In the novels of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy, the most evident element is the progression of time. In tracing the lives of three generations of the Abd al-Jawad family, Mahfouz manages to structure a chronicle of Egypt during his lifetime that describes not only the life of the family but the social, political, and philosophical change of the entire nation. Although it is dangerous to read only for social analysis in Mahfouz's essentially artistic work, the changes that occur in Egypt over the course of the novel make clear his characters' relationships to a changing Egypt. The character of Kamal is a very intriguing part of this portrayal due to his resemblance to Mahfouz and the subsequent illustration of the changes that seem to have affected Mahfouz in a more personal way. Kamal can be seen as an essentially autobiographical character, as well as a type representing Egyptian philosophical involvement and change between the two world wars. Kamal is certainly an autobiographical character, although it is not clear to what extent. The most obvious similarity is his age: Mahfouz was born in 1911, and Kamal would also have had to be born close to then for him to be 36 at the end of Sugar Street (232). The details surrounding his childhood are also undeniably similar: Mahfouz was haunted by an infatuation with one of his neighbors for many years, he experienced disillusionment with religion when he discovered that al-Husayn's tomb was empty, and then began studying Darwinism and declared a philosophy major in college. Also like Kamal, Mahfouz did not marry until late in life. In 1946 he began writing this trilogy, almost exactly in Kamal's situation at the end of Sugar Street, and his state of mind may have been similar to... middle of paper... a particularly valuable character. for he offers us a less exaggerated social type than the rest of his family, one that is at once intensely personal to the author and representative of the entire Egyptian society. It allows us to see Egypt more clearly by looking through the eyes of its most notable author. WORKS CITED Bu Ahmed, Hamed. "The inspiration of a Nobelist." World Press Review 36.1 (1989): 61.Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace of Desire. New York: Doubleday, 1991.-----. Sugar Street. New York: Doubleday, 1992.Massuh, Victor. "Interview with Naguib Mahfouz." UNESCO Courier Dec. 1989: 4-6.Moosa, Matti. The first novels of Naguib Mahfouz. Gainsville, Fla.: University Press of Florida, 1994. [+] These quotes are from an uncited handout given to me by Richard Sutliff that I believe is from Moosa's book.[+]+ below SS.