PASSAGE ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 15

"I did not kill the servant of Rauf Ilwan. How could I kill a man I did not know and who didn't know me? Rauf Ilwan's servant was killed because, quite simply, he was the servant of Rauf Ilwan. Yesterday his spirit visited me and I jumped to hide in shame, but he pointed out to me that millions of people are killed by mistake and without due cause."

Yes, these words will glitter; they'll be crowned with a not-guilty verdict. You are sure of what you say. And apart from that, they will believe, deep down, that your profession is lawful, a profession of gentlemen at all times and everywhere, that the truly false values--yes!--are those that value your life in pennies and your death at a thousand pounds. The judge over on the left is winking at you; cheer up!

"I will always seek the head of Rauf Ilwan, even as a last request from the hangman, even before seeing my daughter. I am forced not to count my life in days. A hunted man only feeds on new excitements, which pour down upon him in the span of

his solitude like rain."

The verdict will be no more cruel than Sana's cold shyness towards you. She killed you before the hangman could. And even the sympathy of the millions for you is voiceless, impotent, like the longings of the dead. Will they not forgive the gun its error, when it is their most elevated master?

"Whoever kills me will be killing the millions. I am the hope and the dream, the redemption of cowards; I am good principles, consolation, the tears that recall the weeper to humility. And the declaration that I'm mad must encompass all who are loving. Examine the causes of this insane occasion, then reach your judgement however you wish!"

His dizziness increased. Then the verdict came down: that he was a great man, truly great in every sense of the word. His greatness might be momentarily shrouded in black, from a community of sympathy with all those graves out there, but the glory of his greatness would live on, even after death. Its fury was blessed by the force that flowed through the roots of plants, the cells of animals and the hearts of men.

Analysis

This passage is an extract from chapter 15 and at this point it’s reaching towards the end of the book where the readers are almost fully exposed to Said true identity. This passage focuses significantly on Said’s interior monologues which are leading the readers to believe that Said is mentally ill. The passage takes place at the cemetery where he offers his own defense in his imaginary hypothetical scenario of his murder trial. The interior monologue occurring gradually shifts to a second person narration, seeming as though Said is talking to another person even though he is conversing with himself hence this further leads the readers to expect him to be mentally unstable. Through the interior monologue, one is able to see how Said doesn’t consider himself guilty but rather sees himself as a great man: “Then the verdict came down: that he was a great man, truly great in every sense of the word” and he views himself as “not like the others who have stood on this stand before.”

Mahfouz creatively implements this section onto the chapter in order to portray the development of Said’s character after having committed two failed crimes- it’s an opportunity to dig deeper into Said’s mind and to explore his inner thoughts to these incidents. At this point, having killed two innocent people, one would assume Said would suffer from agony and regret but is rather surprised to see that he dismisses these accidents and continuous to plot.  In the section “Whoever kills me will be killing the millions. I am the hope and the dream, the redemption of cowards; I am good principles, consolation, the tears that recall the weeper to humility” and especially the personification of the tears constructs the impression that Said sees himself as the savior of the country and everyone else is a coward and ignores his crimes as he seeks to justify them. He does this repeatedly as he says: “Rauf Ilwan's servant was killed because, quite simply, he was the servant of Rauf Ilwan” and he continues to be hungry for revenge stating: “A hunted man only feeds on new excitements, which pour down upon him in the span of his solitude like rain." The use of this metaphor closely examines how Said has truly become obsessed with seeking revenge and sees it as something exciting and thrilling. He goes on to mention his daughter, Sana who had previously coldly rejected him as he says: “The verdict will be no more cruel than Sana's cold shyness towards you. She killed you before the hangman could. And even the sympathy of the millions for you is voiceless, impotent, like the longings of the dead” Said equates her rejection to be more cruel than himself and having caused him endless pain as he exaggerates by saying “she killed you before the hangman could” using past tense in order to discuss their first encounter after his jail release.