IB English: The thief and the dogs - Quote Notecards

As Nur is angrily speaking of Said's wife as Said is in her house, Said says, "How sly she is! But a man like me doesn't like to be pitied. Beware of sympathy!" (87)

Said calls Nur sly as if she is deceiving him even though she is in love with him and trying to sympathize. this also adds to the gender relations during the time and how the men believed the women were trying to belittle them. he proves this when he says that he doesn't like to be pitied, but he says men don't like to be pitied, as if women do. he also emphasizes his hatred towards sympathy to harden his character

After Said allegedly kills Ilish, he visits the Sheikh and tries to sleep but he says to himself, "There's this feeling of helplessness, as if you were drowning. And you thought you were going to sleep like a log as soon as your skin hit the floor!" (74-75)

Said calls himself helpless to emphasize the grief he feels towards the recent actions he has made. he compares it to drowning because it seems like he is suffering with his decisions. he compares his sleep to a log because he thought he would think nothing of the action he did. the imagery of the skin hitting the floor instead of saying body makes it more dramatic and emphasizes how tired Said is and how mentally and physically draining the process has been

The news of the murder has become public and Said is trying his best to hide himself and ends up at Tarzan's but when Tarzan rejects him, Said says back, "'But I thought the storm had died down now,' Said said, the darkness hiding his concern" (111)

Said is concerned and is thinking about the revolution and the aggression towards the people from the government. the storm that Said is referring to is the revolution and the commotion around him. he seems to be lost and confused about his surroundings and doesn't seem like things are going the way he thought

After Nur and him meet up again, she explains that she has been beaten and Said says to himself "You, too, used to dream of a life like that, but it's all been spent climbing up drainpipes, jumping down from roofs, and being chased in the dark, with badly aimed bullets killing innocent people" (109)

Said says this with a depressed tone and thinks about the ways that Nur used to be. he sees how she has changed and how she used to be energized. he uses the words jumping and climbing and chased to emphasize the youth she had. he includes bullets once again, connecting to his murder, and talking about innocent people

As Said was having a dream at the Sheikh's house, Said said to dream Rauf, "Kill me if you wish, but my daughter is innocent" (76)

Said's dream was an emotional rollercoaster because he was thinking of all the people that betrayed him and saw himself as the victim the whole time. he tells Rauf to kill him because he feels as if he should be punished for his actions and feels some sort of guilt. he brings up his daughter once again to try to tie him back to his old life again

"I swear I'm telling the truth!" Said hit him again, and the man groaned with pain and fear. (120)

he begs for his life while Said is emotionlessly hurting him over and over again. he groans with pain and fear because he is genuinely afraid of Said. Said has no mercy because he hits him repetitively

Said goes into his whole story of how Nabawiyya and him met and got married and as he thinks about how Ilish was during their marriage he questions, "How could she ever give up a lion and take to a dog?" (94)

he compares himself to a lion to emphasize his toughness and how he is a bigger and better person than Ilish. he described Ilish as being like a slave to him during their friendship and that Ilish followed everything that he said. this is why Said compares him to a dog as if he was a smaller and unintelligent creature that just listened to what its owner said

After Said wakes up in Nur's house, he has time to think to himself as he watches the graveyard outside and says, "What's left behind is a dangling chain of regrets... If only a deceit cold be as plainly read in the face as fever or an infectious disease" (90)

he compares his actions as a chain of regrets because he is unhappy with what he has done and its ever lasting because it keeps going. he says its dangling because its always in front of him taunting him of his decisions. he blames it on deceit and betrayal and even compares it to an infectious disease as if he had no say in the actions he did

As Said has a revolutionary thought about Rauf as he thinks about his past, he says to himself, "the day you were imprisoned you rose up in my eyes to the very sky, higher still when you protected me the first time I stole..." (113)

he compares his thought of Rauf to the sky and he emphasizes how highly he thought of Rauf before things went down. he thinks of Rauf as an authority and admires his work

Said thinks of time without Nur and "The thought choked him with despair, not merely because he would soon lose a safe hiding place but also because he knew he'd lost affection and companionship as well" (141)

he compares this thought to choking because he feels as if he can't breathe. this makes him so sad and feels suffocated. he feels lonely and not loved because hes without Nur. he feels exposed from a hiding place

As Said thinks to himself and reencounters his childhood memories, he mentions the death of his mother and says that after she died, "at that point, for all your youth, you flew into a real adult's rage, screaming and cursing in protest, smashing a chair to the floor with a crash, so the veneer wood on its back broke in pieces" (103)

he describes that the worst part of his childhood was when his mother died. he gives his current actions an excuse with his traumatic past and says that this event caused adult's rage. the violent diction shows how distraught he was as a kid and how these actions evolved into something as big as murder. the smashing and the breaking resembles how frustrated Said felt and mirrors his emotions of feeling broken

After Nur confesses who she really is and Said realizes that he has been betrayed, he says to her, "a man who has to stay in the dark, waiting by himself, a man like that can't stand lies" (116)

he explains that a man has to stay in the dark, the darkness that consumes him so much that he physically cannot stand. he waits by himself because he feels alone and isolated, developing his character as a lonesome and angry person. he cannot face lies because he feels like he is already isolated enough

After Said tries to kill Rauf and it goes viral, he said to himself, "why do they accuse the gun, where it is above all people" (133)

he explains that the gun did the bad things and not him and that the gun is superior to all people. this shows his admiration for violence and the justification that he is right and not in the wrong

After Said is unable to find Nur he thinks to himself, "Think only about what you've got to do now, waiting here, filled with bitterness, in this murderous stifling darkness" (137)

he explains that this is a bitter way of living which compares this to a taste. he also explains that this murderous stifling darkness is unbearable and that he doesn't think that he can think of anything else. the only thing that he can think about is the darkness surrounding him

After he thinks he killed Rauf, he sits with Nur and "Said grunted irritable and forestalled any expression of regret by taking another big swallow, gesturing at Nur to drink, too" (128)

he is angry and uncomfortable and he is trying to shut out his feelings by drinking and with Nur. he has a strong feeling of regret and it can't get out of his head. he takes large swallows to forget the actions he has done but doesn't talk about it

As he confronts Rauf and yells at him, Said tries to kill him, "but before he could fire, a shot from within the garden, whistling past him very close, disturbed his aim" (124)

he is trying to kill someone but gets distracted so his aim changes. this can relate how he is distracted from the true motives and it deters and messes us his plan.

After he unsuccessfully tries to kill Ilish, he targets Rauf and says "I am, in fact, your soul. You've sacrificed me" (123)

he relates everything he does to Rauf and acts as if Rauf created him. everything that happens so far with Said is shifted to Rauf and how he believes that Rauf made him do the things he has done

When Said goes into Nur's house after he leaves the Sheikh's house, he sits down with her and thinks to himself, "She's looking at you as if she could eat you up, but you only feel bored, annoyed. Why can't you stop brooding over your wounded pride and enjoy her?" (86)

he says that Nur could eat him up as an analogy to her infatuation towards him and that he acknowledges it. he expresses his feelings quite directly to himself as he describes himself as bored and annoyed. he seems to only see her as an object that can either give or not give him happiness or any type of satisfaction. he calls his pride wounded to give the imagery that he has not healed yet and he is vulnerable and that he doesn't see himself getting better

after Said's daughter refused to see him, Said explained to the people in his house that "[he] only want[s] my books" (24)

he values education and wants nothing to do with the family that he feels has betrayed him. he can't stand the fact that someone else has taken his life so he only wants to expand on the things that he loves. i also gives a different perspective on Said and shows his true desires to learn or occupy himself with stories

After Said interacted with Bayaza and stopped hurting him, he "was satisfied with ten pounds" (120)

he was satisfied but the problems that have been weighting on him have amounted to 10 pounds. he feels as if he has done something good but somewhere deep down he believes that it's a weighted problem and that it's the wrong thing to do

While Said is planning to kill his ex-wife and her new lover, he asks, "But who'll look after Sana? The thorn in my side" (69)

the fact that his daughter is brought up as a trouble to him is a constant theme throughout the book. he constantly thinks of his daughter but has malicious intents towards everyone else around him. the only concerns he has when he plans a murder is the thought of his own daughter. he only thinks of his own life and compares it to a thorn because it has been bothering him the whole time.

while he is talking about his daughter to Ilish, he repeats the words "only shameful deeds can shame a man" (19)

the fact that these words have really stuck with him because he feels as if he was wronged, emphasizes the fact that he feels his shame or doesn't because he feels innocent. this also emphasizes that Said only feels shame because he has done something so shameful to everyone around him and himself

Said is walking around and says "Gripping his revolver hard, he pondered the chance that might now be at hand, to bear down on his enemy and achieve his long-awaited goal." (118)

the gripping of the revolver shows the angst and anxiety when he is in the moment. he ponders and thinks about his choices. the goal that he seeks are the deaths of the people he despises most

After Said spends time with Nur and flatters her with compliments, she expresses her love towards him and as they sit next to each other, "a moth overhead made love to a naked light bulb in the dead of the night" (100).

the metaphor of the moth making love to the light compares the relationship of Nur and Said. Said is the moth because he became attracted to the light, Nur, but she is naked because she is very vulnerable and exposed with her feelings. the night makes it seem like the light is the only source of light making the moth very attracted to it, this is because Said is in a bad time and lonely and Nur is the only one being nice to him, making it easier for him to be attracted to her

when Said decided to go to the Sheikh after he got out of jail, the Sheikh kept on repeating "wash and read" (32)

the repetition emphasizes how Said needs to cleanse his soul of the deed that he is done but needs to refocus on what is important. the wash and read part focuses on the religious aspect of the book and focuses on how Said needs to clear his mind of his evergoing thoughts

Describing more about his betrayal, he mentions his wife and explains that "the tongue that so often and so profusely told me, "I love you, the best man in the world," was silent" (48)

the way that Said mentions the heartbreak in this quotes emphasizes the betrayal and hurt that he feels because of this. he evokes pity in the readers once again because he uses words that were once said in order to show people his old life.

After staying the night at the Sheikh's house, Said talks about his old mentor, Rauf Ilwan, and says to himself, "You are, in fact, the most important thing I have in this insecure world" (34)

the world is insecure because Said feels very fragile. he cannot find what he needs and he hopes that people around him and from his past can help him. he explains that the most important thing to him is this help.

After leaving and talking about his ex-wife he talks to himself and says "As long as I live you'll never enjoy the taste of peace" (72)

this aggressiveness of this quote really shows the characterization of Said and how he feels about the situation. to enjoy the "taste" of peace gives a longing sensation to the readers. the metaphor that peace is an edible thing we can taste compares it to something we can't live without; something humans long for. this makes it more harsh towards his ex-wife.

when Said talks to the Sheikh about his father and asks him if he remembers him, the Sheikh says "May God have mercy upon all of us" (28)

this also is repetition and forces them to talk about his father. this reflects back to what we don't know about Said and emphasizes the problems that they are facing in that time. this can also relate to the revolution because the Sheikh seems to feel as if everyone is in danger in some type of way

when Said's daughter would not go towards him, he explained that "Said knew now that prison lashings has not been as cruel as he used to think" (22)

this comparison to lashings to his daughter not even knowing him emphasizes the fact that he hates and is upset about this. its intolerable and saddening that he can't face his own daughter. the hurt that Said goes through when he mentions his daughter emphasizes that she is one of the only things holding him together

After Said commanded Nur to do things that would avoid him getting in trouble, she agreed and he said "Will you be able to act as well in the police station as you did in the car?" (68)

this demanding tone and assertiveness of Said also brings back the roughness of his character while also bringing the attention to the gender relations during this time as well. this question also seems very condescending to Nur because he is asking her to behave in a way that he is telling her to behave

After Said tries to kill Rauf, it goes in the headlines and "The papers accused Said of being mad: craving for power and blood" (130)

this emphasizes the craziness that Said has started in his life and the more that he has caused himself to go downhill. it is said that he is craving power and blood which is intense and disturbing for the readers

talking to the Sheikh, Said explains to him and says "and my own daughter has rejected me" (29)

this emphasizes the fact that he feels rejected by everything especially by the world but by something that is so close to him hurt the most. he mentions this throughout the book and seems to be the only thing that ties him to a normal life as it was before jail. he seems to obsess over his daughter in the novel because it is the only chance of love that he believes he has

While Said and Nur were riding in his car, they were talking about how she missed him and Nur said, "You were heartless long before you ever went to jail" (66)

this hurt Nur because she explains how hurt she was when she had the unrequited love before Said went to jail. this characterizes Nur as a hopeless romantic and also characterizes Said as a stone cold person. this contrast in characters also brings attention to the gender difference and attention to the tension between gender relations.

After Said slept all day at the Sheikh's house, the Sheikh says to him, "Your burning heart yearns for shade, yet continues forward under the fire of the sun. Haven't you learned to walk yet?" (79)

this is a huge metaphor that the Sheikh tells Said and shows the importance and story behind Said's motives. Said's burning heart yearns for shade meaning that his evil actions and mindset are begging to take a break but he refuses to stop. this is why he continues under the sun because he doesn't want to stop or doesn't know how to even though it is in his best interest to. the Sheikh compares this sensation to burning because these actions are hurting him and it feels like fire. he asks if he has learned to walk because he doesn't think Said has learned enough to better himself

As Said is thinking about the words that the gentlemen are saying and comments on what the Sheikh has said to him before: "a revolver is more important than a loaf of bread" (59)

this is significant because it comes from the sheikh who we would expect to be very against violence but he says that a revolver, a violent weapon, is more important than something that gives life.

While talking to Rauf, Said explains to him, "My past hasn't yet allowed me to consider the future" (43)

this is significant because it explains that Rauf questions him but Said seems to be at a complete loss. this event that he has experienced has struck him deeply as a person and he finds it hard to consider what to do with his life.

After Said tries to break into Rauf's house and gets caught, Said says "His kind words are cunning, his smiles no more than a curl of the lips, his generosity a defensive flick of the fingers, and only a sense of guilt moved him to let me cross the threshold of his house" (47)

this is significant because the way that Said describes him is in a malicious tone. this shows how Said really thinks and how he views other people. this makes the people reading this change their opinion of Said dramatically

As Said prepares to see his old friend again he reminisces on his wife and says "There's nothing more heartbreaking than loving someone like that. It had been like a nightingale singing to a rock, a breeze caressing sharp-pointed spikes." (60)

this metaphor of this unrequited love explains how deeply Said feels about this fallen relationship. he feels as if he cannot sing to her anymore because her bitterness and her lack of love for him hurts him too deeply.

As Said describes the people that he has felt betrayed by, he says "which carried them in a current crawling like death, like a cat creeping on its belly toward a bewildered sparrow" (48).

this repetitive example of betrayal is very significant because it thread throughout the book. he compares them with the metaphor and simile comparing them to death. he compares them to death and predators to make himself look like the victim and the prey. he is evoking the feeling of pity in the readers.

As Said talks to the people around him with Tarzan, one of the men says "but why do we curse our anxiety and fears?" (57)

this rhetorical question asks the readers to go further into what they believe the situation is about. this makes us look into the calamity that is happening and concerns us about the issue going Said at the moment. it seems that this man believes that anxiety and fear are healthy and important in life for humans and that we shouldn't curse them away

Said is explaining why he went to jail and explains "And I did it partly for the sake of the little girl" (20)

this shows Said's compassion and gives mystery of what he did. with the curiosity of the event and the mystery of his family life, the quote introduces his motives and ambitions. this also brings it back to his daughter possibly because we do not know why he went to jail yet

After Said shoots the person in his old house he yells at his ex-wife and says "Your turn will come! There's no escape from me! I'm the devil himself!" (71)

this violent diction and aggressive tone is shown through Said in a new light in this quote. he is screaming at her and there is a repetition of exclamation points and he revolves the conversation about himself. he calls himself the devil to exaggerate the evil that he wants and will do to his ex-wife because of the anger that he is feeling.

After Said leaves with Nur, he robs someone on the street and then "shoved Nur back to the car. 'You get in.' Groaning with pain, she climbed in" (64)

this way that the narrator describes the relationship between the two draw in more tension in the story. Said is very forceful and is shown as aggressive and Nur seems to be troubled by the actions Said does. she also groans in pain which illustrates the struggle that he is putting her through especially when he is physically shoving her in his car. this shows the dominance of men in this time period in Egypt.

After Said leaves Nur's house to go on a walk, he goes to Tarzan's and talks about the hangman's rope where Tarzan proceeds to yell at Said, "You seem to think a hangman's rope is some sort of joke!" (107)

using the context of the revolution, the hangman's rope being the punishments from the government. this shows the care and concern that goes into the political climate and how tense it is around people. he yells at Said with passion because he thinks that its too dangerous to not consider when Said acts irresponsibly

As Said wonders around the street after his visit at the Sheikh's house, he says to himself, "But with this revolver, if I have any luck, I can do wonderful things. With this revolver, I can awake those who are asleep" (84)

with the juxtaposition of a revolver, something violent and only made for killing, and wonderful things, the author shows how Said's mind works and emphasizes his mental problems. Said says if I have any luck to illustrate the desire Said has for destruction. he also uses sleep as a metaphor to the people that don't see the way he does. he wants to awaken then because he wants to change people into how he wants it