in to surround you.
The same little street where a year before you'd been carrying home flour to make sweetmeats for the Feast, that woman walking in front of you, carrying Sana in her swaddling clothes. Glorious days--how real they were, no one knows--the Feast, love, parenthood, crime. All mixed up with this spot.
Analysis
The following passage is taken from chapter 1 from the novel the Thief and the Dogs. Naguib Mahfouz paints the story of Said, a man who feels betrayed by his family and friends after his prison release. The key elements in this are the plot development, imagery, and characterization. Considering the audience has just been introduced to Said they are able to understand conflicts from his view points. With the use of stream of consciousness Mahfouz is able to reveal Said's darkest innermost thoughts making the audience aware of his revenge plot. In this passage he has gone to his wife's house to retrieve his daughter, but is rejected.
Said's charterers is a complex one as it times the audience is meant to sympathize with him when he is rejected from his daughter, whereat other times they are given justification for his actions. The best example of this switch is the passage above. The passage reveals the interactions between Illish (Said's friend) and Said. As it can be seen that Said begins with the remark "How you used to rub against my legs like a dog". At this point the audience is able to see the connection with animal imagery and the title of the book, implying the dogs are the betrayers. This stated the audience is able to understand the relationship Said and Illish had before where they were genuinely close to the extent where Illish would worship Said. This stated the reader is unable to understand why their relationship deteriorated hence setting a sense of mystery.
Further looking into the use of dogs and its imagery in chapter 1 specifically in Arabic and English there are multiple interpretations that arise. Depending on whether the reader is reading the translated novel, or the actual novel when looking at how dogs are portrayed this can be seen as ironic, because dogs are known as extremely loyal, although when looking at this from the Arabic culture this makes more sense as dogs are looked down upon. Further going into the animal imagery it further emphasize the betrayal Said is facing. In the sense of characterization the audience is able to understand Said's point of view.
As the passage continues the reader is able to see the switch in behavior when Said addresses his daughter, Sana. The way Sana is described tells the reader that she is innocent, and almost a father's child. In the sense that Said's affections describe her the way he remembered her before he went to prison. He also describes her in another light looking at her now, seeing a grown up child. The reader is able to see through Said's eyes and feel an intimate connection as this feeling is a relatable one. As the reader gets attached to Sana the way Said is, Mahfouz uses her coming of age as a way to reject Said resulting in the reader's feeling of sympathy for said.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Stream of Consiousness
Thief and the dogs is a novel grounded in a category known as realistic fiction, therefore when the stream of consciousness tool is applied it is easy to recognize and relate with the character and context. Stream of Consciousness is a tool used by writers to express a character's unfiltered train of thought. It helps establish an intimate connection between thee reader and character, as the reader is enabled to see the emotions and innermost desires of the character. The tool can be used in many ways but depending on the register/usage it can have a negative impact or a positive one.
When understanding the positives it would be the ability to connect with the character on an emotional level. Mahfouz applies this technique in the novel Thief and the dogs to reveal Said (the main character's) innermost thoughts and emotions. In contrast the tool can also be used in a sense where it results in a decay of plot and character as it presents the reader with either gibberish (incoherent language) due to the random thought process or a 2-dimensional plot where too much is revealed where the character becomes too engrossed in his own mind that the perception and overall outlook of the characters is differed. Keeping that in mind it is important to see how the tool is used in the novel itself.
As the reader experiences the events which occur in the novel they are able to understand the reason of the events through the characterization of Said. Stream of consciousness is used to show Said's thirst for revenge after his release from prison. It is developed as his thoughts express his hatred for his wife and longing to be reunited with his daughter. Mahfouz uses italics as a way of communicating his thoughts in order to help the reader differentiate from mind and speech. The use of italics in a sense increases the impact the stream of consciousness tool has as it further gives the reader to escape into the character's reality. Considering that italics give a large impactful meaning in the English translation it is important to understand that they do not exist in the arabic (written) version of the novel. Considering the novel was written in Arabic and then translated to English it is a possibility to understand the tool is not effective in the register of another language where it would not have a beneficial impact on the reader.
Additionally the tool stream of consciousness helps differentiate between the narration types with italics being used to switch between the different types of internal monologues (direct and indirect). Going further into this, it is seen in the novel that direct narration is italicized to symbolize a direct thought. Examples of this are seen at the beginning of the novel, his release from jail and the thoughts expressed of his hatred and thirst for revenge are seen as direct narration. The tone presented is almost blind-sided anger to the extent where the character's mind is engulfed in his own idea of what is correct. There is a shift in narration after Said’s daughter rejects him as now a new feeling is introduced. Considering the narration is now fixated on sadness, despair and in a sense anger as well due to interactions with another character it is now seen as indirect narration. This change in narration with the tool of stream of consciousness further helps with understanding the progression of the plot.
Personally I feel Mahfouz overall implicated the tool of stream of consciousness effectively. Looking at the examples from class where one portrayed incoherent language through uncensored thought and the other portrayed a further depth and understanding of the character, I feel Said’s shift in narration with the tool not only communicated his feelings but also gave understanding of the events which followed his emotional response.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Lost or Found Literature in Translation
The values and beliefs different cultures have are reflected through the literature presented. As each culture is different the values reflected can be either seen as conflicting interests, or common ground. Literature in translation is a tedious task as it requires an individual has to translate each word to communicate the same thing in another language.
The IB curriculum has always practiced open-mindedness in the essence of worldliness. Considering that reading a translated text is a requirement for language and literature students it is important to understand the purpose. The purpose of studying literature in translation is that it helps one understand the context of the time period through the characters conflicts,emotions, etc. Therefore when studying translated literature the reader is enabled to connect and understand the time period on an intimate level, through the eyes of a realistic character understanding the different cultural beliefs and values.
After reading articles on how literature is translated there is an understanding that a novel cannot be 100% accurately translated. The reason for this is that one word may have one literal and cultural representation in one language and a completely different meaning both literal and cultural in another. For example the article talked about the Urdu word; :sharmana. In Urdu the translation means blushing. Culturally the word used describes a girl blushing from happiness. Although when look it at the same term in another culture for example a western image there are many reasons for blushing, out of embarrassment, happiness, etc. Therefore when looking at translated literature it is important to take into perspective the culture it was written for, the target audience as it enables the reader to enhance and understand an authentic translation.
Based on this it is important to understand that meanings can be lost. In the context of the novel, Thief and the dogs a meaning that was lost between translation was the name Nur. Arabic speakers are able to identify that Nur is word used to mean light, whereas English speakers were not able to distinctively compare this. Additionally in when the novel was translated to English the audience can see the actions of the characters as over-dramatized where as Arabic speakers who understand the culture see no irregularities or over dramatization.
Studying literature in translation is not only about understanding the direct translation, but the culture it comes from as well. A reader reading a translated text will most commonly not get the same experience as the original novel reader would but they will still be able to get an understanding of the cultural values first hand. That is why I think its so important to read translated literature, its a primary source a way to get a accurate authentic portrayal of a culture, written by the people who are a part of it.
Studying literature in translation is not only about understanding the direct translation, but the culture it comes from as well. A reader reading a translated text will most commonly not get the same experience as the original novel reader would but they will still be able to get an understanding of the cultural values first hand. That is why I think its so important to read translated literature, its a primary source a way to get a accurate authentic portrayal of a culture, written by the people who are a part of it.
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