Arabic Literature

Manifestations of Difference in the Novel Al-Las and Al-Kilab using Bourdieu’s Sociological Model

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Ali Sayadani 1
Yazdan Heydarpour Marand 2
Sakineh Heydarpour Marand 3

1 Associate Professor in Arabic Language and Literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University

2 MA Graduated of Arabic Language Translation, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University

3 PhD student in Sociology, Tabriz University

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2021.317112.612340
Abstract
In Bourdieu’s view, social world is based on difference, and difference is manifested in structural concepts such as social space, field, class, capital and also in practice concepts like habitus, actions within field, taste and preference. Usually such fields as art, literature, and culture are rich representations of society, the analysis of which will result in understanding society. Therefore, understanding literary texts, for example, through Bourdieu’s approach will show ways of difference in societies. Al-Las va al-Kilab is one of Najib Mahfuz’s symbolic novels that is suitable to be investigated using the above-mentioned concepts as the novelist, considering concepts such as religion, culture, society and class, deals with social and political status of society of Egypt and criticizes the dominant injustice. The novel narrates limitations and specific conditions that are dependent on a vast and complicated set of personal and social necessities. Within sociological criticism and using Bourdieu’s theory, that this research examines the novel Al-Las va al-Kilab from a sociological perspective and with an analytical approach.the study tried to investigate and show manifestations of difference in Al-Nas va al-Kilab represented in concepts of habitus, field, capital, social space and social classes, taste and preference. The results of the study showed that the novelist highlights a kind of cultural and class difference based on habitus and capitals of characters in different fields by examining the role of characters in social structures, so that characters in different fields and based of their habitus and according to their capitals, taste and their position and social classes in social spaces, show different manifestations of difference.

Keywords

Contemporary Novel
Story Criticism
Sociological Critique
Najib Mahfuz
Al-Las va Al-Kilab
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Arabic Literature
Volume 13, Issue 4
Winter 2022
Pages 109-128

  • Receive Date 11 January 2021
  • Revise Date 29 March 2021
  • Accept Date 21 December 2021

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