Showing 74 results for Narratology
Mohammad Akbari, Sudabah Mozafari,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (10-2022)
Abstract
Communicative implication is considered as one of the most important concepts and points of view in linguistic studies. Pole Grice is one of the most prominent theorists, whose communicative maxims are based on the principle of coordination. According to this theory, interlocutors are required to follow different maxims in their speech. Conversation should revolve around 4 main maxims: maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, maxim of occasion, and maxim of approach. The absence of every single one in conversation would disrupt the flow of conversation and transmission of speaker’s words from explicit meaning to implicit meaning based on position or status, the implication of which can be analyzed based on Grice’s model. The objective of this article is to examine communicative implications in White Barde Sun. It finds that characters (interlocutors) in the novel break the rules of communicative implication of Grice and accordingly, pay more attention to implicit meaning. It is contended that maxims of quantity, quality, location, and method (approach) are deviated in conversations to showcase the protagonist’s mistakes.
Vali Baharvand, Joseph Motaghian Nia,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (10-2022)
Abstract
Alienation, a very common phenomenon in society, is considered as one of the crises of humankind. This phenomenon happens when people feel defeated and are unable to respond to social needs and changes, whereby they reject cultural beliefs and values as accepted by the public. One of the contemporary theorists who gave a scientific description and analysis of this phenomenon is Melvin Seaman, who organized his approach in five components. This article, with a descriptive-analytical method, we seek to examine Adrakaha Al Nisyaan novel by Sanna Shaalan, a prolific writer of contemporary Arab literature. It finds that that all the axes of Simon’s theory are reflected in the behavior of the novel's characters, and the writer was able to rebuke the authoritarian society of the novel by characterizing its people as foreigners. In addition, the heroine of the novel fails to communicate with the society around because she is frustrated and oppressed, which tellingly appears in the words that the author uses to confusion, misery, and brokenness. She lives in a society where its ideas and standards are different from her dreams and desires, due to which love, patriotism, and freedom are overlooked. The alienation of the characters in the novel is the result of several factors, including tyranny and oppression of the ruling class, denying the deprived class of effective participation in managing social system, denying the value of creativity, and paying attention to pretention.
Hasan Rahimi Nasab, Kobra Khosravi, Ali Nazari,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (10-2022)
Abstract
hazi Abdul Rahman Al-Gosaibi is considered as one of the most prominent writers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a renowned critic. He used humor frequently in his works in historical, political, social, cultural, and economic guise, to showcase his critical stance towards the failed and incompetent Arab regimes in a gray tone, and towards the colonial Western regimes in a stark black tone. This paper intends to study the art of humor and its role in The Amphibian Abu Shallakh, particularly how humor carries semantic meanings with it based on a descriptive-analytical approach. Al-Gosaibi does not only intend to make the reader laugh, but aims to search for pains and fears of life in Islamic and non-Islamic communities. The writer intends to cure national and social problems through bitter and stinging humorous criticism, revealing the stupidity and naivety of society and the cleverness of rulers and states in exploiting this naivety. Al-Gosaibi’s humor has two basic features: First, in terms of significance, it carries revolutionary meanings that denounce political, social, cultural, and economic regimes around the world, especially in Arab academies. Secondly, in terms of style, it was formulated in blatant language and a strong and overwhelming tone that targets the regimes that betrayed the Arab and global causes, especially the Islamic world. In the end, it discusses the writer's most prominent methods of expressing concepts in a humorous way.
Ali Ahmadi,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (10-2022)
Abstract
The Character is one of the fundamental components of the story, and one of its approaches is activism. The action in the story is the same as the action of the character, and the use of each of these characters in the story requires special precision and tenderness, every writer can establish a deep connection with the reader and draw him into the heart of the story by using the characters correctly, and accompany him to the end of the story. This paper aims to analyze the characters of Suhar's novel Al Mustanga, which is one of the realist novels of this author, based on Grimas’s pattern of action, using a descriptive and analytical method. Grimas, under the influence of Propp, proposed his theory of narratology and his model of action is applicable in almost all literary genres. he proposed a model for the investigation of character actions in the story, which consists of 3 models: "actor/target", "active/active" and "active/anti-active" are formed. The findings of the research indicate that the characters of the novel have distinct value systems (love and betrayal, forgiveness and selfishness, revenge and benevolence, swamp and highway) according to Grimas's action model: Fouad as The actor character in the traditional atmosphere of the Egyptian society has moved on the way to reach his goal without any stagnation, and has set the action of the story and put other components of this model on the path of role-playing.
Elham Ghorbani, Abbas Arab, Marziyeh Abad,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract
Identity, in the sense of who one is, defines a person's dialectical relationship with the outside world, and is regarded as an example of the quality of people's behavior in society. Among the sociologists, Sheldon Stryker has linked identity with emotions and believes that among the identities formed in a person, an identity that she/he experiences extreme positive or negative emotions in relation to the roles, people and social situations aligned with it, becomes a salient identity. Considering that narrative literature has a wide scope in reflecting social identity; the novel Vatan Men Zujaj "Homeland of the Glass" written by Yasmina Saleh, an Algerian author, focuses on identity questions that occur in the form of multiple social roles, and portrays an intertwined series of influences of Algerian society on the protagonist's choice of identity. The present research uses content analysis and text-oriented reading based on Stryker's theory to examine the social structure of the target society and the emotions generated from it, which play a role in salience of identity. The findings of the study indicate that the protagonist of the story has achieved common emotional meanings through effective communication with the educated stratum of the society such as his schoolteacher, experience of university environment, and communication with journalist colleagues who have increased his scope of social awareness. This has also led to his commitment to collective groups and his inclination to social roles including journalism, which is in line with his salient identity as "social police". Also, the numerous situations that have been effective in reproducing the emotions of the protagonist are qualitatively noticeable in the canonization of identity.
Raja Abu Ali, Akram Habibi Bardbouri,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract
The external layers of the text attract the attention of researchers in the study of literary texts, especially novels, And since “Gerargent” raised the issue of the textual layers of the text, this issue has become more prominent in critical fields. This article aims to understand the signs of the cover and its components in the novel “Nazif al-Hajr” by “Ebrahim Alkouni” a contemporary novelist. Therefore, this article studies all the components of the book cover, including the :color, title, and the photo on the cover, Because the cover of this novel contains semiotic meanings that deserve to be investigated and researched, And examining the cover of this novel shows that the author does not choose the cover of her book without reason, Rather, the novelist has goals in choosing the cover of his novel, and this research shows that the cover of this novel covers all the events of the novel. As the cover of this novel shows the goals and important events of the novel such as: totemism and the relationship between man and the totem, The reason for choosing this novel and studying its cover is that the cover in this novel is a strong focus on storing the inner text. The approach followed in this article is the analytical descriptive approach in the light of “Gerargent's theory”, which is related to the book cover, The cover of this novel reflects the meanings of murder, violence, blood, suffering and pain. Among the most important findings of the article: the photo on the cover of the novel depicts the intimate relationship between the animal (mountain goat) and “Asoof” (the hero of the novel), red color is the only dominant color in the cover of this novel. It is a symbol of killing and blood, and the title has been successful in drawing the important concepts of the text, both at the linguistic, metaphorical and figurative levels.
Zainab Daryanward, Mohammad Javad Pourabed, Rasoul Balavi, Ali Khezri, Haitham Al-Suwaili,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (11-2023)
Abstract
Focalization in narrative texts determines the point of view in movies. This also plays a significant role in advancing the events and the narrative process through the multiple effects of the focal point. It can be argued that the overlap between novelistic focalization and cinematic focalization is advantageous for both fields. Focalization in narrative texts designates the position and place of the narrator and the point of view from which he/she narrates the events while in cinema focalization means that the camera narrates each character’s point of view separately, which affects the spectator. Also, these dramatic elements increase the audience’s ability to understand the discourse in such a way that focalization becomes a dramatic technique. This argument holds particularly true for Zahran Al-Qassimi’s The Sniper. He locates the viewpoints in different places of the villages of Oman through the camera Saleh bin Sheikhan, the protagonist, carries with him. This study, based on a descriptive-analytical method, addresses the focalization techniques within the cinematic discourse and its various effects in The Sniper focusing on the image structure. The objective of this study is to examine the signs of image focalization within the novel’s cinematic discourse. It finds that the way the interaction of the camera and the narrator’s personality affects the spectator can be observed in various scenes. This study specifically focuses on visual focalization and its dimensions.
Haidar Mahallati, Marwah Rahim Al-Rikabi ,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (11-2023)
Abstract
Fahad Mahmoud al-Asad (1939-2013), an Iraqi author who writes realistic novels, focuses on retelling and depicting the social life of rural people in southern Iraq. Drawing on artistic skills to produce well-structured narratives filled with literary devices such as simile, metonymy, and metaphor, this novelist has attracted the attention of a large audience. This research, based on an analytical-descriptive method, analyzes both the aesthetic of imagery and the rhetorical dimensions in al-Asadi’s novels and short story collections including The Cross, Halab Bin Ghariba, Darat Al-Ihsan, Aden is Lost, Sky Birds, and Muamra Ali. All of these narrative texts depict the bitter social reality that the southern people living in Iraq experienced. In the first novel, the novelist embodied the manifestations of injustice and suffering that the feudal system imposed on the peasants and the weak toiling classes (named by the author), to reject all kinds of oppression and tyranny. The second novel represents the prevailing social customs in southern Iraq, with all the beliefs, superstitions, and customary traditions that cannot be accepted by common sense. This novel is a true picture of the contradictions of rural society and its constant struggle between the old and the new. The third group of stories explicitly shows the class distinction between the segments of the same society, the extent of its danger to people’s lives, and its catastrophic repercussions that lead to the fragmentation and dispersion of people. The fourth group deals with human issues and social concerns, while the fifth group criticizes the lack of awareness and widespread ignorance among the backward classes of society. This research also aims to examine the aesthetic aspects of these works and show their impact on the audience. Among many findings of this research, one can point to the fact that the author attempts to discover the unwritten through the analysis of surface phenomena by using the techniques of narrative imagery in the framework of different readings. The author, in line with the narrative discourse and the technical structure of the story, avoids any type of exaggeration.
Sajjad Farokhipour , Norudin Parvin,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (11-2023)
Abstract
The complex system of Arabic syntax and orthography which is dependent on multi-layered semantics and derivatives has rendered Arabic translation a difficult task. Meanwhile, translation into Arabic, due to aesthetic features of the Arabic language concerning morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics that underpin different semantic functions in deep and surface structures, is more difficult. Accordingly, examining these subtle yet important particularities cannot be traced Among ignored by the hackneyed translation studies frameworks. Ideational meta-functions, where the interplay between syntax and semantics brings about a text’s semantic constructs, are relatively understudied in translation studies in general and Arabic translation in particular. As translators mainly adopt linear, form-based, and/or meaning-based approaches, these meta-functions are left understudied. This study adopts an innovative approach based on Halliday’s systemic functional grammar to address the potential linguistic losses in the Arabic translation of The Prophet. It is observed that, although almost all of the meta-functions are adequately transferred into Arabic, some of them are not conveyed properly due to the improper selection of syntactic structure verbs.
Atefeh Baziyar , Shahriar Hemmati , Ali Salimi, Touraj Zeinivand,
Volume 5, Issue 1 (11-2023)
Abstract
Dystopia, a significant literary subgenre, is diametrically opposed to the utopia that poets and writers longed to achieve. Dystopian literature broadly portrays the destructive consequences of political, social, and industrial clashes. In other words, this type of literary subgenre mirrors the dark side of the society which is replete with misery and agony. Since novels are mainly the product of societal events, dystopia is more widely reflected in novels than in other literary genres.
Ahmad Saadawi, a contemporary Iraqi novelist, in Frankenstein in Baghdad, has depicted life in Baghdad with extreme pessimism concerning the reality of human life in the contemporary world. In this novel, the author has depicted the dangerous effects of political and social structures on the future of humanity especially the people of Baghdad. He depicts the detrimental effects of the American invasion of Iraq leaving the country in an abysmal situation. The novel is a fearsome portrayal of such a torn-apart society. In every line of the novel, signs of dystopian life are horrifically pictured.
This research, based on a descriptive-analytical method, examines dystopian components such as moral degradation and degradation, criminal actions, deprivation of security, chaos, violence, destruction of peaceful life components, and enforced migration. The novel is a frightening image of a disjointed society plagued by unfortunate events.
Monireh Zibayi,
Volume 5, Issue 2 (12-2023)
Abstract
The title of a work is a gateway to its textual and thematic underpinnings. Whether the title represents a work of prose or poetry constitutes a very important area in linguistics, in which semantic analysis serves to analyze a text for readers. Najm Wali is a contemporary Iraqi novelist who skillfully illustrates social realities in his works. The carefully selected titles of his novels hint at a particular social, cultural, or political reality of Iraqi society. This descriptive-analytical study examines the semantic features of the author’s titles as well as their lexical, semantic, phonetic, and syntactic aspects. The study suggests Wali’s titles are chosen strategically to signify certain social issues, directing our attention to those problems before we even start reading the novel.
Shaker Ameri, Ali Shahriari,
Volume 5, Issue 2 (12-2023)
Abstract
The character is a main element in a dramatic text as a playwright often relies on specific dimensions of the fictional character to convey ideas, hence the character plays a significant role in developing the events. This study, based on a descriptive-analytical approach, examines characterization in Youssef Al-Ani’s I am your mother, Shaker!. This play is one of the pioneers of socialist literature in Iraqi theater due to the intertextual relationship between Umm Shaker and the character in Maxim Gorky’s The Mother. The most important findings of the study are the following: Al-Ani is the first Iraqi writer to present a woman (Umm Shaker) as the hero of the play, the mother with an iron will, extraordinary political awareness, and unwavering faith in the victory of the national revolution. Al-Ani draws the characters from ordinary people, so the audience identifies with them quickly. The message that Al-Ani intended to convey prompted him to use the colloquial dialect delivering his theatrical and intellectual speech to the illiterate members of society. It seems that Al-Ani paid more attention to conversation (monologue) than characterization as do not find any transformation in the characters throughout the play. The characters are hostage to the popular revolution and the theatrical event.
Tahereh Heydari,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (4-2024)
Abstract
The police novel is different from other types of fiction because it considerably motivates the reader. It is arguably notable that the entire Arabic literature is almost devoid of this type, i.e. the police novel. Its scope revolves around crime, investigation, and the search for a solution in the end. Even if one may identify examples of this type of fiction, they do not rise to the level of the detective novel. In order to partially fill this gap in knowledge, this study examines the structure of formation and semantics in King of India, a Lebanese novel written in police/detective mode. The following questions are, accordingly, addressed in this study: what is the status of the police novel in Arabic and Lebanese literature and how does the police appear in the The King of India. To answer these questions, the study uses a descriptive-analytical framework.
Aliakbar Noresideh , Reyhane Emami Chahartagh ,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (4-2024)
Abstract
Critical discourse analysis is rooted in the critical thoughts of critics such as Foucault, Habermas and Althusser. Critical discourse analysis, considerably utilized in literary studies, examines power, ideology, and metaphor. The critical approach of discourse shows how the language users convey the ideology of powerful groups among the people and recipients of the text by using metaphor. In the critical analysis of discourse, with Vandyke (social field and historical discourse approaches) and Fairclough (which considers discourse as a social act) in particular, different approaches have emerged. From the point of view of Norman Fairclough, the analysis of a discourse is the analysis of each of the three dimensions (social action, discursive practice, text), because his hypothesis is based on the fact that there is a meaningful link between the specific features of the texts, the ways that the texts are connected with each other and are interpreted, and there is a nature of social action and it is examined at three levels of description, interpretation and explanation. Hoda Barakat, the contemporary Lebanese writer, in Barid Al-Lail narrates the life of immigrants, homelesses and refugees who are forced to leave their homes due to social, economic and political forces and live a difficult life in France. This study, based on a descriptive-analytical framework, applies two levels of interpretation and explanation to Barid Al-Lail according to Norman Fairclough's critical discourse approach. The study finds that the use of lexical possibilities at the level of meaning has made the text coherent, and by using them, the author has been able to change the perspective and mental concepts in his thought around convey concepts such as loneliness, being without anyone, fear, war, panic and expectation to the recipient. The author has tried to introduce, in the form of names, the different sections of the society that have been affected by the phenomenon of forced migration and to explain the reasons for migration and leaving the homeland.
Ali Pourdelphizadeh, Hossein Kayanee,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (4-2024)
Abstract
Speed has influenced and overshadowed numerous aspects of human life, including literature which provides a comprehensive picture of human society. The emergence of the very short story was not just a sudden appearance, but motivated by the requirements of contemporary life that tends to accomplish things very quickly. Accordingly, the very short story genre emerged with condensed and broad ideas on essential and indispensable oundations.Condensation is one of the characteristics for writing contemporary, short and condensed stories. In order to achieve condensation, the author utilizes several mechanisms whereby readers are attracted. The reliance on the structuralist approach in studying very short stories has led to the realization that condensation is not limited to reducing the number of words, but includes the idea and character as well as linguistic, pictorial, and eventual condensation. Mohammed Mohaqiq has written condensed texts by using the mechanisms of paradox and the verbality of sentences. Moreover, textualization and symbolism also register their presence as two mechanisms through which the storyteller was able to write intensive story texts, but in a lesser proportion than irony and verbality.
Fatima Bouadhar, Hossein Mohtadi, Nasser Zare, Sayed Haider Faree Shirazi,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (4-2024)
Abstract
The narrative mode of Passages, a novel by Fatin Al-Murr, employs the focalization to establish the point of view presented in the story. This technique focuses on who observes the story rather than who narrates it. Gérard Genette identifies three levels of focalization: zero, internal, and exterior. In Passages focalization is utilized to depict two seemingly contradictory identities through the perspectives of two narrators (Darine and Najwa). Each character embodies a unique identity shaped by the Israeli occupation, representing the Palestinian Christian and Muslim communities in Lebanon and the refugee camps, as well as the Palestinian Muslim population. This study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach based on Gerard Genette's theory of focalization to examine the author's style in Passages and its portrayal of the reality of the Arab world during the Israeli occupation. This study identifies the presence of all three focalization patterns, with the perspectives of Darine and Najwa serving as primary vehicles for storytelling. The introspective narrative within the novel is predominantly channeled through Najwa's perspective, characterized by her profound understanding of the Palestinian conflict. Through a series of exchanged letters, Najwa endeavors to enlighten her Christian friend about the brutal massacres and injustices unfolding in Palestine.
Zenab Neyestani, Naimeh Parandavaj, Fatemeh Arefifar,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (6-2024)
Abstract
In the last two centuries, many scholars in social, cultural, and literary fields of study have addressed women’s concerns and their centrality in literary works. Women-centered criticism or feminist criticism examines works created by women or about women in order to provide a specific framework for their analysis and explication. Elaine Showalter, a feminist theorist, proposes four variants for this critical approach: biological, linguistic, psychological, and cultural. The cultural aspect investigates how women are characterized by society, as well as the role of society in shaping the works and activities of women. Therefore, it can be regarded as a kind of sociological criticism, insofar as the conditions of the society in which the writer lives and her position in interacting with other people determine the content of her work. The objective of this article is to examine how social concerns are represented in Sahar Khalifeh’s Origin and Branch. The article adopts a descriptive-analytical method and draws on woman-centered criticism as theorized by Elaine Showalter. It addresses how Palestinian society affected Khalifeh’s thinking in the 1930s and 1940s and how this effect could be traced in her novel. It finds that the novel challenges the patriarchal society of Palestine by depicting the Palestinian society in the first half of the 20th century and the early years of the occupation of Palestine. The domination of men over women is criticized by dealing with factors such as women’s forced marriage, deprivation of education and employment, concern for life and economic independence, and hatred of being forgotten by other women. Thus, the traditional Palestinian society of that day has left its impact on all dimensions and orientations of Khalifeh’s thoughts. In Origin and Branch, like her other novels, she compares the domination of men over women to Israel’s domination over Palestine and condemns both. Finally, this paper argues that femininity symbolizes homeland for Khalifeh.
Fatemeh Solgi, Kobra Roshanfekr, Faramarz Mirzaie,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (6-2024)
Abstract
As an artistic technique, narration represents reality and depicts the story of societies and individuals. In contemporary Iraqi fiction, narration is utilized to portray and visualize the pain and suffering of Iraq and its citizens in a very tangible manner by drawing on reality and human emotions. In this context, language plays a pivotal role in showcasing the realities in contemporary Iraq. Stylistics, as a critical approach, pinpoints different and multifaceted linguistic features of a literary text. The Iraqi novel constitutes an important part of the contemporary Arabic narrative and holds a special place in Arabic literature. Recently, the social novel has achieved a considerable foothold in Iraqi fiction. This study examines the portrayal of Iraqi people’s pain and suffering in Maysalun Hadi’s A Light Pink Dream (2009) from a stylistic point of view. Also, this study addressed the distinguishing characteristics of the author’s style as observable in the novel. The main objective of this study is to pinpoint the characteristics of the Iraqi novel after 2003 and analyze the linguistic stylistics of the case study novel, focusing on the pain and suffering of the Iraqi people. It adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to examine the novel at the levels of composition, rhetoric, and implication. It finds that the author draws on a variety of stylistic devices to share her personal and social experiences in the realm of narration. The novel makes an idiosyncratic use of language in that it utilizes compositional, rhetorical, and implicative components to showcase the pain and suffering of Iraqi people under the shadow of war, occupation, and political and social crises.
Maryam Qasem Mohammad Al-Nasrawi, Ahmadreza Heidaryan Shahri, Ahmad Mehdi Alzubaid,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (6-2024)
Abstract
The objective of this research is to examine the societal function of patriarchal authority in The Lament of Mesopotamia (1939) by Abdul Rahman Majeed al-Rubaie and Fereydoon Had Three Sons (2000) by Abbas Maroufi. This study does not delve into the aesthetic aspects of narrative structure. Instead, it focuses on the role of three characters who symbolize the conscious embodiment of the controversial influence of social and cultural phenomena, specifically patriarchal power. It explores the extent to which patriarchal power in the 1970s can be analyzed from a feminist perspective, thereby highlighting the dominance exerted by men over society in light of various contributing factors. This topic holds significance in terms of addressing the patriarchal rule across all phenomena, employing expressions of power through figures such as fathers, tribal leaders, and government authorities. The research examines the interrelationship between Iraqi and Iranian novels, with a particular focus on exposing patriarchal power as a defining cultural phenomenon within both societies. Utilizing a comparative methodology rooted in the American literary school, this research identifies the hidden patterns and symbols inherent in cultural phenomena. Furthermore, it highlights common socio-cultural events depicted in the two novels, as well as the incorporation of Marxist ideas emphasizing themes of alienation and poverty in The Lament of Mesopotamia. Additionally, Maroufi directs attention to the prevailing poverty in the external environment of the country and the direct influence of Marxist political thought. Both authors emphasize the convergence of sensual instincts and struggles for social power. Al-Rubaie tackles it by expressing social and religious conflicts in an Eastern context, while Maroufi predominantly focuses on the Western realm of social power struggles.
Abdulbasit Arab Yousefabadi, Fatemeh Piri ,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (6-2024)
Abstract
Narrative analysis play a pivotal role in modern and postmodern literary studies. Within this literary periods, the traditional and historical mode of narrative analysis are replaced with new one whereby it distanced itself from monophonic and linear narratives. This mode of narrative not only dispensed with coherent narratives and grand narratives but also blurred the boundaries between personal pronouns as the result of which the “self” mode of narration is replaced by the “other” mode of narration. Literary critics call this mode of narration “polyphonic”. Considering the significance of this mode of narration, this research examines different dimensions of polyphony in Rabee Jaber’s novels. In Confessions (2007), he utilized polyphony in such a way that most of the characters play an important role in the narration of the events of the story and the narrator does not control other characters. This research finds that polyphony in this novel is observable through multiple points of view, multiple characters, and the presentation of social and political issues from different angles. This multiplicity/diversity reinforces the storyline and provides new perspectives on the realities of the Arab world, as well as the use of multiple verbal styles in presenting the characters of the narrative. In this novel, Rabee Jaber does not narrate his confessions to the audience; rather it is a narration of him by others.
