ABSTRACT
The individuals who confront the authority figures come from all walks of life. They are intellectuals and academics, such as the hero of The Committee and Professor Muhammad Salah in Chicago; villagers, such as the people of al-Gurna in The Mountain; members of the lower class, such as the students Ismaʿil and Zaynab in Karnak and ʿArafa in Children of Our Neighborhood; members of the middle class, such as Muhyi Zahir in There Is a Man in Our House; and even members of the upper class, such as the millionaire Hagg ʿAzzam in The Yacoubian Building. Those coming into conflict are Muslims, with the exception of the hero of The These, who is implied to be a Copt.
