Dreams

      Dreaming, in the scientific sense of the word, is an unconscious brain activity most of the human and animal population take part in while sleeping. Dreams are the images we see while we are in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. Over time, humans have attempted to interpret these dreams in different ways, the most famous being those of Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung. In the book "The Thief and the Dogs" by Naguib Mahfouz, there is a very important dream sequence that includes different images such as the main characters daughter (Sana) whipping his old best friend (Rauf), a Sheikh, Qur'an recitations, a car chase, Rauf coming out of the dashboard,  money, a gun, and an ID car, which when looked at through the eyes of Freud and Jung, begin to make more sense. Also, through the analysis of the dream sequence it is easy to understand how Said, the main character, was created by Mahfouz in order to represent the majority of the Egyptian population.
         According to Sigmund Freud, dreams are the reflections of our unconscious desires; these are separated into two parts: manifest and latent. Manifest content being the part of dreams that is very superficial, while latent content being our subconscious wishes. Manifest often veils the latent content. According to Freud, most of our desires, whether conscious or unconscious are driven by sexual desire, which puts a spin on Saids dream that is quite interesting. The opening scene, which describes Said being whipped in prison and showing no restraint, can be described as Saids repressed want for sexual intercourse while in prison because pointed things are considered penises, and rythmic movements intercourse. Said then drinks milk, which can be said to be the symbol of his need for motherly love, either from Nabawiyya or Nur or even his own mother. The next image is that of Sana, his daughter, whipping Rauf, his old best friend who he now considers a traitor; this represents Sana and Rauf having sex, which shows us Saids deepest fear being that his daughter will become one with Rauf, that she to will turn her back on him. The Qu'ranic recitations he then hears before finding himself in a car chase also represent copulation because it is a rhythmic activity, again representing the his suppressed sexual desires while in prison. He then finds himself in a car chase without any breaks so he ends up shooting all around him, meaning he does not know where he is going in life because of the lack of breaks, and that he is again sexually frustrated because of the gun which means penises because their bullets penetrate the body. Then Rauf comes out of the dashboard, signifying birth, meaning Said has noticed that Rauf has become a new person. When Said says that it was not Sana who whipped Rauf, but instead Nabawiyya, he wishes to imply that his daughter is not the traitor, but that Nabawiyya is, but he is lying, showing that he does not want to accept the truth. Said then tries to join a group of Sufi chanters, which symbolize an orgy because they are all participating in the rhythmic action of singing, but he is turned away by the Sheikh, illuminating the fact that Said does not feel accepted, which is reinforced when the Sheikh demands an ID card. He wants to become one with society just as he was before but the government and Rauf do not allow it because in the dream Rauf is the head of all Shiekhs, showing how much he feels like he is being controlled. By offering his help, Said proves that all he really wants it to be excepted.
              Carl Jung, who was a student of Freud, had a different point of view on the topic of dream analysis. He also believed that dreams reflected one's unconscious, but that these were more spiritual than sexual. Jung did not believe that dreams shielded true desires from the brain using symbols, but that instead the images that are seen while dreaming are messages that the sleeper must pay attention to in order to understand their problems. Freud interprets dreams on the object level, meaning he looks at the relationships between the dreamer and the persons in his dream in real life, while Jung introduced the subject level, which sees the images in dreams as different features of the dreamers psychological life. According to Jung, Saids dream represents how much he misses his daughter, does not know how to control his life and wishes to be accepted back into Egypt in order to continue living like he used to. It also shows how he sees Rauf as traitor and disliked the government because he feels that they are controling his whole life, what he can do and can't etc... By paying attention to these signs, Said could understand that killing Illish and Nabawiyya will not calm his soul, but that being understood and accepted will.
              Mahfouz illustrates a sexually frustrated, lost and confused man, showing the reader what it was like to be a citizen of Egypt during those turbulent times. When Said got out of prison, he came out into a world that was unlike the one that he had been accustomed to living in before. He and many of his friends, including Rauf, believed that the revolution would bring new found freedom and equality, but when Said was set free he was met with a world where " one feared the walls (1)". According to Saids dream, he has no idea where his life is going, or what to do about it, just like most of the Egyptians of that time must have felt. Most thought that the revolution would bring good, but when it didn't many were not very sure of what they fought for.
            Dreams and the subconscious, cannot be controlled, which renders them a very honest aspect. Both Freud and Jung believe that dreams do reflect ones true desires, whether those be sexual or spiritual. The interpretations of Saids dream by Freud and Jung surprisingly come to the same conclusions by following different roots. They both concluded that Said is confused, and lost.Through his dream Said not only illuminate not only his own subconscious, but that of a whole generation.

(1) The Paris Review - Naguib Mahfouz, The Art of Fiction No. 129
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2062/the-art-of-fiction-no-129-naguib-mahfouz