Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The present study aims to examine the communicative patterns, semantic structure, and modes of conversational interaction in the collection Stories of Imam Reza (A.S.) by Mojgan Sheikhi, based on Grice’s Cooperative Principle. Grice’s theory, with its emphasis on the four fundamental maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner, provides an effective framework for analyzing dialogues and uncovering implicatures in narrative texts—particularly in religious children’s literature, where clarity, coherence, and effective transmission of educational concepts are of considerable importance. Using a pragmatic discourse-analysis approach and through close examination of the dialogues among characters, this study evaluates the extent to which the conversational maxims are observed or flouted, and how such patterns contribute to narrative progression and the transmission of Razavi teachings.The results indicate that the author largely adheres to the cooperative maxims by employing simple, comprehensible language appropriate to the cognitive abilities of young readers. Nevertheless, instances of deliberately flouted maxims—especially Relation and Quantity—are observed, typically used to create narrative tension, highlight moral messages, or draw the reader’s attention to key pedagogical points. The analysis of conversational implicatures reveals that Sheikhi effectively utilizes inferential meaning to convey religious concepts indirectly, enabling Razavi messages to become firmly established in the child’s mind without linguistic complexity yet with notable semantic depth. The findings demonstrate that applying Grice’s principles in religious children’s literature can produce narratives that combine attractiveness and readability with dialogic coherence and educational efficacy. These results may serve as a useful guide for authors, critics, and scholars of children’s literature within the domain of religious narratives.
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