The Representation of Social Actors in Ibrahim Nasrallah’s Balcony of Disgrace: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Authors
ali khaleghi
jamal talebi
farhangian
10.22034/san.2026.11540
Abstract
Van Leeuwen’s model of critical discourse analysis is one of the prevalent frameworks in critical discourse analysis. This model, founded upon a sociological-semantic approach, examines how authors employ the representation of social actors to express their views and ideologies. Drawing upon this model, this study analyzes the modes of representing social actors in Ibrahim Nasrallah’s Balcony of Disgrace (Shurfat al-‘Ār). After outlining Van Leeuwen’s model, the two main components of this theory—inclusion and exclusion— are applied to the novel. The findings of the research indicate that the identity of the story’s actors is depicted in such a way as to draw the reader in and reveal to them, through implicit connotations present in the text, the tragic fate of the main character (Minar). Furthermore, a substantial portion of the sociological-semantic components of Van Leeuwen’s critical discourse analysis applied to the novel demonstrates that these components have been employed to describe the social mechanisms and the dominant ideology governing Arab societies with regard to women.
Keywords
Critical Discourse
Social Actor
Ibrahim Nasrallah
Balcony of Disgrace
Van Leeuwen
Holy Quran
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Studies in the Arabic Geosciences
Volume 7, Issue 4 - Serial Number 21
Summer 2025
Pages 123-154