Negative Animal Imagery
From the early beginning of the novel, we realize that both Nabawiyya and Ilish might be the dogs by which the author referred to in his novel's title. This is made clear when Said says to himself, "Have you forgotten, Ilish, how you used to rub against my legs like a dog?" (152).
Again, when Said tries to get close to his daughter Sana, she is described as "like a mouse." (195).
We also have Said's description of Rauf Ilwan's face in which he describes it as "cow-like in its fullness..." (p.174).
When remembering his past relationship with Nabawiyya and how he chased her as she was shopping and their joking together, Said remembers that he "returned to the palm tree and climbed it, quick as a monkey" (222) and "went back to the hotel, singing, in a deep voice, like a bull in ecstasy" (222).
Positive Animal Imagery
First, we have Said's description of himself as "a man who can dive like a fish, fly like a hawk, scale walls like a rat...". This description of Said portrays him as cunning and strong; however, Said is seen as desperate throughout the novel.
In his talking about Nabawiyya and how she left a great person like him and for a traitor, Said wonders: "How could she ever give up a lion and take a dog?" Said announces that he will strike "like Fate" which the narrator emphasizes by saying, "Said felt like a tiger, crouched to spring on an elephant."
Death Imagery
The fact that Nur's flat looks out over a cemetery, with innumerable headstones and daily funerals, is powerful imagery that suggests Said is not long for this world. He often stares out at the cemetery and at one point even talks to the headstones as if they were a jury. He finds comfort in how quiet the area is, foreshadowing the quiet of death.
House Imagery
Mahfouz's description of Rauf's opulent villa helps the reader see how far removed from Said he actually is, as well as his revolutionary days. And when Said tries to penetrate the house to rob it, he is rebuffed. Ilish's house is similar in that it is fortress-like, and, as Said eventually realizes, not actually Ilish's house anymore. Both of these places are closed off to Said; he is not welcome there, he cannot have free reign, and, as he himself is homeless, these homes serve mainly to remind him of the life that is not his and will never be his.
