Questions From Class.

What is Said's Tragic Flaw?

Said's tragic flaw is that he is un able to forgive people who have wronged him in the past. This comes along with his need for revenge over people who have done him wrong. You see this in the text with the Nabbawiyya and Illish situation, when he returns to his normal life outside of jail, only to find his best friend had taken his life. He was never able to accept this as reality and that is an example of his tragic flaw. 

How does he display excessive pride? 

You see the excessive pride of Said throughout the story in a couple of different instances. One of these is the moment when Said is at the sheikhs house seeking refuge, but when asked about the police and his situation, but instead of admitting he was arrested for his wrongdoings and such, he says that it wasn't of any sweat off the police's forehead. This is Said blaming the person that threw him under the bus instead of just admitting that he had broken the law either way. 

When is his Reversal of Fortune? 

The reversal of Said's fortune ended up being the beginning of his downfall in the Thief and the Dogs. The reversal of Said's fortune is when he goes out aiming to kill and get revenge on Illish but instead kills and innocent man. This is the exact moment that his fortune changes and his downfall begins. 

At what moment in the text does Said realize the downfall was caused by his own actions?

This is the one hero's trait that Said does not seem to actually have. Although most heros become aware towards the end of the story that they were in the wrong all along ect. However with Said, he never loses his excessive pride and until death, continues making excuses for himself and blaming others. 

Is his Fate greater than he deserved?

Although Said was wronged by the loved ones in his life, and may have been going through a hard time, I don't believe that Said's fate was more than he deserve. This is because Said was fairly aware of what path he was leading himself down, fuelled by revenge, but he didn't let that stop him travelling down it.