Philosophical Autobiography in Mahfouzs Cairo Trilogy Essay examples

Throughout the novels of Naguib Mahfouz Cairo Trilogy, the most noticeable element is the onward motion of time. In tracing the lives of three generations of the Abd al-Jawad family, Mahfouz manages to structure a chronicle of Egypt during his life that describes not only the lives of the family but the social, political and philosophical flip of the constitutional nation. While it is dangerous to read only for social analysis in Mahfouz essentially artistic work, the changes in Egypt during the novel make its characters relationships to a unsteady Egypt clear. The character of Kamal is a very intriguing part of this depiction because of his resemblance to Mahfouz and the consequent illustration of the changes which seem to permit impacted Mahfouz most personally. Kamal open fire be seen as an essentially autobiographical character as healthy as a type representing Egyptian philosophical involvement and change between the two gentlemans gentleman Wars. Kamal is cer tainly an autobiographical character, though to incisively what degree is not clear. The most obvious similarity is his age Mahfouz was natural in 1911, and Kamal would have had to be born near then as well for him to be 36 by the end of Sugar channel (232). The details surrounding his childhood are undeniably similar as well Mahfouz was haunted by an infatuation with one of his neighbors for many years, he experienced disillusionment with religion when he found the tomb of al-Husayn to be empty, and he then began to study Darwinism and declared a philosophy major(ip) in college. Also like Kamal, Mahfouz did not marry until late in life. In 1946 he started writing this trilogy, in almost exactly the stead of Kamal at the end of Sugar Street, and his mental state may have been similar to... ...an especially valuable character because he offers us a less exaggerated social type than the rest of his family, one who is at the same time intensely personal to the author and a repres entative of the whole of Egyptian society. He allows us to see Egypt more clearly by sightedness through the eyes of its most notable author.WORKS CITEDAbu Ahmed, Hamed. A Nobelists Inspiration. World Press Review 36.1 (1989) 61.Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace of Desire. New York Doubleday, 1991.-----. Sugar Street. New York Doubleday, 1992.Massuh, Victor. reference with Naguib Mahfouz. UNESCO Courier Dec. 1989 4-6.Moosa, Matti. The Early Novels of Naguib Mahfouz. Gainsville, Fla. University Press of Florida, 1994. + These quotes are taken from an uncited handout presumptuousness to me by Richard Sutliff that I believe to be from Moosas book.++ hereafter SS.