Comparative Literature

(1)Analysis of Structuralism and the Multiple Viewpoints in Miramar:-

In his essay "Structuralism, Semiotics, and Deconstruction", David Richter discuss Saussure's concept of parataxis. Words can exists in the same category yet have very different shades of meaning or levels of uses. In Miramar, Mahfouz plays with the language in order to indicate different personalities and class backgrounds in his narrators. For example, Amer Wagdi, an elderly man who was once a well-known journalist, uses eloquent speech and high diction in his narration. The words he chooses to describe Alexandria are both cultured and romantic, emphasizing his education. He also tends to reminisce frequently, emphasizing his age and the many memories he has to reflect on. Sarhan El-Beheiry is a country boy from a good family; he is also educated and tends to reminisce, but the reflections are generally of a more innocent and rustic nature.
In contrast, Hosni Allam, an uneducated landowner, frequently uses colloquial expressions, such as "ferekeeko, don't blame me". The repetition of slang throughout Hosni Allam's narration establishes his lack of education.
Through such an analysis of the language used in the different characters' storytelling, the reader understands the characterization of each speaker.
The language each storyteller uses also establishes what Chatman calls the "presence" of the narrator. The narrator comes into existence when the story itself is made to seem a demonstrable act of communication. Chatman goes on to illustrate the difference between a narrator who tells his story and one who shows it. The narrator who tells his story does so in a voice that is clearly directed to the reader. The narrator who shows his story has the difficulty of convincing the reader that they have emerged into the midst of the story.
The narrators in Miramar clearly show differences in their styles of narration. From the beginning, Amer Wagdi's story is clearly told to us: he soliloquizes about the beauty of Alexandria, about the changes in his old friend Mariana. At times he speaks his thoughts directly to the city and to other characters, but he is still speaking to his readers. Hosni Allam's account also takes on " teller qualities. Mansour Bahy assumes the voice of one speaking to the audience. His habit of telling the audience what he thinks or feels establishes his role as a narrator who tells rather than shows. It is assumed from the beginning that Sarhan is showing the reader. This assumption is supported by the way Sarhan El-Beheiry uses the language to narrate.
The difference in narration style helps to establish character. The retelling of the events through multiple points of view develops more than just the story.
The narrators in Miramar come to symbolize the divisions of Egyptian culture precisely because the reader assumes there must be a valid reason for representing each facet of culture within the Miramar, the focus of the novel.

Naguib Mahfouz's Miramar provides material for a thorough structural analysis. The structure of language contributes to characterization, which in turn establishes a diverse view of Egyptian culture. The structure of the novel develops the story and its sense of pluralism. According to Henry James, "The only reason for the existence of the novel is that it does attempt to represent life". Miramar does indeed represent a slice of life, complete with the many variances in speech, character, class, and culture. Miramar is not simply an Egyptian novel - it is a universal theme.

(2)The 20Century Egyptian Politics in Miramar:-

An author's history, his nationality, and the time he lives affected our understanding of his writing. We must stretch to read an author whose native language is different than our own. Naguib Mahfouz's Miramar presents Zohra, a girl symbolic of Egypt's potential in turbulent political times. Luckily, he also gives us the character of Amer Wagdi, the primary narrator who symbolizes so much of Egypt's past.
T.S Eliot, in his essay, Tradition and the Individual Talent, describes the contextual component of literary meaning. Eliot argues for the high use of allusion, that every text must be a gloss connected to almost every other: "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. You cannot value him alone; you must set him for contrast and comparison, among dead poets and artists". Miramar fails at Eliot's assertion that a text should contain everything a reader needs to understand it. In reading Mahfouz, we are not only touching upon a work of fiction and its literary tradition. We are also engaging a foreign culture.
When we read Miramar, we are acting as anthropologists. Mahfouz's characters are human enough for us to observe and relate to them, but we can better understand them with some knowledge of their history. Mahfouz neatly (cleverly) contrasts Zohra with Amer.
Amer is the most important narrator. He begins and ends the narrative cycle but his voice is more than a framing device. Amer represents the "past currents" of the 20century Egyptian politics.
Miramar was published in 1967, the year Egypt returned to war with Israel to regain the territory lost in Sinai. The revolution to which Mansour refers is the Revolution of 1962, during which ownership of land was reformed and Egypt strove to equalize her class system.
Amer is key to understanding Zohra as he, as the past of the Revolution, has laid the groundwork for her to move into the future of Egypt. His attempts to share his wisdom with Zohra are allegorical of the past attempting to inform the future.

Mahfouz's selective use of the Koran reflects the spirit of the time. The appeal to Islam was emphasized less than the appeal to Arab nationalism and unity. Arab unity had been accepted by previous governments of Egypt as an important strand in foreign policy.

The charactes most associated with Egypt's past, Amer, Tolba and Mansour all have the least chance of winning Zohra's affection. Young but looking backwards, Mansour is described as disinterested in her.
Mahfouz is building the important theme that Egypt's past is not her future and Zohra, in embracing literacy and independence symbolizes this.
By commenting on Amer's role in Egyptian politics, Mansour is reflecting on Amer the way the other characters of Miramar comment on Zohra. Amer is able to reflect on the past and comment because his ability to affect Egypt is gone.

Naguib Mahfouz's Miramar is a glimpse into the foreign culture of 1960s Egypt without the problems of exoticism.

(3) Emily Dickinson and William Bryant:-

لا تنسونا من صالح دعائكم

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك
اشهد ان لا اله الا انت
استغفرك واتوب إليك

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك
اشهد ان لا اله الا انت
استغفرك واتوب إليك