Document Type : Scientific- Research Article

Authors

1 PhD student of Arabic language & literature' Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Lecturer at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

2 ferdowsi university of mashhad

3 PhD student of Arabic language & literature' Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

10.22075/lasem.2024.30966.1383

Abstract

Magical realism is a new approach to writing contemporary novels in which reality and fantasy are intertwined in such a way that all unreal and imaginary events in the context of the novel appear completely real and natural. This trend appeared in the novels of some Arab writers, including the famous Algerian writer, Al-Tahir Wattar. In the novel “The Pure Guardian Returns to His Pure Place,” we encounter the writer’s efforts to rely on a modern narrative structure and use the dream as an artistic trick that allows him to highlight what was hidden in his existence. This research was done with the aim of describing the story space and analyzing narrative techniques based on magical realism. Given that this novel seems to be the writer's first step in using this literary genre, it seems necessary to research how to apply magical realism to this novel. In this study, we relied on the application of magical realism in light of the social criticism approach descriptively and analytically. The results indicate that the novelist provided, with this approach, a space to express the reality of Islamic society and the problems of Algerian society, and expressed his critical vision. He built his novel based on the space of the subconscious, and we see a dispersion in the different periods. The novelist made the past a stage for historical events that form a background for the psychological emotions in the present. The novelist resorted to history and placed historical figures in legendary molds, and he benefited from the case of the killing of Malik bin Nuwayra at the hands of Khalid bin Al-Walid as a symbol of the collapse of temporal and spatial rules, and the presentation of the novel’s plot in a spiral manner to deny atonement and the ugliness of violence throughout history.

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