Showing 12 results for Criticism
Masoud Bawan Pouri, Mahin Hajizadeh, Maryam Daryanvard,
Volume 1, Issue 2 (8-2020)
Abstract
The Ancient Arabic Fiction (Typology and Analysis of Fiction Elements), a joint work of Khalil Parvini and Hooman Nazemian, is a textbook of Arabic language and literature taught at the fiction course. This book, despite its many advantages, has some shortcomings in form and content, which this study attempt to examine by adopting a descriptive-analytical methodology. This study finds that the textbook has a beautiful appearance, appropriate cut and paper binding, and reasonable price. However, it should be revised in terms of length, typography, etc. The table of contents, though logically and coherently arranged, is very long. From a linguistic point of view; the textbook is written smoothly and fluently, the paragraphs are coherent but sometimes long and tedious, and the rules of writing, except for a few cases, are observed. In terms of content, some parts of the textbook should refer other literary sources. Despite being up-to-date, the textbook is not comprehensive enough to cover required topics. The work is well documented and enjoys a comprehensive bibliography but fails to raise new questions in the minds of the audience.
Dr. Saeed Difallah, Hassainah Hammachi,
Volume 2, Issue 1 (3-2021)
Abstract
This research intends to examine those cultural paradigms that have been briefly summarized by some the contemporary Tunisian, Moroccan, and Algerian feminist narrative works based on a descriptive-analytical method and through a cultural approach in which the categories of cultural criticism and systemic procedures are used while help in text exploring and researching the unspoken help to penetrate possible spaces and search for the dominant paradigm. Therefore, the present study has selected examples of the novelists (Tunisian, Moroccan, and Algerian) with the titles (Ghurbat al-Yasmeen, the A ‘am Al-Fil, and Sa’zef Nafsi Amamek), in which their works included cultural paradigm and seek to create a narrative text-based approach with aesthetic and intellectual features, but it includes semantic and cultural rebellion that is quite different from the physical features of the text and it turn the text to the scene of contradictory cultural and intellectual paradigms. Among the most important paradigms which have been examined in the three selected narrations, we can mention manhood, the approach of humiliating women and the approach of a religious institution. The feminist narrative of the Maghreb is a covenant that protects the existence of Maghreb women, and is a platform that express their voice in the form of democracy, and to remove the darkness that they have suffered for so long.
Dr. Gholamreza Karimifard, Parvin Khalili, Dr. Masoud Bavanpouri,
Volume 2, Issue 2 (9-2021)
Abstract
Within the pasr few decades, psychological criticism has become an integral part of literary criticism, paving the way for a proper understanding literary texts. The analysis of authors’ emotional and psychological condition is of prime significance in this regard. Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern psychology, postulated three levels of human awareness: the preconscious, the conscious, and the unconscious which are tinged with sexual and aggressive impulsesThe psychological make up is composed of the ego, the id, and the super ego which constitute the core of an individual’s personality. The Game of Forgetfulness (1987) is one of the most important novels written by Muhammad Barada and has been subject to numerous studies by scholars from various fields. This paper studies the presentation of grief and psychological conflict in characters’ social relations. The main theme in the novel concerns the psychological condition of some family members after the death of their mother, and the problems and difficulties they meet in the society. A psychological analysis sheds light on their preocupation with depression, grief, psychological conflict, and nostalgia which are symptomatic of Barada’s society. The characters suffer from obsessions, ailments, and anguish caused by disasters and mischeifs
Dr. Rima Laewas,
Volume 2, Issue 2 (9-2021)
Abstract
Women writing is experiencing a new phase of creative expression today, whether in terms of quality or quantity, which calls for serious critical studies. However, addressing the literary style of feminist writing is not an easy task in the Arab world considering the lack of critical methodologies in dealing with such issues. In addition, the connection between critical readings and gender identity necessitates vigilance on behalf of th critics especially if a text is analyzed from the point of view of feminist critics who dissociate themselves from male writing. Is it true that most of men's critical productions of women's literary texts are not devoid of male prejudice? It is the main question this paper tries to answer in terms of examining the following critical issues raised by male critics in the Arab world: gender and writing; breaking sexual taboos; feminist issues; and biographical literature.
Abolhasan Amin Moqaddasi, Raouf Tavakoli, Meisam Karami Enayat,
Volume 3, Issue 1 (4-2022)
Abstract
Literature emanates from human mind, and the analysis of human mental actions contributes a lot to literary criticism. Psychoanalysis, as the science connecting literature and psychology, has been able to reflect the problems of society through psychoanalytic concepts by entering the field of literature and processing and analyzing the literary texts through characters and their inner states. In his novel Lascivious Eyes, the Saudi novelist Qmashh Allyan recreated the characters of the story through a psychoanalytic approach and highlighted the impact of divorce on the emergence of various types of psychological anxiety for children. Using the descriptive-analytical method and Freud's psychoanalytic criticism and relying on his theories of anxiety and defense mechanisms and the way these concepts are applied and implemented by the characters, this study seeks to analyze the impact of divorce on the actions and reactions of the novel's characters in order to provide a better insight about the phenomenon in question by extracting its components. The results showed that the two main characters of the story, after their family breakdown, were suffering in various situations from realistic, neurotic and moral anxiety and resorted to defense mechanisms according to the situation where they felt anxious to protect themselves from unbearabale realities and mental conflicts.
Kobra Roshanfekr , Samira Heidarirad,
Volume 3, Issue 2 (10-2022)
Abstract
The female biography plays a significant role in expressing the ideology of the female writer and shows the importance of women writers in relation to the important issues of the society. In other words; the writing of female autobiography is different from other types of literature because it directly emphasizes the essence of women in the face of the patriarchal society and is the best way to depict the concerns of women, especially Arab women. The current research is trying to examine the biography of the Egyptian writer Razavi "Al-Sarkha" based on the descriptive-analytical approach and relying on cultural criticism. "Sarkha" is the second part of the book "Asqal Man Razavi" in which he combines the experience of his personal life and the political events of the country. In other words, he portrays his severe illness, which is associated with the unsettled conditions of Egypt in 2010-2013. The most important results of the research are: Razavi Ashour is an intellectual writer who in his biography talks about women who had a deep influence on the formation of his personal experience. Also, culture and society play a significant role in the formation of Arab women's identity. Razavi's main concern in the issue of women is the issue of women's education, and he wants to make reforms in the field of freedom of expression in the Arab society.
Milad Darvishi, Zohreh Naemi, Soudabeh Mozaffari, Soghra Falahati,
Volume 4, Issue 1 (12-2022)
Abstract
Postcolonialism, as an approach, examines literary texts from different perspectives some of which are more frequent in academic centers like hegemony, center-periphery, subaltern voice and Orientalism. The components that underpin this approach are considerably divers and dynamic, one of which is palimpsest that can be defines as writing over/on previous writings. Colonizers impose their culture, literature, and language over those of the colonized territories, yet are not able to erase them altogether. Indeed, precolonial cultural products underpin the colonial cultural products. The postcolonial culture of colonized countries is like a container that contains the works of the former natives in addition to the colonial writings. The aim of postcolonial writings, therefore, can be shedding light on these underpinning layers as the cultural identity of indigenous people. This study draws on recent postcolonial approaches, particularly that of Bill Ashcroft, to discover the vanished Egyptian cultural underpinnings in A Part of Europe written by Radwa Ashour. The study of palimpsest, an infrequent concept in postcolonial studies paves the way for new critical readings of the novel. It finds that the novel’s narrator by addressing the economic, literary and media palimpsests of the colonial discourse that have undermined those of the natives, attempts to reflect native values and warn readers of the colonial discourse hidden in it.
Hossein Mohtadi, Rodayna Jaber, Kahlil Boujahjah,
Volume 4, Issue 1 (12-2022)
Abstract
The End of a Brave Man addresses the issue of childhood and its effect on the individual's personality, considering the great impact that harsh upbringing has on the psyche of children, in addition to the impact of society and peers on them. The significance of studying the novel from a psychological point of view is twofold: on the one hand, the author of the novel is one of the leaders of contemporary Arab novelists and, on the other hand, the focus of the story is on the importance of childhood in building a person's character. Accordingly, this study pinpoints the impact of childhood on Mufid al-Wahsh, the protagonist of the novel. The main question that this research addresses is that what are the most important environmental factors affecting the development of Mofid al-Wahsh's personality? To answer this question, the study examines the role of parents in forming a child’s personality, along with the role of teachers, peers, and village people as members of society. It finds that the novel portrays a picture of an abused child who is subject to sufferings and pains as imposed by society. He experiences the first layer of abuse from the family due to emotional disorder as his kind mother cannot make up for his father’s unforgiveness. The second environmental factor is school where he comes to hate knowledge as he is fired from classes. Also, his peers spark misery and rebellion in him. Finally, the people of the village torture him regularly. Mofid al-Wahsh's personality represents the character of numerous men who lived in such a repressive upbringing environment. The protagonist’s conduct is indeed is a natural reflection of the upbringing he received, an upbringing that is based on the oppression of the father in the patriarchal Eastern society, a society where mothers have no role but to cry.
Somayyah Yavari, Hassan Majidi, Hossein Shamsabadi, Hossein Qodrati, Mahdi Khorrami,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract
As various fields of knowledge develop, interdisciplinary studies become more prominent. During the recent five decades, the concept of social capital has drawn high attention in humanities including literature studies. Literature like a mirror reflects the characteristics of social relationships among individuals in a society. The purpose of this research is to reveal the manifestations of social capital in the novel " Sayyidat al-Qamar" written by "Jokha Al-Harithi", a contemporary Omani writer who was born in Oman in 1978, and his novel won the "Man Booker" international prize in 2019. The focus of the novel " Sayyidat al-Qamar" is the life of three sisters, their families, and social changes in Oman. This research was conducted based on the descriptive-analytical method using the content analysis method. Findings indicated that almost all the components of social capital as norms were found in the text. Furthermore, some norm indicators such as cooperation and social support had higher frequency compared to other indicators.
Tawfiq Rezapour Mohaiseni, Hossein Mohtadi, Naser Zare, Seyed Haidar Fare Shirazi,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract
Implicit Model is a fundametal concept on which cultural criticism is baed; as it deals with the function of a model in texts and discourses and examines the textual subconscious, and dismantles the academic rhetorical language that is far from social problems and facts of the social life. This model may be present in songs, costumes, fables, and proverbs, as it is in poems, stories, novels, and other forms of art. Beneath all these elements of implicit masculinity model, is a cultural system perceived by the listener, viewer, or reader because of its hidden adaptation to an older model fixed in the mind.This research tries to monitor and analyze the pattern of implicit masculinity in the novel "Salt Cities" written by Abd al-Rahman Munif, relying on the analytical-descriptive approach and in the light of cultural criticism that investigates implicit cultural patterns. In the sub-topics, the representations of masculinity in the novel Cities of Salt are such as: Power, having a male child, the inferiority of women and the superiority of men, and egoism or inflation of the ego. This study reached a series of results, the most important ones of which are: Abd al-Rahman Munif consciously and unconsciously put the model of masculinity behind the aesthetic and literary model and tried to focus on the margin in addition to the centrality.
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.
Mrs Mina Azizi, Dr Parviz Ahmadzadehhouch, Dr Ali Sayadani, Dr Maryam Bakhshi,
Volume 6, Issue 4 (7-1983)
Abstract
Critical discourse, in fact, is considered the formative process of discourse analysis, in which, by going beyond the mere description of linguistic data, attention is paid to the effective processes in the formation of discourse. In this type of discourse analysis, two social and linguistic approaches are discussed; which is explained in the social approach, discourse and situational context, and in the linguistic approach, the textual context. With the aim that the structures of power, domination and the resulting political, social and cultural inequalities are analyzed and investigated through a critical lens in the text. In this research, the novel "Confessions of Katem Sot" by Moens Al-Razzaz is analyzed using Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis approach in three levels of description, explanation and interpretation with descriptive analytical method. With the critical analysis of the mentioned novel, it is clear that the author is trying to express his nationalist political thoughts by highlighting the key words of the story through the technique of repetition and lexical rhyme and the use of special words, and by picturing it to the reader to understand It gives a depth of the main content of the story. And at the level of interpretation, he pays attention to the situational context and intertextuality of the discourse of the novel, which is the intertextuality in a myth like Sisyphus, and the presentation of the thinking of the national body of the party (Baath) on the issue of internal oppression, which leads to the loss of revolutionary ideas and disconnection. The relationship with the masses has become clear. And at the explanation level, the text was analyzed as a part of the process of social struggle in the context of power relations, which expresses the author's ideology, and the reactionary thoughts and lack of realism and traditional thoughts of the people in the beginning and end of the story, and their superficiality, expresses the reason for the failure of popular movements.
