The Mixture of Emotions

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Perseverance and the Mixture of Emotions in Naguib Mafooz’s “Zaabalawi” Patience is a very important asset for an individual to possess. In Naguib Mahfooz' “Zaabalawi,” he argues that one needs a strong sense of perseverance. Also, with the usage of various symbolism, he provides us with astonishing way to feel the mixture of emotions and to comprehend the many amplified themes. In this essay, I will discuss the following subjects to rectify my point of view: the protagonists’ journey and the various symbolism used. Firstly, the protagonist was told by his father who Sheikh Zaabalawi was a true-saint of god, that can remove worries and troubles. (Mahfooz 492) Over time, the protagonist had been diagnosed with an incurable disease, that is when he remembered the fatherly advice he was given; what he didn’t know was that an extremely long journey was about to unfold. During his mission in the search of the sheikh, hethr meets a variety of people including a religious lawyer, a bookseller, a government officer, a calligrapher, a musician and a drunken man. Throughout his journey, these individuals honored Zaabalawi’s talents with praises such as “We use to regard him as a man of miracles.” (Mahfooz 492) Emotional reactions such as a strong sense of astonishment were shown drastically on their visages. During his very long journey, the narrator had felt despair many times, and almost let it get to him. He expressed his despair through the following simile, "With the passing of the days like motes in the air my pains grew so severe that I was sure I would not be able to hold out much longer" (Mahfouz 493). Many of the people he visited would be pessimistic about the whereabouts of Zaabalawi because he was such a mysterious man. They would say comments such as: "A real man of mystery; he'd visit you so often that people would imagine he was your nearest and

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