Magic Realism in a Selected Short Stories of Naguib Mahfouz

Magic realism is one of the new methods of writing and a literary style in contemporary stories in which authors make wonderful, fantasy, and magical events and elements reliable and have readers to travel in the mysterious and believable space of stories. Using magic realism, particularly in developing countries, is becoming a common practice because of their political, historical, and social situations in recent time. Some of the features of magic realism in some of Naguib Mahfouz’s short stories can be investigated. In the present study, through a descriptive-analytical method, is to investigate Naguib Mahfouz’s short stories based on components of magic realism. The aim of the study is to show that Naguib Mahfouz links magic symbols and elements with Arabs’ contemporary history, especially Egypt on the one hand, and with the psychological profile of characters. The present study is significant because in the selected stories, psychological aspects of fictional characters and Arabs’ contemporary history have been significantly paid attention to using elements such as symbols, surprise ending, sudden events, the wonderful and strange beliefs, as well as dreams and visions. Arabs defeat by Israel, the political repression of the Arab communities, as well as national ignorance of the Arabs (especially Egypt), the inner conflicts of the characters, and their efforts to escape punishment were among cases carefully considered by Mahfouz through elements of magic realism.