This is a suggested teaching schedule for a 10 day class study of Naguib Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs. Lesson plans and handouts can be downloaded individually by clicking on the name of the file in the schedule below. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these files.
The CD Audio Guide referenced for this title is referred to as the Radio Show in the left hand navigation. The compact disc versions are available only for the communities participating in The Big Read. If your community is participating, contact the lead community organization to receive a free Audio Guide. If your community is not participating, encourage a local organization (such as a library, museum, literary center, arts council, or similar non-profit organization) to apply.
Day One
FOCUS: Biography
Day One Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Listen to The Big Read CD. Discuss the life of Naguib Mahfouz and his work. Begin keeping a Reader’s Journal. Write a short essay on how studying Mahfouz’s life might be important while reading The Thief and the Dogs.
Homework: Read “Introduction to the
Novel” from the Reader’s Guide (p. 3), the
novel’s Introduction (pp. 5–9), and Chapters
One and Two (pp. 13–33).*
Day Two
FOCUS: Culture and History
Day Two Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Read the beginning of the novel aloud in class and consider the ways the political turmoil in his country might have affected Mahfouz’s writing. Write a three-paragraph essay examining the way freedom is portrayed in the novel’s opening paragraphs.
Homework: Read Handout One and
Chapters Three, Four, and Five (pp. 34–62).
Day Three
FOCUS: Narrative and Point of View
Day Three Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss Mahfouz’s use of both third-person narration and first-person interior monologue. Have students write a journal entry discussing the narrative technique they prefer.
Homework: Read Chapters Six, Seven, Eight,
and Nine (pp. 63–88).
Day Four
FOCUS: Characters
Day Four Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss the major characters, examining the ways each affects Said. Write a journal entry considering whether Said Mahran is heroic.
Homework: Read Chapters Ten, Eleven, and
Twelve (pp. 89–116).
Day Five
FOCUS: Figurative Language
Day Five Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss the ways Mahfouz uses imagery, metaphor, and simile. Have students write a short analysis of the way simile and metaphor are used in the novel.
Homework: Read Chapters Thirteen,
Fourteen, and Fifteen (pp. 117–135).
Day Six
FOCUS: Symbols
Day Six Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Read and discuss “An Interview with Naguib Mahfouz” from the Reader’s Guide (pp. 10–11). Discuss the ways Nur can be seen as a symbol of Egypt. Examine Said’s declaration, “Whoever kills me will be killing the millions…” and the ways it creates a symbolic link between his character and the average Egyptian citizen. Write a short essay on a symbol in the novel.
Homework: Finish reading the novel. Have
students list the novel’s three major turning
points in their Reader’s Journal.
Day Seven
FOCUS: Character Development
Day Seven Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Create a timeline for the novel. Write a character summary of Nur. Discuss the sheikh’s claim in Chapter Seventeen that Said could still save himself.
Homework: Have students note instances in
their Reader’s Journals where Mahfouz uses
symbols, action, imagery, and dialogue to
foreshadow the novel’s conclusion.
Day Eight
FOCUS: The Plot Unfolds
Day Eight Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Examine symbols, actions, imagery, and dialogue that foreshadow the novel’s end. Read and discuss Handout Two. Examine each of Said’s visits to the sheikh. Write a different ending to the novel.
Homework: Write a paragraph about the
novel’s most compelling theme.
Day Nine
FOCUS: Themes of the Novel
Day Nine Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Discuss the way The Thief and the Dogs examines freedom, morality, and justice. Ask students to identify other themes of the novel.
Homework: Begin essays. Outlines are due
the next class period.
Day Ten
FOCUS: What Makes a Book Great?
Day Ten Lesson Plan [PDF]
Activities: Read Handout Three. Discuss how Mahfouz viewed literary excellence and the goals of a writer. Write a letter encouraging a friend to read The Thief and the Dogs.
Homework: Students will finish their essays.
Handouts
Handout 1: The Stream of Consciousness Technique [PDF]
Handout 2: The Sheikh As a Moral Voice in the Novel [PDF]
Handout 3: The Literary Legacy of Naguib Mahfouz [PDF]
* Page numbers refer to the 2008 anchor Books edition of The Thief and the Dogs.
