The Thief and the Dogs

CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

1. His books (Chapter 1)

2. “[N]othing” (Chapter 2)

3. “Wash and read.” (Chapter 2)

4. Nabawiyya would pretend to be employed in a wealthy house in a service position such as a maid before Said robbed it. (Chapter 4)

5. The money Rauf gave Said on the first visit (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Upon his release from prison, Said is determined to see his daughter Sana, who is staying with Ilish, Said’s former accomplice and the man that his wife left Said for. Said imagined the reunion with his daughter in his head for four years; however, Sana is too young to remember her father, and she refuses to embrace him. (Chapter 1)

2. After visiting Ilish, Said goes to Sheikh Ali al-Junaydi’s home. The Sheikh is a religious man that Said knew as a child. Said tries to speak to the Sheikh about his present predicament, but the Sheikh gives only veiled answers that neither confirm nor deny whether he remembers Said as a child. (Chapter 2)

3. Said reveals that his wife was unfaithful to him with his student and that she ultimately divorced Said while he was in prison to marry the student. As a result, Said is upset, overwrought, and uncertain how to proceed. (Chapter 2)

4. Rauf Ilwan is Said’s old acquaintance who is now a wealthy journalist. Although the two bonded over their egalitarian ideals as young men, Said sees that Rauf now lives in an extravagant house with servants. In their conversation, Rauf denies Said the opportunity to work at the newspaper and makes it clear to Said that they cannot be friends if he returns to a life of thievery. (Chapter 3)

5. Although Said was sent to prison for stealing, he still wants to pursue this work, and after his meeting with Rauf, he decides that the first house he robs will be Rauf’s; however, Rauf is expecting Said to do this and is waiting for him the night that Said tries to break in. Although Rauf threatens to hand Said over to the police, he allows him to leave only after expressing disappointment and caution. (Chapter 4)

CHAPTERS 5-9

Reading Check

1. A revolver (Chapter 5)

2. “[O]ur intentions were good but we lacked order or discipline.” (Chapter 6)

3. Said is unsure who will take care of Sana. (Chapter 7)

4. Said feels that he is “not fully aware of [his] own self”—that is, he feels disassociated from his surroundings and actions. (Chapter 8)

5. Said says the government favors certain thieves over others. (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Said overhears two men discussing whether or not their future is truly secure, and whether friends could also be their enemies. This conversation causes Said to reflect on his own predicament; he recalls a conversation with his father about the progress of their country, with his father saying, “He needs a gun and a book: the gun will take care of the past, the book is for the future. Therefore you must train and read.” (Chapter 5)

2. At the desert cafe, Said becomes reacquainted with Nur, a girl who used to like him while he was in love with Nabawiyya. Said uses Nur as an accomplice to help him rob a man of his car. Said then tells Nur to report the theft to the police, but she provides a false description. (Chapter 5)

3. Said initially intends to kill both Nabawiyya and Ilish; however, after considering his daughter Sana, he decides to kill only Ilish in the moment. Upon entering Ilish’s residence, Said successfully kills the man in the apartment before running away and taking solace at the Sheikh’s. (Chapter 7)

4. Said learns from the newspaper that he had not killed Ilish, but rather a new tenant to the apartment. He feels helpless and alone, and that there is no point in his existence. (Chapter 8)

5. After visiting the Sheikh, Said visits Nur, where he hopes to lay low for some time. He knows that Nur has feelings for him, which he decides to use to his advantage; however, his heart remains “locked” to her. (Chapter 9)

CHAPTERS 10-13

Reading Check

1. Fabric for a military uniform (Chapter 10)

2. Nur was beaten by the police. (Chapter 11)

3. “Most Egyptians neither fear nor dislike thieves [...] But they do have an instinctive dislike for dogs.” (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. After Nur leaves him for the day, Said spends his time reflecting on his relationship with Nabawiyya, such as how they first met and when Nabawiyya met Ilish. He connects this trajectory of thought to Sana as well as Nur, highlighting his overall mistrust of the female gender. Said chooses to spend his time thinking in Nur’s apartment without the lights on in order to make sure that he is not discovered by anyone. (Chapter 10)

2. In reaction to his view of the graveyard from Nur’s window, Said reflects on death and the passage of time. These thoughts lead him to his parents, who worked in the students’ hostel until their deaths. Said was deeply affected by his father’s death as well as his mother’s, the latter of which led him to steal for the first time; with that crime, Rauf was able to help him get the charges lifted. This thought brings him back to the current day, as his internal monologue shifts to the frustration he has with Rauf not giving him a job at the newspaper. (Chapter 11)

3. Utilizing a tip from Tarzan, Said waits in the night for Bayaza, an old accomplice who had previously helped Ilish. Stealing Bayaza’s money, Said threatens to kill Bayaza if he does not reveal where Ilish is. The man pleads that he does not know Ilish’s whereabouts except that after Said’s mistaken murder of Shaban, Ilish and his family went into hiding. Satisfied with this answer, Said takes 10 pounds and allows the man to leave unharmed with the rest of the money. (Chapter 13)

CHAPTERS 14-18

Reading Check

1. “[T]he highest standard of treachery” (Chapter 14)

2. The doorkeeper (Chapter 15)

3. That Nur is influenced by the reward for his catch (Chapter 16)

4. Said’s uniform disguise at Nur’s house (Chapter 17)

5. A man wearing underwear who Said does not recognize (Chapter 18)

Short Answer

1. Determined to murder Rauf, Said dresses in his makeshift officer’s uniform and visits his former friend’s house. He waits for his arrival, and when Rauf’s car door opens, Said attempts to shoot him, only to be shot at from another side, and, in a flurry of confusion, forced to escape. He manages to get a taxi to Nur’s apartment and sees that he has been injured. (Chapter 14)

2. After reading the papers, Said learns that Rauf is twisting the story to make himself seem benevolent and empathetic and that he is trying to support Said with charity. Said also learns that he accidentally killed the doorkeeper that night. Intoxicated, Said descends into an inner monologue in which he justifies his actions and imagines that he is able to plead his innocence before a court of law, receiving a verdict that he is “a great man.” (Chapter 15)

3. Said is confused when Nur does not return, initially believing that she had sold him out for the reward, then concerned for her well-being. As he also depends on her for basic necessities, he must leave the house temporarily to receive food from Tarzan. He becomes worried when the landlord comes to the apartment for the rent. (Chapter 16)

4. In an effort to escape Nur’s landlord, who is seeking the overdue rent, Said goes to the Sheikh’s place. The Sheikh claims that he will not turn Said in, and the two men engage in a cryptic conversation that shares their own opinions on the matter of justice and wrongdoings, as opposed to interacting with each other. In the end, Said falls asleep. (Chapter 17)

5. After leaving Nur’s apartment and the Sheikh’s place, Said decides to seek safety in the cemetery outside of Nur’s apartment. He is followed by dogs and soldiers, who demand that he surrender in order to receive a just ending. Said ignores their words and begins shooting, causing them to shoot back. He wonders in this moment if he has “won”; then he sees darkness spreading over him before he dies in the cemetery. (Chapter 18)