Critics describe The Thief and the Dogs as an existentialist novel. Existentialism in literature is a theme which explores the questions and problems of human existence, describing the difficulty of individuals who feel a sense of dread, angst, or confusion when facing a meaningless and absurd world. Said Mahran encapsulates this sense of existentialist dread. After being released from prison, he does not understand the world. His former friend and wife have betrayed him and his former revolutionary mentor has betrayed his ideals. The world Said once knew has been replaced by a bizarre inversion and Said cannot determine his place within it. His desire for revenge is a manifestation of his existentialist dread: because Said no longer understands the absurd society, he wants to punish the people he believes have changed the most. He wants to understand his place in society but struggles to find any meaning in his actions.

Said's existentialist struggles evolve over the course of the novel as he is presented with and rejects several systems of meaning he might choose to define his life. Said rejects religion outright, is unconvinced by Ilish’s relativistic morality, cannot acknowledge the friendship of

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