"It was based most of all on his innate desire to continue to be loved and enjoy a fine reputation." On page 223 in the last two paragraphs of the page, Naguib Mahfouz displays the books moral theme: reputation and order. In this section of the book, the children were getting close friends of the family to convince Ahmad to bring back Amina. While doing so he believes that his neighbor, Umm Maryam, tries to hit on him. Though he fights temptation, he doesn't give in but instead chooses his fine reputation to uphold.
Throughout the book, Ahmad's reputation and order/place within his community and household, comes up frequently with precise illustrations displayed in order to get the theme across like on page 223. "Umm Maryam represented nothing more to him than a delicious kind of food, which threatened his digestion, he could easily turn down in favor of some of the other tasty but wholesome dishes that covered the table." This example of illustration is exact in portraying the them of reputation and order. Ahmad referring to Maryam as a food that would "threaten his digestion," meant that she would threaten his reputation, and he'd rather not go for that "dish."
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I really like how you mention that Ahmad refers to his "social friends" as food. Do you think Mahfouz connects this to how rich individuals care about what restaurants they go to? I think this shows how Ahmad's image is his main concern. If he believes someone is watching him all the time it's because he knows he's the star of the show. It's like our current celebrities: they are always attracting the media.
ReplyDeleteI really like how the author uses dishes to describe what he is trying to say. Do you think that maybe he is making Ahmad be like "at the top of the food chain" in comparison to his friends? Or is he just too good to be eaten by just anyone?
ReplyDeleteI think it's kind of weird how he equates his social reputation to his digestion. Like his social life chews people up and spits them out? Maybe he's used to his reputation pooing on peoples heads. There's lots of things to think about here. Also, he refers to Umm Maryam as a dish, which is old fashioned. Think back to Saving Private Ryan, when the German soldier said, "Betty Boop! What a dish!" Really gives you a feel for the time as well as a feel for how Ahmad feels about his reputation.
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