Fountain and Tomb

Naguib Mahfouz's Fountain and Tomb takes place centered around the town Takiya. The Takiya is a monastery for a Muslim order of Sufis. For a Westerner, the best way to understand a Takiya is to think of the Monasteries of the Middle Ages. The Takiya is revered as is the monastery. It is a school for children, as was the monastery. It housed a monastic order, as did the monastery. The grounds were often manicured with beautiful gardens since the Takiya was the central refuge within the community just as the monastery proved to be. The fountain is at the Takiya.

The Takiya fountain and mulberry trees are representative of knowledge and the children's desire to eat the berries is representative of the human desire and quest for knowledge and lore. "The world is large, but only a pinhole aft

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ghbor is with him. He is left to entertain the 'guests' (foreign influences such as the British). Um Barhum also leaves him. He has become a man, but at what expense? "All is a blur until the terrible operation begins." (16) The memory of the people of Egypt regarding the subtle and in cases brutal changes taking place within their society was also a blur up until the 1920's. "A cruel, monstrous assault I can neither escape nor prevent, only undergo helplessly." (16) The Egyptian nation, as a whole, underwent an assault in the name of 'being civilized'. This particular vignette is also revealing in the way the women disappear. In this scene we discover the extent of the loss of their voice and how much they were unable to participate in the political changes taking place through their hushed tones and The changes undertaken were good for the Egyptian nation (allowing it to emerge on the league of nations stage) but bad for the people (as women lost their political voice). In some ways, Egypt has been the most recognized Middle-Eastern/African nation on the world front from the 1920's onward. They have actively involved themselves in the Middle Eastern peace process during the 1970's, which while placing themselves wit
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1232
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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