Arabic Literature

Postcolonial Reading of Novel Cities of Salt Based on Polyphony Theory of Mikhail Bakhtin

Kamal Baghjari; Yadollah Ahmadi Malayeri; Nasrin Ranjbaran

Volume 13, Issue 3 , November 2021, , Pages 23-44

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2020.306886.612240

Abstract

Post-colonialism and the theory of polyphony are closely related in terms of analyzing the monophonic discourse of power. While Mikhail Bakhtin considers the polyphonic novel as a labyrinthine, ... Read More Post-colonialism and the theory of polyphony are closely related in terms of analyzing the monophonic discourse of power. While Mikhail Bakhtin considers the polyphonic novel as a labyrinthine, colorful world that gives vent to heterogeneous voices, postcolonial theorists attempt to investigate aspects and factors of hegemonic tyranny and discuss the voice of the marginalized and the disadvantaged people as the topic of literary criticism. Cities of Salt by Abdul Rahman Munif (the famous Arab novelist), which is a quasi-historical account of the process of the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia and the transformation in the point of view of colonialism (from classic to modern), adopts a polyphonic and dialogic narrative in order to offer a multifarious image of the middle east during the colonial and the post-colonial periods. It sets out to show how the modern colonialist perspective of the United States substitutes the classic British one. In theoretical terms, the present study expounds upon some of the most central components of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of polyphony and dialogism so as to apply it to postcolonial studies. In applied terms, the writers have attempted, relying on assumptions of Bakhtin’s polyphonic theory –such as the narrative line, the multiplicity of discourse and the incorporated genres– to offer a postcolonial reading of the pentalogy Cities of Salt. Hence, the findings of the present article can be divided into two theoretical and applied parts: first, dialogism and the polyphonic theory of the novel by Bakhtin can open new horizons in the field of postcolonial studies, such as divulging the hegemonic aspects of the literary text and, more specifically, the narrative. Second, Abdul Rahman Munif, in Cities of Salt, offers various voices and discourses so as to push the dominant discourse of tyranny/ colonialism into a dialogic structure and nullify its made-up authority through juxtaposing it with other, equally valid, anti-discourses. Third, the writer offers incorporated genres adapted from the cultural Arabic-Islamic tradition in order to render null and void the oriental discourse of colonialism, which consists of robbing the colonized of their identity and ignoring their history and culture in an attempt to make them appear as savage barbarians.

A Postcolonial Study of The Algerian Trilogy (The Big House, The Fire, and The Loom) by Mohammed Dib

Kamal Baghjari

Volume 12, Issue 2 , July 2020, , Pages 85-107

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2019.277064.612039

Abstract

The Algerian Trilogy by Mohammed Dib, a renowned Algerian writer, is one of the most recognized literary works of the contemporary literature of his country. It provides the reader ... Read More The Algerian Trilogy by Mohammed Dib, a renowned Algerian writer, is one of the most recognized literary works of the contemporary literature of his country. It provides the reader with an objective perspective of the Algerian society in the years leading up to the Independence. In each of the novels, the writer focuses on one aspect of the life in the society. He gives the reader a viewpoint of the consequences of the French colonialism in everyday living status of the Algerians in cities, the countryside, and the industrial section in The Big House, The Fire, and The Loom respectively. In order to answer the critical questions pertaining to the postcolonial elements of the novels, this research extracts and analyzes the key concepts of postcolonial theory and criticism reflected in them. Furthermore, it attempts to evaluate the specific mechanisms used by the author to develop a postcolonial image. Thus, the article sets to study the novels’ multiple narrative and its impact on the embodiment of colonial and postcolonial atmosphere in Algeria, the power relations between the master and the slave under French colonialism, the colonial double-standard policies, resistance, and internalized racism. By doing so, it demonstrates that The Algerian Trilogy, with its multi-level narrative and naturalistic approach, challenges the false, superficial message of colonialism as to bringing civilization and modernity to Algeria, and reveals the true negative side of French colonialism. It argues that the master/ slave dichotomy is present in many scenes of all three novels, categorizing the characters into two groups: the dominant and the subaltern. Yet, some of the characters show conscious resistance by their focus on local elements of the Algerian culture and by their display of interest in Arabic language. In other words, the writer goes beyond the stereotype of sheer defiance and portrays cultural and linguistic resistance.

The Narcissism in Ahmad al-sāfi al-Najaf's Poetry

Kamal Baghjeri; Mahdi Torkshavand

Volume 9, Issue 1 , December 2017, , Pages 73-92

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2017.122118.611253

Abstract

The psychological concept of self-fascination, aka narcissism, is a highly vivid display in the poems of Ahmad al-Sāfi al-Najafi. The spread of this concept in Sāfi’s ... Read More

A postcolonial Study about “Season of Migration to the North” by Tayyeb Salih

Kamal Baghjeri; Shahryar Niazi

Volume 7, Issue 1 , September 2015, , Pages 61-86

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2015.56644

Abstract

This article is a Postcolonial study about season of Migration to the North a novel written by Tayyeb Salih (the renowned Sudanese writer). The novel, season of migration to the north, ... Read More

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Author = Kamal Baghjari

Postcolonial Reading of Novel Cities of Salt Based on Polyphony Theory of Mikhail Bakhtin

Abstract

A Postcolonial Study of The Algerian Trilogy (The Big House, The Fire, and The Loom) by Mohammed Dib

Abstract

The Narcissism in Ahmad al-sāfi al-Najaf's Poetry

Abstract

A postcolonial Study about “Season of Migration to the North” by Tayyeb Salih

Abstract