Some novels follow the story of one character as he or she overcomes external and internal obstacles. Midaq Alley, by Naguib Mahfouz, is not such a novel. MIdaq Alley is a novel about a place, and it follows it with the same intimacy that many other narrative novels follow a person. The title of the novel is a reference to the setting, a novel about a street of exciting happenings as “everyday” Egyptians face building their lives in a post-World War II setting. But the novel is about more than just a single street in Cairo. The way that the characters cope speaks to and of the Middle East as a religion. Midaq Alley shows the values of the Middle East in narrative action. Sociological explanations can give understanding to a culture’s values, but narrative fiction can illuminate those understanding make connections in meaning.
Jame J. Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute, in a discussion with Christopher W. S. Ross, the special coordinator for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. State Department outlined what he considered to be the basic tenets of what he called “Arab values.” He thought that family concerns, self-respect, personal responsibility, respect for elders and working hard for a better life were the basic things that most Arabs have in common in their value system (Zogby, n.p.).
One does not have to search for in Midaq Alley to find these values played out. Everyone character in the novel, in some way, is searching or working for a better life. It is their faults, and their flawed coping mechanisms, which keep many of them in the same rut. Kirsha has a drug addiction and repressed feelings of homosexuality. There is a lot of tension within the family, which cause him to escape to an internal world of drug addiction. Family is one of the most important things that the Middle East as a whole values (Zogby, n.p.) and from Kirsha’s viewpoint, his family is broken, which means the most important part of his life is broken, and this break his character as a result.
Zaita is working towards a better life, but his he lost his balance in doing so. All he does is work to the point that it compromises his health. The narrator says ‘He consists of a thin, black body, and a black gown” Work has taken the place of family in his life. “He had no need for anyone, nor anything.” (Mahfouz, 30).
The worries and concerns that occupy much of the characters time in the novel has to do with family concerns. Just as there is a certain set of values that unites people of Middle Eastern culture, there is a set of values, which governs the coals of characters in Mahfouz’s novel. Mrs. Afify’s worry is for her step daughter. She worries about her temper, but not for the sake of her step daughter’s well-being. She worries that it will prevent her from having a family. If she becomes a spinster, then she will have no family of her own. This assigning blame causes resentment between them. Their struggle with their relationship is that they both blame the other for Hamida not having found a suitor. She thinks scornfully of her mother. “The most she could expect from her mother would be a secondhand bed, a sofa, and a few copper pots and pans. She would only have sweeping, cooking washing, and feeding children to look forward to” (Mahfouz, 79). There are other resentments that Hamida has. This resentment gets to some of the most prickly areas of Middle Eastern culture. In having a family, she must become a slave to a man. These resentments are to the value system as a whole, but since she is a function of context, Hamida resents and takes out these frustrations in her perceptions of those around her, always tending to try to dominate and overcome through verbal and passive aggressive force rather than asserting the will that she does not have.
K. Wint says that Middle Eastern cultures are honor cultures. IN honor culture, a person must devote effort to not losing face before the public or family eye of scrutiny. IT is important to support one's family and tribe above oneself since a single person can bring scorn on the entire family if they do not conduct themselves properly. Wint writes that as a result of honor cultures “There are, usually, very complex rules of engagement and communication styles. For example in the Middle East, saying “no” or blatantly disagreeing with people is not, usually, done in order to save people’s face” (Wint, n.p.). One disadvantage of this though is that while it may save people’s face at the moment, it leads to a passive aggressive culture. There is a lot of “beating around the bush” to use that phrase. People do not directly assert their opinions on things.
This value can be seen in the breakfast between Kamil and Abbas. In their language, it is clear that Kamil is in a dominant role in the hierarchy. Abbas frequently jokes and defers to him, paying him backhanded compliments. The backhanded compliments are also a way for him to express a repressed affection. In Kamil’s speech, despite his advanced age, there is a hopefulness of working towards better things that is consisted with conclusions of many who have studied middle eastern values. After Abbas jokes about his death he says, “Suppose my life last so long that things get back to the way they were before the way? Then we’ll have lost the value of an expensive shroud, don’t you agree” (Mahfouz, 13).
“Midaq Alley” is not a single story; it is the story of many people acting independently to fulfill their wants, hopes, needs, addictions and desires. But in the story of all these people a single narrative emerges of the place and time. This single narrative speaks to the type of situations, which emerge from the underlying values that community have. A look at what experts have listed as the predominant values of Middle Eastern culture is consistent with the values of the characters in Mahfouz’s novel “Midway Alley.” The stories of these characters cast this values in actions. Through it a person can do more than understand that data, but can connect that data to the understandings of what daily life is under such values. The picture that is created is one that is often bleak, but beneath it there is a silver lining of hope and perseverance which keeps the characters moving forward towards something they hope will be better.
Works Cited:
Maḥfūẓ, Najīb, and Trevor Gassick. Midaq Alley. New York: Anchor Books, 1992. Print.
"What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs, and Political Concerns." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 2 Dec. 2002. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cfr.org/ethnicity-minorities-and-national-identity/arabs-think-values-beliefs-political-concerns/p5354>.
Wint. "The Middle East - A Relationship Driven Culture." The Translation Agency For A Complete Professional Translation Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. <http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/middleeast.html>.
