How does Mahfouz illustrate how fate is a major determiner of one’s happiness in life?

Fate, also known as one's destiny, is defined as the development of events outside a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power. 
One's fate cannot be altered with, whereas other aspects such as one's free will and the choices they make within, can be.
Mahfouz illustrates the aforementioned phenomenon in his novel 'The Theif and the Dogs', through the character of Said and his decisions and the choices he makes, in his free will. Mahfouz presents Said being released from prison and into the real world, where he now earns his freedom and has the free will to act in any way he chooses to do; it becomes obvious that he is aware of this when he states "I am alone with my freedom", implying that he is fully conscious in his judgements and therefore will be fully responsible for any consequences that may arise. Through this characterization, Mahfouz implies that fate is, in fact, a major determiner of one's happiness in life; in Said's case, his fate is that his life is taken away from him, only 18 days after he earns his 'freedom'. Therefore, it becomes clear that his actions within those 18 days shape and predict what he 'deserves' when he comes face to face with his fate. Moreover, the people within Said's life, and their actions, also play a significant role in illustrating why his fate turned out the way it did. This is because the people he once perceived as "family" have betrayed him and are now seen as 'dogs' in his eyes; this anger has led him to choose the path of vengeance and violence and dismiss any potential chances of him choosing the path of love and new beginnings or the path of forgiveness and spirituality. Overall, the lack of happiness within Said's life is predominantly determined by his unfortunate fate.

Chapter 2

Characterization of Said

In chapter 2, Said visits the Shiekh's house, where he is reminded of religion and olden times; "...saw the Sheikh sitting cross-legged on the prayer carpet"- the theme of faith is explored through this reunion.
The characterization is achieved through symbolism- Said seems to hope to adopt a more holy personality, this is a necessity, as, under Gamal's rule, as his regime had an important perception regarding the role of Islam in the state and Islam remained an important source of identity for mobilizing the masses behind the Arab Socialist project domestically and regionally. Therefore, it is apparent that even though Said had not been the best form of a tragic hero, he still had intentions of improving his social [religious] status. The aforementioned reasons are in result of Said tragic flaw (hamartia) of being stubborn and resistant to any type of change in his life after he had been released from prison, this is evident when it is mentioned that "at the threshold of the open door he paused, trying to remember when he'd crossed it last", this suggests that he had developed into a whole new persona, after life at prison, possibly because he had been exposed to new ideologies and mindsets, therefore negatively influencing him and distnacing him from his beliefs and religion. However, throughout the entire book, it appears as though the only person who Said had not changed his perceptions on, is his father and Said frequently recalls advice his father used to give him and he is inspired, in this chapter, Said recalls when his father said "look and listen, learn and open your heart", this implies that Said, at times, hopes to become a more open-minded person that is able to easily confide in others, however, his hamartia is the key factor in confining this from happening.

How and to what effect does Mahfouz employ stream of consciousness narration in the novel?

The stream of consciousness narrative technique and how it is used to characterize Said Mahran 

Stream of consciousness is a literary technique and a method of narration; it comprises of the flow of thoughts and feelings and exposes the minds and inner thoughts of the characters, and therefore it is not cohesive and does not have a fixed structure. 
The novel 'The Thief and the Dogs', is mostly narrated in a third-person limited narrative, however, at times, the reader is exposed to Said's unfiltered thoughts and feelings in a particular situation; information that can not be predicted or therefore elaborated on by a third person narrative- this allows an insight into Said's thirst and belief in vengeance against the ones that had betrayed at some point of their lives. “Your turn will come, Nabawiyya. There’s no escape from me. I’m the devil himself,” (chapter 4), this demonstrates his anger towards his ex-wife and moves the plot forward, as the reader follows through with his journey of seeking revenge, between the chapters/days. 
Moreover, the use of stream of consciousness helps to move the plot forward and assists the reader in having an in-depth understanding of certain situations and Said's true self.
Overall, it is a way Mahfouz lets the reader understand the protagonist's perspective on what is truly happening and the possible reasons/explanations as to why.

For example, in chapter 4, the stream consciousness technique characterizes Said's negative perspective on the world and how his external conflicts drive his reckless behavior. His hatred is driven by the change which has occurred in his surroundings and his the people in his old life, like Rauf.

Within chapter seven, the reader can acknowledge specific streams of consciousness that characterize Said as an in denial man who is distant from reality as he believes he “must wait until he’s arranged things, then swoop like an eagle”.

Specific elements of language and style and its effect 

Mood: A lot of revelations are made to the reader about Said's past, creating a certain [sympathetic] mood for the reader- leading them to, at times, temporarily sympathize with Said 

Characterization of Said: After it is revealed that his parents had passed away, it suggests that he had built himself on his own and the reader follows through him suffering the consequences of that event, through the days, after he is released from prison

[Internal] Conflict: he is trying to find explanations as to why all the people within his life have turned against him into ‘dogs’

Symbolism: Nur finds difficulties in how life had been treating her and hopes for a ‘bright’ day to come along and for her to not live in fear ~ Nur= light

‘The days passed like dreams’- even though negativity is conveyed, the characters are still in hopes for better days to come along// foreshadowing of future events (dreams occur during sleep- a temporary [and eventually permanent] death) (chapter 11)

Mahfouz’s context of production

The context of production is the situation or circumstances in which a text is produced with significant factors influencing the writing or speaking of a text; for the following novel, it is post-revolutionary (5 years following the Egyptain Revolution of 1952). Mahfouz’s context of production is to express his confusion and perplexities during the events during that time, into the subjective character of Said. It is seen that Said seeks answers to his complexities through the ‘stream of consciousness’ by having flashbacks of his father, the death of both parents, and the role Ilwan played during these desperate events in Said’s life. Said tries to find reason and explanation of what went wrong in the present by linking it to the past, but it doesn’t seem to make sense as he could only picture Ilwan in good light and could not find another reason encourage him to turn against Ilwan even more. This is reflective of Mahfouz’s confusion and perplexities as he was having trouble piecing together his thoughts during present events, and it is reflected by Said’s stream of consciousness. As audience members we understand that Mahfouz, or people like himself, although might have not been criminals like Said but did face similar interior turmoil. As intelects they were censored by their ruling class, and left unattended causing them to doubt and question their circumstances, and subsequently where their values lie in response to these circumstances.