Comparative Analysis of <i>Al-Ard</i> by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi and the Film by Youssef Chahine: Prison Literature and Collective Memory

<p>During the beginning of the twentieth century, works of literature began to center the Egyptian <em>fallah- </em>or peasant- <em> </em>as a political subject, as well as the most authentic representation of national identity. Prior to that, the <em>fallah </em>was negatively depicted, constantly portrayed in a derogatory manner. <em>Al-Ard</em>, a 1954 novel<em> </em>by Egyptian author ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi has been described by many literary critics as a nationalist social realist novel that centers the <em>fallah </em>as a political agent. In the 1970s, <em>al-Ard</em> was adapted into a film by Youssef Chahine, an internationally acclaimed Egyptian film director whose works have addressed a wide range of issues in Egypt. This thesis will read the text as: (1) a form of prison literature by al-Sharqawi that critiques the feudalism in the 1930s and 1940s, mass imprisonment of political dissidents in the 1930s and alludes to the possibilities of further repression in the 1950s; and (2) that Chahine’s adaptation of the novel portrays different themes to depict the social-political changes in post-1967 Egypt.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Middle Eastern Studies

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• Hassan, Rana

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• R. Shareah Taleghani

• Comparative Literature
• alsharqawi
• prison literature
• Arabic literature
• Egyptian cinema

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3199

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-4301