Children of the Alley: Mahafouz’s Allegory of Violence and Oppression

Abstract:

The study is an attempt to read the novel as a political allegory of exploitation and oppression in post-independence Egypt. An important objective of the study is to show how the use of allegory in the novel is necessitated by a political reality characterized by violence and oppression and how this allegorical aspect gives the novel a sense of timelessness and universality that makes it relevant to today Middle East. It tries to answer questions like; how repressive regimes are created?  The study finds out that Mahfouz employed the existing myths to deal with political themes like oppression, tyranny, revolution and abuse of power. He also secularized the religious history of humanity to show us how repressive regimes are created and how can people get rid of them?