Stream of Consciousness

In his novel, "The Thief and the Dogs," Naguib Mahfouz seamlessly weaves in the literary mode of stream of consciousness as a ubiquitous element that amplifies the characterization of the protagonist, Said Mahran. Through the use of this uniquely modernist narrative technique, Mahfouz effectually invites the reader to indulge in the illusion that the reader is privy to Said's innermost thoughts and impulses, therefore establishing a dynamic rapport between the reader and the protagonist as the plot progresses. The reader specifically is enabled to comprehend Said's responses to his external realities as the access to his personal thoughts and emotional surges act as a medium of important revelation to the reader. One such moment in the text is evident in Chapter 4 when Said attempts to break into Rauf Ilwan's ostentatious mansion: “Hasn’t your conscience bothered you even in the dark?”// “I wish I could penetrate your soul as easily as I’ve penetrated your house”. It can, hence, be gleaned that Said views his act of breaking into Ilwan's house as one of deserved vengeance for dissociating with the ideology he goaded Said to embrace. In a purely linear and descriptive narrative, the reader would jump to the conclusion that Said is an incorrigible thief who has returned to his ways as soon as he got out of prison. Yet, with the integration of the stream of consciousness style, the reader witnesses the internal conflicts that fuel the external conflicts that ensue.

In the wake of the context of production— post-revolution Egypt— Naguib utilizes the stream of consciousness style as a conduit to express his own perplexities vicariously through Said who epitomizes a tragic hero grappling with the paradigm shift in Egyptian society under Nasser's regime. Naguib particularly employs direct and indirect interior monologues and soliloquies as a means of executing the stream of consciousness narrative, which manifest from the very onset of the plot. For instance, forming a part of the exposition of the plot in Chapter 1, immediately following Said's release from prison, an interior monologue is presented in which Said muses, “Nabawiyya. Ilish. Your two names merge in my mind...You'll be watching now, but I won't fall into the trap. At the right moment, instead, I'll strike like Fate.” Through this quote, the reader is acquainted with the protagonist's sense of animosity towards the characters of Nabawiyya and Irish without even being introduced to them. While this instigation of the stream of consciousness technique serves the purpose of foreshadowing the development of conflict within the plot, it also creates an atmosphere of suspense and excitement that urges the reader to further engage in the thrilling nature of the text. Thus, in incorporating the stream of consciousness narrative, Naguib abandons the normative linear narrative to adopt the modernist tradition of "breaking away from the old technique of meticulous details and panoramic narration." In doing so, Naguib also pioneers the genre of psychological realism, the first of its kind in Arabic literature, as the complexities of Said's motivations elicit in the reader a sense of sympathy  for the tragic hero and his fate. 

Another facet intrinsic to the stream of consciousness narrative adopted in Naguib's novel is the subtle inclusion of non-chronological flashbacks in his writing, which further enhances the reader's commiseration for the protagonist. In chapter 11, Said recounts his father's encounters with the Sheikh, his mother's death, and his initial relationship with Rauf Ilwan through the use of flashbacks, granting the reader a greater understanding of Said's situation. 

While the stream of consciousness narrative style is crucial in Mahfouz's novel, the former style is coupled with a third person omniscient narrative that provides a more objective and stable relaying of the events in the novel. A similar narrative style is employed in China Achebe's, "Things Fall Apart," a colonial counter-narrative. Like Mahfouz's, "The Thief and the Dogs," Achebe's, "Things Fall Apart," is penned as a response to shifting political spheres in the nation. Both these novels shed light on the complexity of the human experience to psychologically adapt to societal changes. Subsequently, both these novels then also act as important socio-political commentaries that highlight the importance of subversive literature. 

Texts in Translation

Texts in translation enable literature and its readership to transcend cultural barriers. In a world where the significance of diverse social landscapes is more heightened than ever, translated texts serve as a tool to unite individuals from different ethnic backgrounds by inviting readers to gain an intimate understanding of the intricacies of the respective cultural context in which a plot transpires. 

As seen in Mahfouz Naguib's, "The Thief and the Dogs," translated literature can often urge its readers to commiserate with regional social and political tumults as constructed by a primary source based on empirical evidence. Hence, while factual narrations or filmed documentaries may outline an objective and overarching portrayal of certain native tribes or cultural nuances, the insights gleaned from translated literature tend to be much more profound as a reader delves directly into the authentic mindset and intent that the author set out with when writing his piece of prose. Furthermore, it could be said that writing in one's own native language is effective in terms of providing the author with a creative yet cathartic outlet uninterrupted by the pressure of sensible and meaningful translation of dwellings into a language that could appeal to a larger demographic. Accordingly, through indulging in translated literature the reader is granted access to not only the thought processes of a range of cultures, but also to becoming acquainted with the rituals, customs, traditions, and practices of individuals from different communities. Moreover, one of the most instrumental roles of translated literature is to enrich the reader's perception of another cultural group, therefore promoting a sense of international mindedness in the readership.

Whilst light can be shed on the platitude of beneficial facets of translated literature, the same also entails numerous challenges in its production. The most prominent of concerns when considering translated texts lies in the possibility that a translated piece of prose/poetry may not do justice in conveying the authenticity and genuine essence that the author hopes to capture in his writing. This notion is complemented by the fear of allegations of skewing, misrepresenting, or culturally appropriating certain texts if the translator himself does not share the same ethnic, cultural, or religious milieu as the author of the original text. A recent example of such a controversy manifests in the Chinese translation of Indian Tagore's "Stray Birds" by Chinese translator and publisher Feng Tang who has been accused of degrading Tagore's pure intents by ostensibly donning sexualized connotations to select lines in the Chinese version of the poetry collection. This event also highlights the excessive criticism that translated works are vulnerable to, which may in turn result in suppressing a translator's creative expression and interpretation. Lastly, another challenge pertaining specifically to foreign readers is the necessity to have a grasp on the underlying circumstances or contextual details that propel the progression of the plot, in order to facilitate a deeper engagement with the text. 

Media Bias Parody

Rationale

The article I have chosen to parody is an article from The Guardian penned by a 25 year old who condones marriages with age gaps as large as 30 years. In the article, a strong sense of bias pervades the writing as the author leans entirely towards the ideology of having older partners being the most reasonable choice for individuals. Accordingly, the author incorporates rather absurd but logical sounding reasoning that provokes the reader to agree with the perspective presented and advocate for age-gap marriages. As a response to the task given, I have attempted to parody the article by producing an article that mirrors the same point of view with a largely satirical undertone to convey an opposing ideology that mocks age-gap marriages. 

Original article- 

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jan/06/stephen-fry-engagement-eliot-spencer-whats-wrong-with-age-gap-relationships

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What's right with age-gap marriages?

Society seems to condemn couples in which one partner is much older than the other. Why the notion of having a younger trophy wife or an older financer as a partner is “strange” is a conundrum I am constantly on the quest to comprehend.  

A frantic friend once sought my advice on how a man she met on an online dating site was 5 years older than her and so she was concerned about the “age gap.”

At the time, my face contorted into an expression of utmost grief. I inhaled a pained breath, pursed my lips and finally offering a pitiful smile, broke the news to her—a 5-year age gap was in fact VERY concerning.

She clearly wasn’t thinking this through.

A man only 5 years older than her wouldn’t be able to pay her student loans!!!!

Tsk Tsk Tsk

At least 15 years older, Emily, at least 15, please.

I know what you are thinking— A partner more than 10 years older than me? That is simply absurd. Why would I relinquish plausible happiness with someone my age for someone double my age? We wouldn’t even be able to connect.

Now, now, being smitten with someone around your age may surely seem like a charming idea but once you evaluate the benefits of being in a relationship with someone much older than you, there really is no going back.

Why would you want to embark on a beautiful journey of togetherness, discovering the many facets of life with someone close to your age? Someone who is just as much of a discoverer to the challenges of the world as you are? Doesn’t it sound blissful to have someone by your side that can constantly solve all your problems because they have already been in a similar situation just 20 years ago? All your spadework is sorted because you have a veteran partner.

Think of all the life experiences they can narrate to you. It’s almost like reliving the times when your grandparents told you your favorite bedtime stories about their younger days. The best stories of all will be from your partner’s high school days-- days when you weren’t even born yet.

As a bonus, having an older partner is the perfect excuse to getting an early bird discount on your retirement plan scheme since you’d certainly want to show your unconditional companionship when their retirement rolls around as you turn 32 and they 63.

Take my word for it: old is gold (and young is mould).

Daddy IOC Practice

Link:

This is Water Educational Theory

In his awe-inspiring commencement speech, "This is Water," David Foster Wallace introduces the notion of the 'default-setting,' which is essentially the unconscious state of mind that we humans are wired to exist in. In addressing this idea as a recurring motif in his speech, Wallace points out how the aim of the Liberal Arts education system was to teach its students how to broaden their horizons and adopt a different approach to learning, which primarily encapsulates learning how to exercise control over what to think about, and being conscious of what is worthy of one's attention in life. Moreover, Wallace's approach to education is buttressed by a novel technique of thinking. In this technique of thinking, Wallace urges his audience to re-evaluate even the most insignificant details of life and apply to them a different lens; a lens that validates the frustrating, petty, occurrences in life as viable and legitimate.

Wallace stresses the importance of being able to draw a fair distinction between what one should devote their attention to, while what is not worthy of one's attention. Nonetheless, what Wallace also emphasizes is the vital force of learning how to cease trivializing the vagaries of life, and instead to critique these vagaries with optimism. One of the most prominent anecdotes that elevate Wallace's education theory lies in him relaying the instance at a crowded grocery story whereby the many facets of life are embodied in the typified characters like the cashier with the "voice of death," the prancing children exhibiting characteristics of ADHD, and lastly, the "fat, dead-eyed, over-made- lady who just screamed at her little child in the checkout line." Through eliciting vivid images of these typified characters in the grocery store, Wallace is even more successful in asserting his central point that pertains to adopting a fresh perspective on life. 


Applying Wallace's educational theory to Munro's short stories urges the reader to consider the many vagaries of life from an altered point of view. In her literary fiction, Munro often weaves in seemingly insignificant details into her tales, details that to a reader may hold no value. But perhaps even the most seemingly insignificant details are the details that embellish and elevate the central essence of life, which is a notion that Wallace and Munro, both propagate in their works. Moreover, Munro and Wallace both address the social realities that override our lives, realities that we normally would dismiss as trivial. Wallace, in the context of a commencement speech, uses the opportunity to school seniors on the "day in and day out" of life, while Munro herself uses her literary flair to divulge the intricacies and complexities of different spheres of life through the spectrum of characters and plots she explores with impressive subtlety. 

Melodic ambitions

Often, I spend a great deal of time brainstorming the potential focal point of my blogposts. But today's post did not require that much of thought, for I decided to muse on an immensely cherished element of my mundane life: music.

Since I was young, music has played an instrumental role in my life (no pun intended...maybe). Whether it be in the form of music I dance to, music that I play myself, or music that I enjoy listening to, the consonance of rhythmic melodies, seamlessly weaving in and out of each other, is ineffably pacifying to me.

*Experiencing Writer's Block*
*Experiencing Writer's Block*
*Experiencing Writer's Block*
*Experiencing Writer's Block*
*Experiencing Writer's Block*
*Experiencing Writer's Block*
*Experiencing Writer's Block*

But what truly propelled me to be penning this post today, is the universality of the language of music. Much like mathematics, music can be deemed as a universal language, for theory and notations of music remain the same, regardless of what part of the world one is in. Musical collaborations can exist between artists from distinct cultures only because they share between them the language of music. In this essence, music almost acts as a binding force in humanity with the force of the musical language being such that it transcends all linguistic and cultural thresholds. Moreover, while important musical syntax does buttress the language, the language grants one enough of a creative license to catalyze its evolution through bursts of originality.

On that note, I feel compelled to share in this space two of my favourite pianists, who have greatly inspired me to continue playing the piano. The first pianist would indubitably be Yiruma, a renowned South Korean pianist and composer, while the second artist is Ludovico Einaudi, an eminent Italian pianist and composer. The two-different-ends-of-a-spectrum cultural identities of these two famed artists itself is a reflection of the solidarity of music. I may identify as a Canadian, but my favourite pianists identify as a South Korean and an Italian. Yiruma and Einaudi both continue to play sold out concerts in every corner of the globe, only because the plausibility of a language barrier is ousted by the gracefully syncopated rhythms they contrive. Their concerts do not necessitate verbal communication, but communication through the soulful cadences of music.

For some reason, I seem to be struggling to articulate my genuine appreciation for the musical realm. Perhaps that is why words are not always the most agreeable means of embellishing thoughts. Perhaps music is that one aperture that can convey the most profound emotions sans utterance.

Thanks to my enlightening experiences as an IB learner, and the concomitant appreciation I have gained of being a risk taker, I shall now take a moment to blatantly promote myself in a recent musical venture that I have embarked upon!

Thanks for reading! Thanks for watching! 

Jargonistic hybridity

It sure has been a while since my last attempt at penning something down here. While it's always an amusing struggle to procure creativity and let loose in this space, today's post has required me mustering oodles of courage to finally commemorate the distant existence of school work that I should have been perhaps working on throughout summer. I have fortunately been graced by a mid-summer epiphany and thus I have decided to prevail over the infamous, "Better late than never."

Moving on to the focal point of this blogpost—

As a part of the Lang and Lit course, we explored a plentitude of literary facets that collectively accessorize the English language, with the relatively recent emergence of Text Speak being one of the very first conceptual understandings that we delved into. Text Speak itself is considered to be the brain child of the digital generation. With smartphones, instant messaging, and social media domineering the human populace (and to a great extent, also destabilizing our sanity), Text Speak per se was begotten.

lol, rofl, ily, imy and so many more ostensible emotions ransacked into little bundles of contractions that would have never made any sense about a decade or two ago, have become commonplace in the colloquial phase of English today. Now, like many, since time immemorial, I also accused the digital age to have been the force behind the birth of this pillaged derivation of Queen's English. But, my recent encounter with the medical realm has provoked me to consider otherwise.

Over the summer, I have had the incredible opportunity to have interned as a research assistant at one of the most renowned hospitals in Canada. While the tag sure sounds appealing as it is, the extensive demands of the job title are equally draining. Nevertheless, one of the most intriguing elements associated with the internship, is the opportunity to be trained on the medical database of the hospital and be familiarized with the intricacies of the jargon that buttress the system.

Contusions, lacerations, hyperlipidemia, anticoagulants, and antiplatelets are only a few of the vast medical terminology glossary that have managed to etch themselves in my memory. And to top it all off, as if these esoteric terms were not enough, I also had to become acquainted with medical contractions. Yes, I repeat, MEDICAL CONTRACTIONS.

Who would have known that Text Speak has also infiltrated the medical realm? Well, at least that was my first thought on my primary encounter with these abbreviations.

Dx, Hx, x, SPC, LOC, HI

The ones above are really only a few to mention. Health care professionals are oft required to relate clinical occurrences in the form of detailed patient reports. And with the excessive amount of typing they have to do, I believe these abbreviations serve as essential stress-relievers from having to ceaselessly type out technical jargon. Clearly, the purpose of medical contractions differs immensely from that of what Text Speak happens to offer. But if we break it down to the fundamentals, the constituent intents seem to be the same: convenience. We know the medical field to be decorated with its own jargon, and so perhaps this concept already existed in the medical realm prior to the proliferation of Text Speak? Maybe it was in fact a neurologist that spurted Text Speak? Or even a bored thrombosis physician?

I guess we'll never know. But it certainly is interesting to ponder over.

Either ways, it was enlightening for me to have become familiar with what I would term as jargonistic hybrids: jargon disguised as Text Speak. And in all honesty, what was even more enlightening was the fact that Lang and Lit has urged me to consider relatively simplistic miscellanies with a magnified literary lens. Never would I have thought that I was able enough to conjure such abstract connections and come up with ideologies like that of a jargonistic hybrid.

Until next time!

DSC @ 14:12