Discursive Construction of

MOHTADI, HOSSEIN; Sharooni, Somayyeh

Discursive Construction of "Displacement" and "the Other" in Narratives of the Iran–Palestine War: A Case Study of the Novels The Scorched Earth by Ahmad Mahmoud and Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani Based on Michel Foucault’s Concepts

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

HOSSEIN MOHTADI ¹

Somayyeh Sharooni ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran

Abstract

In this research, utilizing a library-based method and employing a descriptive, analytical, as well as comparative approach, the novels The Scorched Earth by Ahmad Mahmoud (1931–2002) and Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani (1936–1972) are examined as two key works in the resistance literature of Iran and Palestine. The aim is to analyze and investigate how power functions in constructing the discourse of war and displacement within two different cultural contexts. Overall, this study seeks to examine the similarities and differences between these two works in expressing concepts such as power, resistance, displacement, and the Other. Accordingly, an effort is made to demonstrate how the discourse of war reflects the subject of displacement and the Other in these two works. Based on this, the theories of the prominent French sociologist Michel Foucault (1926–1984) concerning issues such as war and power, domination and subjugation, the theory of sovereignty, and related concepts were identified as an appropriate framework for analyzing these works.The results of the research indicate that despite geographical differences, the distinct nature of colonialism in the two lands, and clear differences in content, based on Foucault's theories, both works reflect a similar logic of modern power that governs the life and death of subjects. In both works, according to Foucault, power constructs the subject, and the characters are shaped by discourses of power.

Keywords

Comparative literature

scorched earth

men in the sun

discourse

displacement

the other

Subjects