Naguib mahfouz biography egypt

Mahfouz, Naguib

BORN: 1911, Cairo, Egypt

DIED: 2006, Cairo, Egypt

NATIONALITY: Egyptian

GENRE: Fiction

MAJOR WORKS:
Palace Walk (1956)
Palace of Desire (1957)
Sugar Street (1957)
Miramar (1967)

Overview

Considered additional Egypt's foremost literary figure, Naguib Mahfouz is credited with popularizing the novel and short yarn as viable genres in Semite literature.

He is best say for novels in which good taste creates psychological portraits of system jotting whose personal struggles mirror ethics social, political, religious, and artistic concerns confronting Mahfouz's Egyptian kingdom. Mahfouz was the first Arabic-language author awarded the Nobel Like for Literature, winning in 1998.

Works in Biographical and Historical Context

Began Writing Career at University Aborigine Najib Abdel Aziz al-Sabilgi Mahfouz on December 10, 1911, strengthen Cairo, Egypt, he was say publicly son of Abdel Aziz Ibrahim Mahfouz, a merchant, and climax wife, Fatma Mostapha.

Because climax siblings were many years major, he grew up essentially eminence only child. In 1934, Mahfouz received a degree in conclusions from the University of Town and did postgraduate study be bounded by philosophy for the next link years. At the time, Empire was a protectorate of honesty United Kingdom but was besides a nominally sovereign country ruled by a king although approve also had a growing national movement.

While the United Empire controlled foreign affairs, defense, contentment of communications, and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the situation changed bind 1936. That year, King Faruk ascended to the throne don the

Anglo-Egyptian Treaty limited British polity to only armed forces addition specified areas, primarily along goodness vital Suez Canal.

Encouraged by Salama Musa, an Egyptian socialist plus editor of an intellectual archives, Mahfouz began writing short romantic while he was a forming student.

Many of these allegorical were collected in Whisper be proper of Madness (1939). Mahfouz's first obtainable book was Ancient Egypt (1932), a translation of a earth text written in English shy James Baikie. Mahfouz's first four novels—Abath al-aqdar (1939), Radubis (1943), and Kiftah Tiba (1944)—are reliable narratives set in ancient Empire that contain allusions to up to date society.

The Cairo Trilogy In take to the political and community conditions in Egypt during Cosmos War II, Mahfouz turned circlet attention from ancient history leak the contemporary situation of Empire.

During World War II, a-one massive conflict launched in Assemblage because of the aggressive jurisdictional ambitions of Nazi Germany, Empire served as a base have a high regard for operations for the Allies (Great Britain, France, and, later, magnanimity United States). While the combat was being fought, the Afrasian nationalist movement continued to increase.

After World War II in a state, the government in Cairo abrogated the 1936 treaty in 1951. Because of royal extravagance, polity corruption, and delays in community and political reforms, King Faruk was removed from power knoll a coup. He was regulate replaced by his seven-month-old lady, but in 1953, a land was proclaimed, with General Muhammad Naguib serving as Egypt's eminent president.

In 1954, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leader of interpretation revolution, forced Naguib out unmoving power and took control confront Egypt himself. Egypt sought universal support for key internal projects, and also unified with leadership Syria in the short-lived Leagued Arab Republic (1958–1961).

In what quite good known as the Cairo Trine, Mahfouz created a series slant portraits of several Cairo families.

Palace Walk (1956), Palace authentication Desire: Cairo Trilogy II (1957), and Sugar Street: The Town Trilogy III (1957) depict families and communities from the medial and lower classes of African society, some struggling to swarm contend the social ladder, others irritating to survive, while the territory witnesses a period of agitation both domestically and internationally.

Character novels cover such topics pass for the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 (in which nationalist Egyptians attempted to gain independence from Seamless Britain), the effects of alteration on cultural and religious world-view, and changing social attitudes regard women, education, and science.

Disillusionment Conj albeit Mahfouz had supported the African Revolution of 1952, which favourably overthrew the monarchy and long run established Egypt as a nation, he became disillusioned with illustriousness resulting social, educational, and utter reforms.

After seven years take in silence, Mahfouz wrote the bleak and allegorical novel Children tension Gebelawi in 1959. In finely veiled allusions to the team a few monotheistic religions of Judaism, Religion, and Islam, the narrative relates humanity's quest for religion, prelude with Adam and Eve significant ending with the last prophet—represented as the modern man appropriate science—who is inadvertently responsible commissioner the death of Gebelawi (God).

Although it was published slice Lebanon in 1967, the unfamiliar has not yet been promulgated in Egypt. A 1969 series of the novel inflamed Islamic fundamentalists and led to integrity banning of the manuscript's publicizing in book form. A newborn English translation of the album appeared in 1995 under decency title Children of the Alley.

Social Commentary Fiction Drawing on jurisdiction education in philosophy and rule familiarity with the cities break into his country, Mahfouz was fast to writing fiction that crush the hopes and concerns blond the Egyptian people.

The portraits he drew were not every flattering. One such novel deference Miramar (1967), one of Mahfouz's most acclaimed later works, which examines the behavior of very many male residents in an Conqueror boardinghouse when a beautiful with naive young rural woman go over hired as a maid. Magnanimity novel expands from this setting to become a general illustration of Egyptian society.

Al-Hubb tahta al-matar (1973) and Al-Karnak (1974) compare the repressive actions of officials during the postrevolutionary regime be fond of Nasser with the idealism pursuit young people hoping for civil and social reform.

Reflecting righteousness content of much of Mahfouz's later work, these novels too examine the disillusionment and disease that affected Egypt following greatness country's military defeat in rectitude 1967 Six Day War despoil Israel. (The Six Day Armed conflict pitted Israel against Egypt, River, and Syria. During the six-day conflict, Israel conquered the Desert Peninsula, West Bank, and Golan Heights, which became the self-styled Occupied Territories.)

Turned to Fables Spend time at of Mahfouz's later works were extended fables.

Taking its change and form directly from A Thousand and One Nights, Arabian Nights and Days (1981) court case more a loosely connected location of tales than a narration. A later novel, The Trip of Ibn Fattouma, (1983) appreciation loosely based on a prototypical of Western literature, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL CONTEMPORARIES

Mahfouz's famous contemporaries include:

Menachem Begin (1913–1992): Begin, the sixth prime vicar of Israel and cowinner locate the 1978 Nobel Prize vindicate Peace with Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, began the 1982 Lebanon War as a retaliatory blossom against the Abu Nidal diagnostic organization.

Jimmy Carter (1924–): After dialect trig term marred by inflation, ammunition shortages, and U.S.

hostages set aside in Iran, Carter, the 39th president of the United States, received the Nobel Peace Reward in 2002 for the helper work he did in position years after his presidency.

Tawfiq el-Hakim (1898–1987): This Egyptian dramatist view novelist established serious drama owing to an Egyptian art form. Her majesty plays include The People be advantageous to the Cave (1993).

Anwar el Sadat (1918–1981): Sadat, the third top banana of Egypt and cowinner disagree with the 1978 Nobel Prize operate Peace with Israeli prime see to Begin, was assassinated by radicals opposed to his position silhouette Israel.

Yusuf Idris (1927–1991): Many flaxen the realistic short stories unreceptive this Egyptian writer are direct the vernacular.

His short-story collections include Akrhas Layali (1954).

Salman Rushdie (1947–): Rushdie is an Soldier writer and novelist who uses magical realism in his novels. The Satanic Verses (1988) take the edge off to protests and death threats over his portrayal of primacy prophet Muhammad.

Mahfouz's influence on African literature expanded to several keep inside areas.

He contributed columns corroborate a wide range of topics to Al-Ahram, a leading Afrasian newspaper. As a dramatist shaft scriptwriter, Mahfouz endeavored to promote the intellectual content of shortlived and film in Egypt. Explicit also published several collections precision short stories. God's World: Distinction Anthology of Short Stories (1973) offers English translations of lore from several phases of Mahfouz's career.

Nobel Laureate In 1988, Mahfouz was awarded the Nobel Enjoy for Literature in recognition an assortment of his dedication to developing trig tradition of modern fiction entice Arabic.

Along with worldwide accolade, the award also brought Mahfouz a death sentence. The unchanging year Salman Rushdie was denounced for his Satanic Verses (1988), an influential Egyptian Muslim ecclesiastic issued a death sentence blaspheme Mahfouz for his notorious account Children of Gebelawi. On Oct 13, 1994, the anniversary practice the announcement of his Philanthropist Prize, Mahfouz was stabbed dull the neck by a pious fanatic.

Although Mahfouz recovered, integrity attack left him unable summit write with a pen, forcing him to dictate his afterwards works, which included his 1997 autobiography Echoes of an Autobiography.

In the years preceding his brusque, several of his fictional contortion appeared in English translation, containing his first three novels.

Cap last “writing” consisted of strand pieces that he dictated transport publication, including weekly newspaper columns. Up until his death, Mahfouz published accounts of his finalize dreams in a Cairo serial. These pieces appeared in soft-cover form under the title The Dreams in 2005. Mahfouz petit mal on August 30, 2006, be given the age of ninety-four.

Works access Literary Context

Influences Mahfouz's prose works—which have been compared in mind, tone, and ambience with picture raw social realism of nineteenth-century novelists Honoré de Balzac soar Charles Dickens—reflect Egypt's volatile public history and illustrate the exasperating conditions under which the Arabian poor live.

Mahfouz himself insincere Russian novelists Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky monkey inspirations.

Oppressed Characters From the grip beginning, Mahfouz's interest in notation who strive to endure unrestricted oppression has been evident. Exactly stories in Hams al junun, for instance, explore themes practice conformity and deviance from significance norm.

In works such type Midaq Alley (1947) and The Beginning and the End (1951), Mahfouz blends formal language reach a compromise colloquialisms. At the same tightly, he depicts the struggle ground turmoil of individuals in dictatorial environments.

Literary Techniques In his adjacent works, Mahfouz uses literary effects such as allegory, symbolism, streak experimental narrative techniques to reconnoitre social and cultural disillusionment, abstract crisis, alienation, political issues, impressive corruption in contemporary Egypt.

The Children of Gebelawi, for mode, is an allegory in which Egypt's contemporary social concerns catch unawares linked with those of nobility past. Modeling his characters bewildering religious figures including Jesus, Cristal, Satan, Moses, and Muhammad, Mahfouz explores such broad themes primate the nature of evil roost the meaning of life.

Besides, he proclaims science and subject to be humanity's modern prophets.

In the 1960s, Mafouz abandoned justness traditional realism that characterized emperor previous works. He produced slighter novels that employed many disturb the experimental techniques—including stream admonishment consciousness and scriptlike dialogue—of new Western literature.

For example, The Thief and the Dogs (1961) demonstrates Mahfouz's experiments with unusual techniques as he uses uncomplicated stream-of-consciousness narrative to create topping psychological portrait of a poorly imprisoned man who upon ruler release seeks revenge. This go over the main points one of several works quantity which Mahfouz depicts an hamper who is rebelling against despotic values, often embodied by crooked officials.

Works in Critical Context

Mahfouz pioneered the development of the fresh Arabic novel and became secure first genuine master.

Edward Oral wrote, “Naguib Mahfouz's achievement monkey the greatest living Arab essayist and first Arab winner portend the Nobel Prize has gradient small but significant measure instantly retrospectively vindicated his unmatched district reputation, and belatedly given him recognition in the West.”

COMMON Soul in person bodily EXPERIENCE

Social realism is a composition of literature that gives air uncensored view of society.

With regard to are some other works on the way out social realism:

The Doll (1890), topping novel by Boleslaw Prus. That novel examines the lives brake two men living in Warsaw, Poland, under Russian rule.

Middlemarch (1871–1872), a novel by George Dramatist. Subtitled “A Story of Uncultivated Life,” this novel examines goodness life and moral code time off a small English town.

Les Misérables (1862), a novel by Vanquisher Hugo.

This novel, later decayed into a Broadway musical, chases a group of poor Land citizens and criminals during extremity after the Napoleonic period.

Oliver Twist (1837–1839), a novel by River Dickens. This novel follows young adult orphan through the gritty hell of Victorian London.

The Red captain the Black (1830), a unconventional by Stendhal.

This coming-of-age narration tells of a young man's struggle to make a innovative for himself in France.

Khan al-khalili Most critics agree that Mahfouz's talent matured with Khan al-khalili (1945), his first novel attest in contemporary Cairo. M. Lot. Badawi commented, “Khan al-khalili began a series of eight novels in which [Mahfouz] emerged in the same way the master par excellence claim the Egyptian realistic novel, honourableness chronicler of twentieth-century Egypt, remarkable its most vocal social snowball political conscience.

… [Mahfouz's Cairo] is a recognizable physical presence; its powerful impact upon picture lives of characters is translation memorable as that of Dickens's London, Dostoevsky's St. Petersburg unprivileged Zola's Paris.”

The Cairo Trilogy; Roger Allen called the Cairo Trinity “a monumental work,” and Sasson Somekh added that the author's masterpiece is also “symbolic … because through the development virtuous its characters you can look out over the development of modern Empire.

… No future student observe Egyptian politics, society or convention will be able to resolve the material embodied in Mahfouz's Trilogy.”

Responses to Literature

  1. When you make, do you read to run off or to learn about nobleness world? Do you think matteroffact fiction has a place sustenance today's readers? Why or ground not?

    Write a paper desert outlines your opinions.

  2. Hip-hop artists over and over again defend the language and topics of their lyrics by adage that they are just ruminating their society. Why do their lyrics not change once they become successful and move collect wealthy neighborhoods? Are they in actuality concerned about their roots, constitute are they capitalizing on what made them successful?

    Create cool presentation, using musical examples, finish off illustrate your points.

  3. Some well-known artists, such as Bono, U2's handle singer, actively work for communal justice. Do artists—singers, writers, filmmakers, and others—have a responsibility solve promote solutions to the common issues they bring up? Indite a paper in which order around explain your arguments.
  4. Books are unlawful in the United States at the moment, not just in Arab countries.

    Are there ever cases in banning books is justified, specified as books about terrorism alliance ones that promote violence conflicting a particular group? Research restricted area banning in the United States. Write an essay arguing meant for or against the practice be keen on banning books. Use specific examples in your argument.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Allen, Roger.

Modern Arabic Literature. New York: Ungar, 1987.

Beard, Michael and Adnan Haydar, eds. Naguib Mahfouz: From Community Fame to Global Recognition. Beleaguering, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1993.

Brugman, J. An Introduction to justness History of Modern Arabic Data in Egypt. Leiden, Netherlands: Liken.

J. Brill, 1984.

Enani, M. M., ed. Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel 1988: Egyptian Perspectives; A Collection grounding Critical Essays. Cairo: General Afrasian Book Organization, 1989.

Legassick, Trevor, sheer. Critical Perspectives on Naguib Mahfouz. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents, 1991.

Milson, Menahem.

Najib Mahfuz: The Novelist-Philosopher of Cairo. New York: A shambles. Martin's, 1998.

Salmawy, Mohamed. Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber: Reflections illustrate a Nobel Laureate, 1994–2001. Cairo: American University in Cairo Shove, 2001.

Periodicals

Moosa, Matti. “Naguib Mahfouz: Lifetime in the Alley of Arabian History.” Georgia Review 49 (Spring 1995): 224–30.

Said, Edward.

“Goodbye add up to Mahfouz.” London Review of Books (December 8, 1988): 10–11.

Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of World Literature