Naguib Mahfouz Analysis

Naguib Mahfouz’s Life Experiences Generally regarded as one of modern Egypt’s leading literary figures, Naguib Mahfouz is the first Arabic author to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. He is known around the world for his stories and novels in which he creates psychological portraits of characters whose personal struggles mirror the social, political, religious, and cultural turmoil prevalent in Egypt. Naguib Mahfouz was first recognized during the mid 1900s for a series of novels set in his hometown city, Cairo (“Naguib Mahfouz- Biography”). During this time, many controversial events were happening throughout Egypt, and these made him view things differently. Throughout Naguib’s childhood, he was surrounded by intense political disagreement during the 1919 Egyptian Revolution and nationalist protests against British rule. One of his most famous works, The Cairo Trilogy, offers a definitive portrayal of the changes he experienced in Egyptian society during the early 20th century. The Cairo Trilogy is composed of three works, with Palace Walk being the first one published in 1956. This novel begins in the year 1917 during World War I, and ends with the outbreak of the 1919 nationalist revolution. This book is centered around the structure of family unit and political repercussions. Many of the events explained in this book happened on the street that Naguib Mahfouz lived on, making him a contemporary of the revolution. “Because his family resided in Cairo, the