Precursors of the Arab spring: a study of in the country of men, autumn quail, memory in the flesh and the Earthquake
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Date
2015-07-13
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Abstract
The ‘Arab Spring’ is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the
Arab world (North Africa and the Middle East) that began on Saturday, 18
th
December, 2010.
The movement originated in Tunisia and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon and
Iraq. To date, political rulers have been forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and
Yemen.
This thesis discusses the causes of the ‘Arab Spring’ as we are currently witnessing it, and
aims to draw a correlation between these causes and the preoccupation of selected works of
some North African writers. The current causes of the ‘Arab Spring’ are not new. They have
existed since time immemorial. What we are currently witnessing is only a culmination and
outburst of pent up emotions; emotions which have been held back for decades by members
of most Arab societies. The works of four North African writers have been discussed to show
that these writers have, previously in their various works, discussed issues affecting the
masses of most Arab societies which, if they were given the needed attention and
consideration, would not have brought us to the current state of unrest within most North
African and Middle Eastern countries. In other words, Hisham Matar in In the Country of
Men, Naguib Mahfouz in Autumn Quail, Ahlam Mosteghanemi in Memory in the Flesh, and
Tahir Wattar in The Earthquake, give insights into the dissatisfaction of Arab peoples at the
treatment meted out to them by their various governments as well as the poor conditions of
life they live under in their own countries while a few minority groups continue to enrich
themselves at the expense of the majority population.
The works under study discuss a number of issues that underpin the causes of the on-going
‘Arab Spring.’ Issues such as dictatorship or absolute monarchy, human rights violations,
government corruption, economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of
demographic factors, such as a large percentage of educated but dissatisfied youth within the
population have been extensively discussed. Literature therefore has been put to mimetic use
by the writers whose works are under study. These writers, through the use of literary and
linguistic devices like symbolism, description, rhetorical questions, allegory and comparison,
provide a vivid picture of what is going on in most Arab societies. In the end these literary
works provide evidence of the rich corpus of Arabic literature which for decades has not been
given due recognition like its counterparts in Europe and America.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Department of English, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy (English) degree.