In Naguib Mahfouz's 1947 masterpiece, Midaq Alley, the microcosmic nature of the alley transforms its powerfully crafted characters into vivid interpretations of sin. Specifically, Mahfouz creates characters to represent the seven deadly sins of the Christian Church, with almost each character fitting neatly into a respective corner of Hieronymus Bosch's famous painting. Some characters belong to more than one sin, but they each fall into a classification of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, and pride. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay According to the Church, as well as the famous Renaissance author Dante, lust is the least offensive of sins and is defined as intense desire. . This sin is most often interpreted as representing sexual desire, even in Mahfouz's novel. Thus, he is particularly present throughout the stories of Mr. Kirsha as he woos the young salesman at the clothing store as well as on the way home (46-52), and of Salim Alwan, who eats a special recipe of “cooked green wheat”. , mixed with pieces of pigeon meat and ground nutmeg” which had a “magical effect [that] began at night and lasted for two full hours of pure delight” (67). Interestingly enough, Alwan eats his bowl of wheat every day, which represents Nimis. According to Thomas Aquinas, Nimis is a form of gluttony where the author eats too much. Gluttony is defined by the Church as an excess of indulgence, which Alwan experiences until his heart attack, when he becomes a cruel and bitter man. Determined to be different from his father, Hussain Kirsha is consumed by greed, which is similar to his father's. to Lust and sometimes to Gluttony, but it is a desire in the materialist sense. Hussain Kirsha fled to join the British Imperial Army. He joins other characters such as Saniya Afifiy, who “loved coffee, cigarettes and hoarding bank notes. She kept [them] in a small ivory box hidden at the bottom of her clothes cupboard and arranged them in bundles of fives and tens, delighting in looking at them, counting them, and rearranging them” (18). Additionally, it is revealed that Zaita and Dr. Booshy are quite greedy as they are caught stealing gold teeth from recently deceased people and then placing them in the mouths of the living and sharing the profits instead of 'carry out legitimate practices that would slightly reduce profits. (224-228). Finally, Ibrahim Faraj lures women under the guise of courting them, only for them to discover that he, as Hamida says, "is not a man, [he] is a pimp" (196), which allows him of spending extravagant amounts of money to woo other women and repeat the cycle (160-168, 183-198). These characters show the many varieties of greed, highlighting one of humanity's greatest social and spiritual flaws that affects everyone, as Kirsha profoundly puts it; “If money is the goal and object of those vying for power, then there is clearly nothing wrong with money being the goal of poor voters” (151), which defines expertly the idea that greed does not discriminate between people of any status. Unlike the restless and greedy citizens, Uncle Kamil is a very happy man, which unfortunately leads to him falling asleep on the job and not getting much done. Kamil and Sheikh Darwish sit around and do very little, falling prey to the sin known as. Laziness, or the simple fact of being lazy, Mahfouz demonstrates total lazinessof Kamil when describing his business practices: "It is Uncle Kamil's habit, and indeed his right, to go to sleep with a fly whisk in his lap...and he can barely close the sale of a piece of candy that he is overcome by a desire to sleep” (2). Unlike Uncle Kamil, who dozes off at work, Sheikh Darwish is an old man who has very little life left in him, and yet he has very little life left. often intervenes in the story in order to prove something about what the characters have done, almost being a theatrical side within the story itself. He is absent for the majority of the novel and only appears when prompted, as if he were a fortune-telling machine, only moving and speaking when a dollar is inserted. His first appearance personifies this description when the old poet and Mr. Kirsha begin to argue: “Then the absent-minded, statuesque man in gold-rimmed glasses and a tie moved for the first time. He turned his gaze towards the roof of the café and sighed so deeply that his friends almost expected chunks of flesh to pop up as the air passed... He slowly lowered his head, moving it from left to right as he did so. doing so, with the movements gradually diminished in extent until it finally returned to its previous immobile position. Once again, he sank into oblivion. (6-7). Sheikh Darwish moved only to interrupt the conversation with cryptic disdain of Mr. Kirsha before simply returning to his previous position, becoming lifeless and lazy again. Coming back to Mr. Kirsha, he and his wife are controlled by their anger as they simply define Wrath. During a fight between the two, Mrs. Kirsha attacks the boy Kirsha sees and shouts "Do you want to ruin my house, you rake and son of rakes!" then “she threw herself at him, hitting and slapping him violently. His tarboosh fell and blood flowed from his nose. She then grabbed his tie and pulled it until his voice died out in a strangled gasp. (100). After Kirsha takes his wife away from the boy, Mahfouz writes that “[Mrs. Kirsha’s cloak fell to the ground and her blood was now boiling” (101), which shows the fury and rage that had built up within her because of her husband’s adulterous actions. Kirsha also demonstrates her fury when Hussain Kirsha tells his father that he wishes to leave to find a new life on his own. As it is described, Kirsha "became angry and slapped Hussain hard in the face with the palm of his hand...[Kirsha] charged again, but his mother stood between them, taking the blame herself." blows. Kirsha stopped hitting and shouted, “Get your black face off me!” …As far as I'm concerned, you're dead and gone to hell!' » (117). Also, surprisingly, Husniya, the baker's humble wife, is also very angry. She is often shown beating her husband: “Zaita was particularly delighted to see [Husniya] beating her husband. She did it at the slightest mistake. Jaada’s days seemed filled with mistakes, for which he was constantly punished.” (129). Ms. Afifiy, although not only greedy, is also a very envious woman. She goes to Umm Hamida to help herself find a suitor, an act provoked by her desire for Hamida, who is going to marry Abbas. Likewise, Umm Hamida also envies her daughter, but for her appearance rather than her marriage, as Umm Hamida's beauty fades while Hamida remains a radiant young woman. This leads to tensions and several arguments between mother and daughter. Zaita is also part of this group with her desire for Jaada. Although it appears at first that he hates Jaada, it is soon revealed that he is envious of Jaada for having Husniya as his wife. Ultimately, Hamida's envy of the factory girls and their wealth » (139),.