Midaq Alley

The radio appears in Chapter 1 as a replacement for the old singing poet in Kirsha’s café. As such, it is a symbol of modernity’s clash with tradition and the consequences that follow. With the installation of the radio in the café, the old poet, who has long serenaded the audience with traditional songs, is cast aside in an impersonal act of modernization. Kirsha tells him: “We know all the stories you tell by heart and don’t need to run through them again” (5). The radio will play new songs and programs and will not rehash stories people no longer find relevant. This scene sets a precedent for the conflict between the old and the new, revealing that the two cannot coexist harmoniously. The radio’s introduction underscores the idea that as society progresses, traditions—and people—get left behind.

The radio also symbolizes the technological changes Egypt experiences during this period. A product of Western wartime influence, the radio embodies the arrival of outside discourse in Midaq Alley. However, the residents of the alley cannot respond to the discourse that the radio transmits: It is a one-way connection, symbolizing the fraught power dynamic that remains, even as the alley embraces change.

Sheikh Darwish spends most of his time at Kirsha’s café, expressing his philosophical musings to anyone present. These musings often include English words, which he subsequently spells aloud. These words symbolize conflict between traditional Arab and Western values: “tragedy,” “homosexuality,” “history,” and “the end” are some of the phrases Sheikh Darwish spells. They mark important moments in the novel, providing a pause to reflect on their importance.

Sheikh Darwish was an English teacher, who lost his job when Egypt’s Department of Education attempted to reform the school system. He became a clerk but always missed his life as a teacher. As a result, his psychological state deteriorated, and he broke off his relationship with his family.

The English words are a reminder of both Sheikh Darwish’s old life as a learned man and the language of the occupier—the British. Sheikh Darwish, like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, provides commentary on and context for unfolding events, offering insights into characters’ motives and their moral implications. Like the Greek chorus, Sheikh Darwish’s English phrases bridge the gap between the reader and the narrative. They provoke reflection on the changes the characters experience and remove the need for narrative exposition and authorial commentary.