Journal of Children's Literature Studies

Research Paper

A Look at the Concept of Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity in Jamshid Khanian’s Edson Arantes do Nascimento and His Himalayan Rabbit

Sheida Aramesh fard

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 1-22

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2019.33521.1691

Abstract

A Look at the Concept of Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity in Jamshid Khanian’s Edson Arantes do Nascimento and His Himalayan Rabbit Sheida AramshfardM.A. in Children’s ... Read More A Look at the Concept of Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity in Jamshid Khanian’s Edson Arantes do Nascimento and His Himalayan Rabbit Sheida AramshfardM.A. in Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature IntroductionIn the course of thinking about subjectivity and its meaning, it is very important to make connections between concepts related to it such as agency and consciousness. Also, it is important to consider the fact that subjectivity is related, on the one hand, to the concept of individuality and identity, and on the other hand, to the social and ideological discourses.Conscious thinking and dialogue with the other necessitates the existence of two sides in the relationship, I and thou. Following this duality, one may imagine many other dualities such as subject/object, self/other, human/god, agency/social process, east/west, adult/child, writer/reader, writer/hero. The interaction of these dualities is inevitable. In this interaction, usually one side of the duality dominates over the other side. Therefore, although the consciousness of both sides is enhanced in this interaction, they acquire a kind of constructed identity and the weaker side is dominated by the hegemony of the dominant ideology. As a result, the dominated side does not think but is thought, though it has the illusion of subjectivity. The dominated side thinks it is free to choose, though it has to choose from among the existing possibilities. A key concept which helps us to better understand this relationship is the Bakhtinian concept of intersubjectivity which emphasizes that these changes occur in a process and suggests that moving from being to becoming occurs in a constructive negotiation.For Bakhtin, every event necessitates a conflict between humans in a kind of co-being situation which is related to the common experience of some subjects. Therefore, no event can be thought of as the source of conflict between a subject and an object only; actually, it is the site of conflict with another subject or another person (thou). Accordingly, being is inherently intersubjective. Bakhtin emphasizes that intersubjectivity is indeterminate and transitory: the subject is never stable but is constantly in the process of becoming in interaction with other subjects. Methodology, Review of Literature and PurposeThe main purpose of this research is to analyze the concept of subjectivity with a problematic approach and to examine its relationship with the theory and criticism of children’s and adolescents’ literature. Accordingly, the researcher tries to answer these questions: What approaches to the two concepts of subjectivity and intersubjectivity exist in the theory and criticism of children’s and adolescents’ literature? And how can one make use of these approaches?The concept of subjectivity is a rather new, though challenging, concept in the theory and criticism of children’s and adolescents’ literature, especially in the works of John Stevens, Robin McCollum and Maria Nicholajeva. Stevens believes that assumptions about the uniqueness of the individual and selfhood should be discarded and replaced with a dialectical relationship between subjectivity and sociability, and between representations of self and social structures about self. Accordingly, the subject is nothing but a structure that registers the conscious or unconscious natural and cultural processes.That the researcher did not find any related study in Iran during the course of research emphasizes the necessity of conducting such a research in this country. The main question in this study is how we can improve the relationship between these dualities and then substitute the intersubjective relationship for the duality of the subjects. ConclusionAt the end of the study, the researcher tries to focus on Jamshid Khanian’s Edson Arantes do Nascimento and His Himalayan Rabbit in order to show the writer’s attempts in writing about the subject, which is the duality between the writer and the hero of the story and the intersubjective relationship between these two. The aim is to show the applicability of these discussions and their challenges in the field of children’s literature.In this novel, Khanian creates two characters, the writer and the hero, and shows their constant struggles about the essence of reality. In this relationship, the hero does not become totally dominated, although the writer has a powerful effect on him and his life. The hero occupies the mind of the writer powerfully and surprises the writer constantly. The main subject of the novel is the fire incident in Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran (in which people were locked in and burnt alive) which is still a historical puzzle. This incident causes tension between fictional subjects and their struggle over the end of the story leads them toward an investigation of reality. Therefore, in an intersubjective relationship, the writer tries to lead the story toward a historical fact while the hero tries to substitute another possibility for it in the story: that the cinema does not catch fire and hundreds of people do not die, which is only possible in the world of the story. The open ending of the story which gives weight to both possibilities (the historical reality as well as the fictional reality) negates every certainty and conclusion and lets the subjects have their own narrative of reality based on their own knowledge. Reality in the course of the story is not objective and predetermined, but negotiable and changeable in an intersubjective relationship. Keywords: consciousness, Edson Arantes do Nascimento and His Himalayan Rabbit, intersubjectivity, subjectivity, Jamshid Khanian, action References: Abbott, H. P. (2018). Narrative literacy (R. PoorAzar & N. M. Ashrafi, Trans.). Atraf.Bakhtin, M. (1990). “Author and Hero in Aesthetic Activity”. In Art and Answerability, Early Philosophical Essays by M. M. Bakhtin (V. Lipanov, Trans.). University of Texas press.Foucault, M. (2004). What is problimatization? (M. M. Ardabili, Trans.). Accessed from http://problematicaa.com/Hall, D. A. (2017). Subjectivity, who or what are we? (H. Shahi, Trans.). Parseh.Khanian, J. (2019). Edson Arantes do Nascimento and His Himalayan Rabbit. Ketab Tooti.McCollum, R. (2013). “Scrivener’s Progeny: Writing the Subject”. In J. Stephens, Subjectivity in Asian children’s literature and film. Routledge.Miller, P. (2010). Subject, domination, power (N. Sarkhosh & A. Jahandideh, Trans.). Ney.Murphy, M. (2015). There is no other: on Hegel and Intersubjctivity. Latest Postspro. https://socialtheoryapplied.com/ 2015/07/03/no-hegel-intersubjectivity/Nikolajeva, M. (2009). Power, voice and subjectivity in literature for young readers. Routledge.Nikolajeva, M. (2009). Beyond the fictional grammar. In M. Khosronejad, Inevitable re-readings. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Raf’at-jah, M. (2010. The process of changes in the concept of subject and identity in cultural theory. Barg-e Farhang, No. 22, pp. 118-129.Steinby, L. & Klapuri, T. (2013). Bakhtin and his others: Intersubjectivity, chronotope, dialogism. Antem press.Stephens, J. (2013). “The Politics of identity: A transcultural perspective on subjectivity in writing for children”. In Subjectivity in Asian children’s literature and Film. Routledge.Stevens, J. (2018). Encyclopedia of children’s literature (D. Khazaei, T. Adinehpour & M. Zekavat, Trans.). Unpublished.Zahavi, D. (2002). Intersubjectivity in Sartre’s Being and Nothingless”. Alther, 10, pp. 265- 281.

Research Paper

A Comparison of the Functions of the Elements of Crossover Literature in Call Me Ziba and Danny, the Champion of the World

Zahra Aghababaii khuzani; Fereshteh Mahjoub; Fattane Dalili

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 23-54

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.34216.1715

Abstract

A Comparison of the Functions of the Elements of Crossover Literature in Call Me Ziba and Danny, the Champion of the World Zahra Aghababaei KhuzaniAssistant Professor of Persian ... Read More A Comparison of the Functions of the Elements of Crossover Literature in Call Me Ziba and Danny, the Champion of the World Zahra Aghababaei KhuzaniAssistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Payam Noor UniversityFereshteh MahjoubAssistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Payam Noor UniversityFattaneh DaliliM.A. Student of Persian Language and Literature, Payam Noor University IntroductionIn the beginning of the flourishing of children’s literature in the middle of the 18th century, there were authors who wrote for both children and adults. These authors are known today as crossover authors, crosswriting authors or dual-readership writers (see Debrauwer, 2002: 118). In the 20th century, with the expansion of children’s literature, the boundaries between writing for children and adults started to diminish and more emphasis was laid on the literary form of crosswriting (ibid).Children’s literature shares many elements with adult literature; however, the fact that its audience are children gives it specific characteristics and turns it into an effective and dynamic trend. Since a number of writers of adult literature were interested in this trend, they found it eligible to extend the readership of their works to include both children and adults. They insisted on eliminating the boundaries between two types of children and adult literature and crossing the borders of dual readership. Methodology, Literature Review and PurposeUsing the method of qualitative content analysis, the researchers aim at identifying and introducing Iranian works of fiction which are, from the perspective of crosswriting, comparable to successful western works. The researchers believe that such studies will not only help Iranian writers by providing critical readings of their works, but also help the expansion of this type of literature in Iran.The theories about crossover literature became widespread with such studies as The case of Peter Pan, or, The impossibility of children's fiction by Jacqueline Rose, Children's Literature: Criticism and the Fictional Child by Karín Lesnik-Oberstein, and the theories outlined by Aidan Chambers in his essay “Implied reader” which were later on modified by Barbara Wall in The narrator’s voice.Eqbalzadeh claims that he has used the term “literature for all ages” for the first time in Iran. SeyedAbadi has also focused on the concept of children and adolescent literature in his essays “Medium-age children literature” (2001) and “Prior understanding of children and adolescent audience” (2002). Dalili Shojaei (2020) has studied the dual audience literature in her M.A. thesis, “The introduction and analysis of the genre of books with no specific age-group”. DiscussionIn Hassanzadeh’s Call Me Ziba, Ziba is a girl living in a poorhouse run by Behzisti (the governmental Welfare Organization of Iran). Her father has mental issues and is kept in an institution. Ziba helps her father escape from the mental institution and celebrate her birthday in the course of one day’s journey.The novel is a realistic novel with the theme of a girl’s need for her father’s love. The writer delves deep into the heart of the city and shows his critique of poverty, violence, addiction and corruption. He constantly shows the contrast between the real world and the imagined world. This combination of reality and imagination results in a juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy which leads to the creation of grotesque in the story. By focusing on gaps between the text’s and the narrator’s representations of reality, Hassanzadeh lets the audience decide for themselves. This may lead to the widening of the readership of the work.The selves that are created in the story accompany each other in different layers of the text. The novel uses the motif of “home, away from home, home” but unfortunately, the writer breaks down this model and substitutes it with “home, away from home, poorhouse” to give a more imaginative and idealist answer to this issue.In Roald Dahl’s Danny, the Champion of the World, a father bestows all his love to his only 4-month-old child. William tells his son about the trafficking of pheasants by the local people and also wonderful secrets about illegal hunting tricks. The theme of the story is criticizing social injustices and the emphasis on the role of the father in the education of the children.This novel can be regarded as an example of crossover literature, since it can have readership among both children and adults. The society which is symbolized in the story by the school has taken away all the chances for enjoying childhood from Danny and has given him bewilderment and confusion instead. The first person point of view of the novel makes the reader aware of the flow of thought and motivations of the hero. The combination of conflicts and paradoxes in the story result in a kind of grotesque. Sometimes, putting emphasis on this combination has led to small problems in the narrative structure of the novel. ConclusionThe two stories are similar in these aspects: unpredictability of the characters, the use of exaggerations, the theme of paternal love, the existence of conflict and repetition, a critical and realist outlook, the use of humor in a tragic atmosphere, the display of grotesque, and the combination of reality and imagination. In both novels, the transition from childhood to adulthood happens very quickly. Both child-heroes of the two novels function as controllers of the adult characters and help improve the situation of their fathers.Nevertheless, there are some differences in the use of other elements of crossover literature in the two novels: there is a two-way relationship between Danny and his father; however, the relationship between Ziba and Khosro is transitory and to some extent, one-way. Roald Dahl is more successful than Hasanzadeh in directing his critique toward the defective social structure. Also, Hassanzadeh has created a new model instead of the theme of home, away from home, home, which can be destructive.On the whole, given the fact that the purpose of all these ups and downs is the transition from innocence to experience, and crossover literature is part of the audience’s social experience, Roald Dahl can be considered as more successful in using the elements of crosswriting. Keywords: crossover literature, Dany, the Champion of the world, Roald Dahl, Call Me Ziba, Farhad Hassanzadeh References: Beckett, Sandra L. (2002). Crossing the border (3). Book of Month of Children and Adolescents. No. 63, pp. 79-82.Biniaz, F. (2014). An introduction to fiction-writing and narratology, with a brief look at the pathology of Iranian novels and short stories. Afraz.Children’s Books Council (1991). Encyclopedia of children and adolescents (2nd Volume). The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Dahl, R. (2002). Danny, the champion of the world (M. Vosouq, Trans.). Markaz.Dalili Shojaei, F. (2019). An introduction and analysis of the genre of books without any age groups. M.A. Thesis, Payam Noor University of Najaf-Abad, Iran.Debrauwer, H. D. L. (2001). A critical discussion about dual audience authors (S. Saeli, Trans.). Book of Month of Children and Adolescents, No. 60, pp. 118-121.Hajvani, M. (2002). Expectation is more than this. The Research Journal of Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, 8 (31), p. 152.Hassanzadeh, F. (2015). Call Me Ziba. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Khosronejad, M. (2008). Inevitable re-readings: A critical approach to the theory of children’s literature. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Mohammadi, M. H. (1999). Methodology of children’s literature criticism. Seda-o-Sima Publications.Nicholajeva, M. (2002). Crosswriting authors and the deconstruction of traditional children’s literature (S. Saeli, Trans.). Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents, No. 65, pp. 138-146.Nicholajeva, M. (2001). Crosswriting and bilingual or bi-cultural authors (S. Saeli, Trans.). Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents, No. 68, pp. 82.Ranjbar, M. (2019). An analysis of the critical realism of the problematic character in the novel Call Me Ziba. Literary Criticism and Theory. 3 (2), pp. 5-25.Saeli, S. (2003). First light. Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents, No. 71, p. 92.Saeli, S. (2004). The discourse of writing. Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents, No. 82, pp. 71-72.Seyyed-Abadi, A. (2002). Medium-age children literature. Research Journal of Children and Adolescents, 8 (25), pp. 11-20.Seyyed-Abadi, A. (2003). The prior understanding of children and adolescents as audience. Research Journal of Children and Adolescents, 9 (29), pp. 30-38.Taslimi, A. (2017). A critical practical research in literary schools. Ketab-e Ameh.Varta Publications Website, http://vartapub.ir

Research Paper

A Study of Mythological Motifs in the Story of "Chel-Gis" as Narrated in the Village of Romqan, Koohmarreh Sorkhi, Shiraz

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 55-76

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2019.34343.1719

Abstract

Azim Jabbareh NaserouAssociate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Jahrom University IntroductionFolk tales are a rich part of the literature of any ... Read More Azim Jabbareh NaserouAssociate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Jahrom University IntroductionFolk tales are a rich part of the literature of any nation and by analyzing them, one can understand the beliefs, thoughts, ways of life, archetypes and totems of that nation. Studying these stories and legends is the best way, and perhaps the only possible way, to know the ways of life of the past generations. "In folk tales, all history is recorded with astonishing cultural and doctrinal ups and downs to be used in a structural study of popular beliefs" (Hassanzadeh, 2003: 19). On the other hand, these stories have a wonderful and mysterious connection with myths; so much so that researchers are concerned with the question which of the two was formed first. May we assume that myths have influenced stories, or that stories are the bases on myths rather than being remnants of them? (In this regard, see Saberi et al., 2019: 205; Afshari, 2009: 70). Neither view can be completely accepted; however, it is clear that stories and myths have similarities and differences. The story of "Chel-Gis" is one of the narratives in which it is very difficult and even impossible to determine the exact border between the story and the myth. This narrative has wonderfully used mythological themes and motifs in different levels. Methodology, Literature Review and PurposeThe author has first recorded the folk tale using a field method and then examined its mythological themes in a library method with a descriptive-analytical approach.No research has been done so far on this story and its mythological themes; however, other researchers have looked at similar stories from the same perspective. For example, Farzaneh Mozaffarian (2012) in the article "Myths and folk tales", has studied mythical features in folk tales. Zahra Ansari et al. (2014) in an article entitled "The analysis and classification of the mythical idea of the tree-man in the folk tales of Hormozgan" have analyzed this idea in four parts of the marriage of a girl with a tree, the fertilization of the female by the tree, the belief in the presence of a male demon or jinn in the tree, and the transformation of tree-male and male-tree. Morteza Heydari (2017) in a research entitled "The explanation and the analysis of mythological themes in the structure of the story Mah-Pishooni" has studied the structure of this story based on Propp's theory.The importance of this type of research lies in its preserving and recording a part of the literature of this region, which is on the verge of oblivion and even extinction. Folklore literature has been the subject of serious studies from two centuries ago by scientists in the field of humanities; however, such studies have not found their place in our country. On the other hand, with the spread of modernism and its manifestations in society, the growth of urbanization, the death of the elderly and the indifference of the young generation toward the stories and the beliefs of the past, this rich part of literature is on the verge of destruction. The author considers it obligatory to work hard to preserve a part of this treasure. DiscussionGoddess Anahita: Anahita has a special place in the story of "Chel-Gis". Although Anahita is not explicitly present in the story, her distinctive features are mentioned. The first and perhaps the most important feature of Anahita is her role as the protector of waters. The spring plays an important role in the folk tale. The girl advises Aunt Puppet-master to go straight to the spring to get pregnant. The spring seems to have been given a sacred or at least a mysterious aspect; a sacred place where you must first wash your head and body to get ready to get pregnant.Anahita's second characteristic is her ability to cleanse women's wombs. When the girl arrives at the spring with her aunt, the girl asks her aunt to enter the spring first to be cleansed. After entering the spring and performing the so-called cleansing ritual, the aunt is prepared for pregnancy.The third characteristic of Anahita that can be traced in the story is her power in increasing the grain and the herd. In the folk tale, it seems that Anahid comes out of the water in one of her animal manifestations, the horse.A magical animal supporting the protagonist: In the story of Chel-Gis, the cow plays this role. This animal has several important features in the story of Chel-Gis: a) This cow is from a fairy breed. b) It has magical powers. c) It seems to be a totem for Chel-Gis. d) Before its death, the cow knows that it is going to be killed, and of course it does not resist and surrenders to its fate. e) it is aware of the future and can easily transform itself.Magical plants and their support of the hero: In this story, the trees have magical qualities. In general, trees in this story have three basic characteristics: a) protection, b) speech, c) revival, as one of the mysteries in this story is the resurrection of the tree; and d) transformation.Transformation of Fairies: The fairies transform themselves in two parts of the story: a) Zardak is a beautiful fairy who turns into a cow to accompany the protagonist; b) another fairy appears in the form of a deer to support the protagonist.Transformation of humans into trees and vice versa: The transformation of a human into a tree and a tree into a human occurs in two parts of the story: a) in the first part of the story, the aunt rests under an oak tree which is actually a beautiful woman who is also a messenger of God; b) in another part of the story, Zardak asks Chel-Gis to bury his bones so that he will not be eaten by predators. A lush tree grows from these bones that symbolically embodies man in the form of a tree.The role of trees in female fertility: In this story, with the help of the girl, the aunt, who cannot get pregnant, first washes her head and body in the water and then gets pregnant by eating the fruit of the oak tree.The place of fairies in the story: In general, fairies are mentioned in four parts of the story: a) the real name of Chel-Gis is Pari (Persian for fairy). She is called by the title “Chel-Gis” (metaphorically meaning long-haired in Persian) because of her long hair. b) The cow that appears in the role of support for Chel-Gis in the story is actually a fairy. c) A woman who combs her hair by the spring is a fairy. d) The deer that plays the supporting role of the protagonist is also a fairy.Hair as a tool for fertility: In the oral story, one of the events that surprises the stepmother is a scene in which a woman washes her hair by the spring and all the apple trees at the bottom of the spring bloom.The birth of the hero of the story: In this story, we encounter two types of magical and wonderful births: a) The birth of the girl: in similar cases in folk tales, the name of this girl is Nokhodi (literary meaning chickpea), Nokhodak or Nim-Nokhod. The girl has no name in this story. In the oral story, the little girl is born like other similar folk tales. b) The birth of Chel-Gis: This type of birth -the birth of a hero with an origin- has many previous instances.The sanctity of numbers: The only number in the story is seven. In other words, all the actions and behaviors performed in the story are related to this number. ConclusionThe mythological themes of the story of Chel-Gis are as follows: 1) Goddess Anahita has a very important role in the story, though her name is not mentioned. The three basic characteristics of this goddess, i.e., her being the goddess and guardian of water, her power in increasing the herd and her power in cleansing of women's wombs, can be seen in the story. This goddess appears in the form of one of her animal manifestations, the horse. 2) Magical plants and animals support the hero and take care of her in difficult moments of the story. 3) Fairies are influential characters in the story who are present in different parts of the story with three basic characteristics: they support the protagonist; they are remarkably connected with water; and they are able to transform themselves. 4) One of the most repetitive mythological themes in this story is transformation, which happens in two ways: a) turning a human body into a tree and vice versa; b) the transformation of fairies. 5) The theme of female fertilization by a tree or a plant is one of the common themes in the mythology of nations. In this story, this theme appears in the form of the fruit of an oak tree. 6) In the story of Chel-Gis, the hair is presented as a tool of fertilization, which seems to be a repetition of the myth of the formation of the world from the body of an animal or a giant-god. 7) Two of the characters in the story have births that are different from normal births: a girl who is born without the intervention of her parents and is in fact a pea seed; and the character of Chel-Gis -the protagonist- who is born without the intervention of her father and after certain stages that give a mythical atmosphere to the story. 8) The only number that is repeated many times in the story is number seven. References:Afshari, M. (2009). Fresh to fresh, new to new. Cheshmeh.Amuzegar, J. (2013). Mythological history of Iran. Samt.Anjavi Shirazi, A. (2015). The girl of orange and bergamot (2nd Volume). Amir-Kabir.Anjavi Shirazi, A. (2016). Yarrow flowers (3rd Volume). Amir-Kabir.Ansari, Z., Jamali, A. & Zarei, B. (2014). A study and classification of the mythical tree-man idea in the folk tales of Hormozgan. Quarterly Journal of Mystical and Mythological Literature, 10 (36), pp. 35-65.Bahar, M. (1995). A few researches in Iranian culture. Fekr Rooz.Bahar, M. (2013). A survey of Iranian mythology. Agah.Bierlin, J. F. (2008). Parallel myths. (A. Mokhber, Trans.). Markaz.Chalak, S. (2019). Mythical goddesses in folk tales. Iranian Language and Literature Research Quarterly, No. 49, pp. 49-70.Chevalier, J. & Gheerbrant, A. (2001). Encyclopedia of symbols (2nd Volume) (S. Fazayeli, Trans.). Jeihoon.Christie, A. (1995). Chinese mythology. (B. Farrokhi, Trans.). Asatir.Christensen, A. (1990). Examples of the first man and the first prince in the mythical history of Iran. (A. Tafazoli & J. Amoozgar, Trans.). Nashre Now.Dadgi, F. (1991). Bondahesh (M. Bahar, Ed.). Toos.Darmesteter, J. (2006). A collection of Zoroastrian laws (Vandidad). (M. Javan, Trans.). Donyaye Ketab.Darvishian, A. & Khandan, R. (1999). The encyclopedia of Iranian people’s tales. Anzan.De Beaucorps, M. (1998). The living secrets of life. (J. Sattari, Trans.). Markaz.Doostkhah, J. (2007). Avesta. Morvarid.Eliade, M. (2011). Treatise on the history of religions (J. Sattari, Trans.). Soroush.Evans, V. (1997). Egyptian mythology (B. Farrokhi, Trans.). Asatir.Ferdowsi, A. (2016). Shahnameh (J. Khaleqi Motlaq, Ed.). Sokhan.Frazer, J. G. (2009). The golden bough (K. Firoozmand, Trans.). Agah.Frye, N. (2012). Literature and myth. in J. Sattari (Trans.). A collection of articles on myth and mystery. Soroush.Gheibi, M. & Veisi, E. (2017). Manifestation of the three aspects of Anahita in Iranian folk legends. Journal of Literary Sciences, 5 (7), pp. 113-138.Grimal, P. (2000). Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology (A. Behmanesh, Trans.). Asatir.Guirand, F. (1997). Encyclopedia of Assyrian and Babylonian mythology. (A. Esmailpour, Trans.). Fekr-e Rooz.Guiri, S. (1996). Anahid temples in Iran. Chista Magazine, No. 122 & 123, pp. 140-143.Hassanzadeh, A. (2003). The Legend of the living: Twenty-three discourses in the anthropological study of Iranian folk tales. Center for the Recognition of Islam and Iran.Heidari, M. (2018). The explanation and the analysis of mythological themes in the structure of the story Mah-Pishooni. Journal of Literary Arts, 9 (1), pp. 143-160.Jones, H. (2005). Geography of Strabo, lands under Achaemenid rule. (H. Sanatzadeh, Trans.). Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Endowment Foundation.Khadish, P. (2009). Morphology of magical legends. Elmi va Farhangi.Kondori, M. (1994). Religion and myth in Central America. Institute for Cultural Studies and Research.Lesan, H. (1977). Sacrifice from ancient times to the present. Art and People, No. 167, pp. 60-70.Mahjoub, M. J. (2015). Iranian folk literature (H. Zolfaghari, Ed.). Cheshmeh.Marzolph, U. (1993). Classification of Iranian tales (K. Jahandari, Trans.). Soroush.McCall, H. (2001). Mesopotamian myths (A. Mokhber, Trans.). Markaz.Mobini, M. & Shahverdi, A. (2015). Rereading Hesiod's Theogony in the light of the unity rule. Quarterly Journal of Mystical Literature and Mythology, 12 (43), pp. 185-210.Mohseni, M. & Valizadeh, M. (2012). Themes of Tutism in Iranian folk tales. Quarterly Journal of Mystical Literature and Mythology, 7 (23).Moeini Sam, B. & Khosravi, Z. (2012). The connection between Anahita and Ishtar in Babylon. Journal of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Kerman University, Vol. 20, pp. 319-330.Mozafarian, F. (2013). Myths and folk tales. Journal of Mystical and Mythological Literature, No. 22, pp. 213-247.Peron, S. (2003). Myths of Rome (B. Farrokhi, Trans.). Asatir.Pigot, J. (2006). Japanese mythology (B. Farrokhi, Trans.). Asatir.Pourdawood, E. (1996). Yasht-ha. Tahoori.Pourkhaleghi Chatroudi, M. (2009). The tree of Shahnameh: Cultural and symbolic values of the tree in Shahnameh. Astan Qods Razavi.Qolizadeh, K. (2010). Encyclopedia of Persian mythology. Parseh Book Publishing.Rezaei, M. (2006). Creation and death in mythology. Asatir.Rosenberg, D. (1997). Far Eastern myths (M. Abdollah-Nejad, Trans.). Taraneh.Ruh-al-Amini, M. (1983). Number seven in mythology and religions. Chista Journal, Vol. 8, pp. 1009-1013.Saberi, T., Mousavi, S., Frouzandeh, M. & Shateri, M. (2019). Hair in oral tales and myths. Bimonthly of Popular Culture and Literature, 6 (22), pp. 205-231.Sarkarati, B. (1972). Pary: A study in the margin of comparative mythology. Journal of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tabriz, Vol. 97, pp. 1-32.Sarkarati, B. (2000). Hunted shadows. Cheshmeh.Sattari, R. & Khosravi, S. (2018). A study of the similarities between fairy and magic woman in verse epics after Shahnameh. Journal of Literary Text Research, 21 (74), pp. 7-30.Sipak, Y. (2006). Iranian folklore literature (M. Akhgari, Trans.). Soroush.Smith, J. (2005). Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology (S. B. Khosroshahi, Trans.). Roozbehan and Farhang-e Moaser.Tavazoei, R. (1995). The role and effect of number seven in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Journal of Literature, No. 52, pp. 40-47.Vali, Z. (2001). Seven in the realm of human culture. Asatir.Yahaghi, M. J. (2008). Encyclopedia of myths and fables in Persian literature. Farhang-e MoaserZomorrodi, H. (2009). Plant symbols and codes in Persian poetry. Zavar.

Research Paper

Mythological Critique of Death in Death on the Apple Tree

Reyhaneh Askari; Ali boozari

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 77-104

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.33832.1704

Abstract

Mythological Critique of Death in Death on the Apple Tree Ali BoozariAssistant Professor, Graphic design and Illustration department, Visual Arts Faculty, Art University, Tehran, ... Read More Mythological Critique of Death in Death on the Apple Tree Ali BoozariAssistant Professor, Graphic design and Illustration department, Visual Arts Faculty, Art University, Tehran, Iran / a.boozari@art.ac.ir (corresponding author) Rayhane AskariPh.D. candidate in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran / reyhan.asg@gmail.com Extended AbstractThroughout the history of mythology, we have witnessed many universal myths such as death, creation and the first man. No matter where these common myths originate, they have similar functions. For example, in many myths, death is the result of sin or enmity; human beings die because of their sins, the curse of the devil, or the enmity of the gods, even though they have a strong desire for immortality. Therefore, death has been frightening for human beings in most cases. Death, as one of the most important human anxieties, takes many forms. In her book, Kathrin Schärer illustrates this anxiety, which is the fear of destruction, with the help of text and images. In Death on the Apple Tree, by considering the commonalities between the myths in the face of death, she makes an attempt to present a different view of death and life. Death in this book is not the result of enmity but a part of life. In fact, death is life itself, to the extent that life without death and death without life has no meaning.The research is based on Mircea Eliade's theories on the subject of myth. Although the images and the text of this book are meaningful independent of each other or sometimes complement each other, a new level of meaning can be achieved by describing and analyzing the structural elements of the book. Although the truth of death destroys us, its image is life-giving; and although death is the endpoint of life, it is itself the starting point.The title and opening images of the book are always guides for interpreting the text. The title of the book leads us to enter the world of mythology. The tree, because its roots are in the ground and its body on the ground, is a bridge between the world of the dead and the world of the living, and it transmits messages from each world to the other. It should be noted that the tree in question is the apple tree, and the apple evokes the story of creation for us. The fruit causes the mystic man to become good and bad, and whoever attains such knowledge will attain immortality. The interesting point is that death in this book sits on the apple tree, meaning that he is aware of everything that happens in life and death, and that he is eternal.The story begins when the fox and his wife wake up to the sound of crows approaching their apple tree. It is said in the myths that crows are messengers of death and we will know from the beginning of the story that death is coming, but it should be known that the messengers of death are trying to grab the apple, the fruit of immortality, because death itself seeks immortality.Years pass and finally death comes. The fox is afraid of facing his own death. He tries to beguile him with all kinds of deceptions and tricks, and in the first place, he seems to achieve success. But death is a mythical being and time does not appear to him as meaningful to material beings. Years pass and death still waits patiently. Time passes on the fox and makes him old while death awaits, fresh and smiling, sitting on an apple tree. One day, the fox realizes that death is another aspect of life. He calls and embraces death with an apple in the fox's hand and completes the meaning of the fox's existence. Death in this book is not the enemy of the living and is not even the result of their sins and errors. Death and life are not two sides of one coin, the one exists when one does not exist; death is life.The colors in a picturebook can, to a large extent, convey the meaning of the illustrations to the readers. Colors are the factors that help characterize a story. In most of the pictures, the fox is painted in vivid colors which convey to the audience a sense of desire to live. And when the fox grows old, the strength of the colors gradually decreases, and gray and black lines are added to the images, which is a sign of the fox's aging and loss of reasons to live in this world. Throughout the book, the color of death conveys to the audience a sense of calm, patience and kindness, and clearly shows that death does not intend to be at enmity with the living.As we approach the end of the book, we see in the final pictures that a cover of death, with the same warm and soft colors, and that of a fox, with the same vivid and happy colors, have fallen on the ground next to each other, as if this world has been a world of clothes that have been worn by the living for some time, and then there is a time when the old clothes no longer sit on the stature of creatures and they have to take them off and leave them. In the next illustrations, we see crows that have eaten the apples with their beaks and have flown as if the story of life and death will continue forever, and this story will always take place in a new form.Creatures have always sought immortality, which is why, in most myths of death, they have had terrifying faces and are constantly trying to escape from it. Despite this chase, the living eventually accept death because they think that if there is no death, suffering will continue indefinitely. If it were not for death, compassion and morality would lose their function over time. However, death in this book does not have the same rituals as the rituals of death in mythology. Death is not scary, it's a character like all of us. He is calm and patient and is not only the end but also the beginning. Death fertilizes life just as trees bear fruit after winter. Keywords: mourning, death, mythology, literature, apple tree References:Bierlein, J. F. (1386). Parallel myths (A. Mokhber, Trans.). Nashr-e Markaz.Boozari, A. (2018). Introduction. in The collection of conference papers about picturebooks. puyānamā and University of Art; pp. 9-13.Darvish, M. R. (1977). A progress in myths. Esfahan.Daryabandari, N. (2001). The myth legend. Karnameh.Didaran, S. (2009). Death, mourning, loss. Nashr-e Qatreh.Eliade, M. (2000). An introduction to the mythology of death. In J. Sattari (Trans.), The world of mythology 3, Nashr-e Markaz.Eliade, M. (2014). The myth of the eternal return or cosmos and history (B. Serkarati, Trans.). Zohuri.Esmaeilpour, A. (2012). Myths: The symbolic expressions. Soroush.Hladikova, H. (2018). Children’s book illustrations: Visual language of picture books (M. Jalali, Trans.). in The collection of conference papers about picturebooks. Puyānamā and University of Art; pp. 13-27.Holy book: Holy scriptures distributor to the world association. (1966). Farabi Research Foundation.Karimi, A. (2013). Research on the concept of death in the child's mind: Psychological effects, psychological theories and strategies. Qadyani.Khosrownejad, M. (2015). Viewpoint: In search of a theory for fiction picturebooks. Journal of Children's literature studies, 11 (1), 205-224.Mohammadi, M. & Mohammadi, M. (2018). Analysis of form and content coordination in children's picture books. in The collection of conference papers about picturebooks. puyānamā and University of Art; pp. 77-99.Nikolajeva, M. (2018). The aesthetic of medium (M. Jalali, Trans.). In The collection of conference papers about picturebooks. Puyānamā and University of Art; pp. 27-33.Nikolajeva, M. & Scott, C. (2006). How picture books work. Routledge.Nodelman, P. (2010). What is the use of image or image decoding? (N. Islampour, Trans.). Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents; Vol. 157, pp. 57-77.Schärer, K. (2017). Der tod auf dem apfelbaum [Death on the Apple Tree] (P. Orujnia, Trans.). Tuti Books.Tarhandeh, S. (2018). What is and why illustrated books; in The collection of conference papers about picturebooks. Puyānamā and University of Art; pp. 33-57.Warner, R. (2010). Encyclopedia of world mythology (A. Ismaelpur, Trans.). Ostoureh.Zamiran, M. (2013). Transition from the world of myth to philosophy. Hermes books.Zarabi, N. & Heidari, M. (2018). Examining the types of interaction between text and image in picture books and related perspectives; in The collection of conference papers about picturebooks. Puyānamā and University of Art; pp. 57-77.URL: http://kathrinschaerer.ch

Research Paper

Analyzing the Concept of Empowerment in Selected Persian, English and French Picturebooks in White Ravens' List in 2015

Fatemeh Farnia

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 105-140

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.33580.1686

Abstract

Analyzing the Concept of Empowerment in Selected Persian, English and French Picturebooks in White Ravens' List in 2015 Fatemeh (Neda) FarniaPh.D. in English Language and Literature ... Read More Analyzing the Concept of Empowerment in Selected Persian, English and French Picturebooks in White Ravens' List in 2015 Fatemeh (Neda) FarniaPh.D. in English Language and Literature and A Member of Shiraz University’s Centre for Children’s Literature Studies IntroductionThe International Youth Library in Munich is the world’s largest library of children’s literature which holds more than six hundred thousand books in this field. In 1949, Jella Lepman founded this library and since then it has managed to promote and empower children’s literature throughout the world (Lepman, 2002). Every year, publishers and writers around the world send their works to the library to participate in White Ravens’ big challenge. The library publishes White Ravens’ List every year in fifty languages and it includes works of poetry, novel, picturebook, and fiction. This list is published based on languages and is arranged alphabetically. For each selected book, there comes an abstract and keywords in English. Being chosen for this list would make publishers and writers known worldwide; furthermore, there are a lot of researchers who use these books in their research.Thereby, in this paper, I have studied the concept of empowerment in picturebooks in 2015’s list and in order to make the matter clear, I have provided the analysis of three picturebooks from three languages. After making a short overview of empowerment in children’s literature and its models, I have classified in a chart the degree of empowerment in all the picturebooks on the list. Afterwards, I have focused on three picturebooks from three languages as examples. Methodology, Review of Literature and PurposeI believe that employing empowerment in works written for children and young adults is of essential importance. Children, youth and adults are all members of the society and their empowerment equals the empowerment of the society. This idea alludes to Marah Gubar’s (2013) “kinship model” where she takes children and adults as related and very close to one another. Accordingly, the impossibility of children’s literature, adults’ power and imperialism in children’s literature become diluted because by diminishing or scaling down the difference between children and adults, children’s literature writers and mediators can create empowering works to have a share in the empowerment of their audience. This, in my opinion, is the main idea behind empowerment in children’s literature. I came across the empowerment theory in sociology while I was working on my MA thesis. Elisheva Sadan (2004) proposes the theory of empowerment for the marginalized people in a society. By getting some ideas from Sadan and adapting them to children’s literature, and also by getting some scattered ideas of empowerment from children’s literature scholarship and other empowering concepts, I presented a model for empowerment in YA fiction in my Ph.D. dissertation. Finally, in order to reduce the overlaps, I used Benjamin Blume’s (1956) categories for improvement of educational goals. Hence, the final model divides empowerment in three categories of affective, cognitive, and psychomotor (Farnia, 2017). Discussion and ResultsAltogether, there are twenty picturebooks in White Ravens’ list 2015 in three languages (English, French and Persian). After analyzing these twenty books, I have put them in a chart based on their estimated degree of empowerment: excellent, good, fair and poor. Hereby, from among the four Persian picturebooks, three are considered as fair and one as poor; among the ten English books, two are excellent, five good and two are fair; and finally, among the six French picturebooks, one is excellent, three good and two are fair. Then, in order to better illustrate the matter, I chose three samples from excellent, good and poor examples. Use Your Imagination, But Be Careful What You Wish for! (2015) written and illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne is the English sample. From an affective aspect, we see artistic and psychological empowerments. Paratext and intertextuality are rich and creative and are considered as artistic empowerment. The optimistic attitude and the happy ending are psychological empowerment here, as they promulgate a positive ideology. Suspense, unfinished sentences and foreshadowing intrigue readers’ affections. In cognitive aspect, we have psychological empowerment and especially critical thinking, ‘oscillation between centration and decentration’ (Khosrownejad 2005, 2011), gaps, interpretive illustrations and paratext. Parody, story writing, and some literary elements are put in literary empowerment. In linguistic empowerment we have critical reading and language learning. And finally, in philosophical empowerment, we have the playful exchange of reality and imagination.The French sample is Tu grimpes drôlement bien aux arbres! [You Climb Trees Really Well!] (2015) written by Silvia Härri and illustrated by Cristina Pieropan. From an affective perspective, we deal with psycho-philosophical empowerment, in which we see the ideological approach (the optimistic and pessimistic outlook to life), caring thinking and sympathy. The most important emotions aroused here are loneliness and homesickness. In cognitive aspect, we have psychological and literary empowerments. Similes play important roles in literary empowerment. The ‘useful themes for the addressee’ (Picturebook Group at SUCCLS, 2016) here is immigration and loneliness. Child’s emotions are significant in this book and there is no direct ethical message. Of other empowering techniques, we see ‘oscillation between centration and decentration’, gaps and closed-open ending. The Persian sample, The Sweet Yogurt (2015) is written by Afsaneh Sha’bannejad and illustrated by Sahar Haghgoo. According to the textual and visual narratives and also the theme, it seems that this picturebook has few positive or empowering messages for its implied readers and it might actually lead them to disempowerment. ConclusionBy comparing these three picturebooks from empowerment point of view, it seems that the English one makes good use of artistic empowerment and overall, is marked as “excellent”. The French book has made a good use of a practical theme and interpretive illustrations; therefore, it is taken as “good”. However, the narrative and the illustrations in the Persian sample seem to be cursory and it might even lead to disempowerment; therefore, it is regarded “poor”. In any respect, the main aim of this article was to study empowerment in White Ravens’ List of 2015 and to put emphasis on the significance of empowerment in children’s literature. Note: This study was funded by International Youth Library and I am really grateful for this chance. Keywords: empowerment, model of empowerment in Children’s Literature, picturebooks, White Ravens’ List in 2015, power, psychological empowerment, child, adolescent References:Abedi, M. et.al. (2018). Presenting a conceptual model for the philosophical relations to children (based on caring thinking) and emotional intelligence. Quarterly Journal of Educational Innovations. 17 (65), 131-150.Barnett, M. & Klassen, L. (2014). Sam & Dave dig a hole. Candlewick Press.Beauvais, C. (2015). The mighty child: Time and power in children's literature. Children's literature, culture, and cognition (Clcc) [4th Vol.] John Benjamins Publishing Company.Bloom, B. S., et al. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Book 1 cognitive domain. David McKay Company.Bottenberg, F. (2019). What makes a picture book 'Philosophical'?: Towards a typology of the genre. Das Bücherschloss, 64-75.Byrne, R. (2014). This book just ate my dog! Oxford University Press.Chevron Zerolo, M. & Magnan, M. (2014). Fadoli. Éd. courtes et longues.Epanya, C. (2014). Les rois de la sape. Océan Jeunesse. Saint-André (La Réunion): Océan.Esbaum, J. & Gordon, G. (2014). I am cow hear me moo! The Penguin Group.Facione, P. A. (2015). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Insight Assessment. 1-30.Farnia, F. (2017). A comparative study of the model of empowerment in six selected Iranian and English young adult novels. Shiraz University, the International Division.Farnia, F. & Pourgiv, F. (2013). The study of empowerment in Ahmad Akbarpour’s novels. Iranian Children’s Literature Studies, 7 (1) 113-136. DOI: 10.22099/JCLS.2013.561.Gay, M. L. (2014). Any questions? Groundwood Books.“Get One's Teeth into Sth.” Collins. Web. 4/19/2019.Gubar, M. (2013). Risky business: Talking about children in children's literature criticism. Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 38 (4) 450-57.Hall, M. (2015). Red: A crayon's story. HarperCollins Children's Books.Haynes, J. & Murris, K. (2012). Picturebooks, pedagogy and philosophy. Routledge.Härri, S. & Pieropan, C. (2015). Tu grimpes drôlement bien aux arbres! Éditions Notari.Hejvani, M. & Malekiju, A. (2015). Ahmad aqa. Baq-e Aabi publications.Herbauts, A. (2014). Un jour moineau. Les Albums Casterman. Casterman.Khosronejad, M. et. al. (2016). Perspective: On the quest for a Specific theory for picturebooks. Journal of Children’s Literature Studies, 6 (1) 205-224.Khosronejad, M. (2011). How we can improve children's ability of philosophical thinking: A reflection on the role of children's literature in P4C program. An Appendix to Thinking Stories. Beh-Nashr Publication.Khosronejad, M. (2010). Innocence and experience: An introduction to the philosophy of children’s literature. Markaz Publication.Kobald, I. & Blackwood, F. (2014). My two blankets. Little Hare Books.Kotobi, S. & Bigdelu, G. (2015). A moonlit night. Shabaviz.Laroche, A. & Fronty, A. (2014). Dans les yeux du loup. Kilowatt.Lepman, J. (2002). A bridge of children's books: The inspiring autobiography of a remarkable woman. The O'Brien Press.Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in education (2nd ed.). Cambridge university press.Mackintosh, D. (2014). Lucky. HarperCollins Chilldren's Books.Millard, G. & King, S. M. (2014). The duck and the darklings. Allen & Unwin.O'Byrne, N. (2015). Use your imagination (but be careful what you wish for!). Nosy Crow.Omidinia, M. & Maktabifard, M. & Mo’meni, E. Studying critical thinking skills in selected Persian novels of 1380s based on Peter Facione’s list. Thought and Children. 4 (1) 1-26.Parlange, A. (2014). La chambre du lion. Albin Michel Jeunesse.Picturebook Group at SUCCLS (Shiraz University Center for Children’s Literature Studies) (2016). The Referees’ Criteria for The First National Picturebook Festival. Taken from Shiraz University Center for Children’s Literature Studies’ Site: http://shirazu.ac.ir/ccls/sites/ccls/files/our%20criteria.pdf. Retrieved: April 16th, 2019.Sadan, E. (2004). Empowerment and community planning: Theory and practice. Web: <http://www.mpow.org/>.Sha’bannejad, A. & Haghgoo, S. (2015). The Sweet Yogurt. Peidayesh Publications.Stead, P. C. (2014). Sebastian and the balloon. Roaring Brook Press.Superle, M. (2017). How to choose picture books that will empower, not damage, a child. Web. accessed: 6/14/2018.Teimurian, A. (2015). Kind Sara. Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.

Research Paper

The Three-Step Classification of Narratives in Children’s and Adolescent’s Literature Based on Maria Nikolajeva’s Theory

Seyed Ali Ghasemzadeh; Fazlollah Khodadadi; Ali Shamloyi

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 141-166

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.35110.1743

Abstract

The Three-Step Classification of Narratives in Children’s and Adolescent’s Literature Based on Maria Nikolajeva’s Theory Seyyed Ali QasemzadehAssociate Professor ... Read More The Three-Step Classification of Narratives in Children’s and Adolescent’s Literature Based on Maria Nikolajeva’s Theory Seyyed Ali QasemzadehAssociate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Imam Khomeini International University Fazl-ollah KhodadadiAssistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Imam Khomeini International University Ali ShamloueiPh.D. student of Persian Language and Literature, University of Tehran IntroductionWriting for children is of course a difficult task but rereading the narrative structures of children’s and adolescents’ stories is also complicated since it requires both narratological skills and psychological knowledge of children and adolescents’ minds.Children’s and adolescents’ narrative literature would not find a suitable structure and theory if it is not theoretically and philosophically categorized and if its audience is not precisely defined. There is a general attitude toward children’s literature that children can be easily addressed and talked to; however, there are many issues, such as the mental-psychological levels of the audience and the speed of changes and transitions of those levels in the process of children’s growth, that show the complexity of writing for children as well as the difficulties in creating a balance between the elements of the narrative with their level of understanding. Methodology, Review of Literature and PurposeA useful theory in this case is Maria Nikolajeva’s which can pave a new path for redefining the narratological system or poetics of children’s stories. Nikolajeva believes that children’s stories can be divided into three categories: prelapsarian, carnivalesque and postlapsarian.This research aims to identify the subtleties in the narrative structures of successful children’s stories based on the three categories in Nikolajeva’s theory in order to find a narrative grammar or children’s and adolescents’ narrative poetics.There is an extensive research literature on the subject of children’s and adolescents’ fiction. A number of them are more relevant to the aim of this research; for instance, Sadeghi (2018) in “Analyzing Fantasy Stories between 2001 and 2011 Based on the Maria Nikolajeva’s Narrative Theory” focuses on the fantasy elements of Persian stories in that period and conclude that atmosphere, characters and conflicts are the most frequent fantasy elements in these stories; Hesampour and Arameshfard (2012) have studied the narrative elements discussed by Nikolajeva in Three Magical Whistles by Akbarpour and have identified the elements of setting, open plot and detailed descriptions as the most significant narrative elements of this work; Jamali and Qorbani (2018) have analyzed the narrative elements in A Thousand and One Year by Mandanipour and believe that special temporal techniques is used in this work to distinguish the narrative of children’s and adolescents’ fiction from adults’; Asadian (2010) has studied the four elements of plot, character, sign and narrative in twenty adolescents’ short stories. DiscussionThe narrative structure of children’s and adolescents’ stories in the three-step categorization of Nikolajeva’s theory is as follows:The prelapsarian fictional world and its narrative structureThe prelapsarian stories have a definite beginning and ending; as such, one can identify two conditions of “before and after” in them. From the perspective of the structure of the plot, these stories can be categorized as a type of episodic stories. In other words, these stories can be considered as having two similar conditions in the beginning and in the ending.From a psychological point of view, the child has grown enough to explain the phenomena around him/her; therefore, the child in this step has the same cognitive abilities as the child in Piaget’s growth stage of objective operations (7-11 years of age). This period is concurrent with elementary school years in which children learn how to manipulate signs and solve problems and conduct objective and logical inferences. The characters in these stories are static. Sympathy with animals is frequent in the stories of this period.The carnivalesque fictional world (first period of adolescence) and its narrative structureNikolajeva believes that the coordination between the mental and psychological conditions of adolescents and the narrative characteristics of stories is a gradual and complicated process considering the growth of children and their knowledge. One can observe this complexity if one compares the plot structure and other narrative elements of the first period of adolescence to the second period.The age groups D and E are in the carnivalesque period in which the child leaves the paradisal stage and enters the stage of abstractions; therefore, we witness the expansion of worldviews and remarkable changes in the plot and temporal structures of the stories. In addition, with the increase of abstract ideas, we observe an increase in the size of stories and the number of episodes which is a kind of exercise for the transition from the world of childhood to that of adolescence.In stories of the carnvalesque period, in contrast with those in the prelapsarian period, the beginning and the ending are not similar; they happen in the real world while the incidents are happening in the world of dreams and abstractions.The postlapsarian fictional world (second period of adolescence) and its narrative structuresThis is the last period in Nikolajeva’s theory. While in the first two periods, paradisal narratives had a unified subject in harmony with the world, in the narratives of the postlapsarian period there is no such harmony and unity; therefore, elements such as multilingualism, meaning-making, polyphony, internal subjectivism, unreliable narrators, and multiple layers of plot or parallel plots are the most significant characteristics of the stories in this period.It is in this period of the readers’ lives that we can analyze the structures of the stories for them and even teach them how to write fiction. In this period, in contrast to the previous periods, the audience is not merely looking for the answer to the question “what happens next?” They actually learn that there is more than a moral teaching in every story, and they look at stories as mirrors that reflect the social conditions of their time. ConclusionFirst: Children in the first levels of their growth understand stories which are compatible with their level of understanding and their cognitive growth. In this period, children understand the stories in the prelapsarian period which include the first years of elementary school. These stories show an idealistic world with a simple environment and always intend to teach a moral lesson or a life skill to the children. They have a linear time and a small knot in their plot. They also have similar beginning and ending. The narrators in these stories are the second self of the writer and the omniscient point of view who narrates the story by the use of an intimate language and a simple and childlike vocabulary, and creates limited and static characters. In all of these stories, we witness a happy ending and a pleasant denouement; and the main character achieves his/her goal or valuable object.Second: When the child passes the age of five, he/she enters a new world of understanding of narratives. This is the carnivalesque period (including children between 7 to 12 years of age) in which stories with abstract atmosphere and mental elements are created which are different from the stories of the previous period both in their way of narration and the number of characters and episodes. In the stories of this period, we witness the appearance of children’s philosophy and their idealistic world with different questions. In a way, this period can be identified as the period of identity-making in which the child gets free from the previous imaginary colorful world and gradually gets familiar with the realities of life.Third: The last period of narratological growth (postlapsarian) is a period in which the individual’s childhood is over and he/she has entered the period of adolescence. In this period, we witness the expansion of stories in their plots, their narrative techniques and their structural elements. The stories in this period are often symbolic; therefore, the adolescent audience needs to know that some moral, philosophical, cultural or social lessons are hidden inside them. The plot of these narratives has a five-step pattern including the initial condition, the destructive force, the middle condition, the organizing force, and the final condition. Keywords: children’s and adolescents’ fiction, audience psychology, narratology, structure, Maria Nikolajeva References:Abbasi, A. (2012). A study of the birth of meaning in the narrative structure of “The Prayer-seller” in One thousand and one nights and Sitar by Jalal Al Ahmad. Linguistic Researches, 13 (1), pp. 89-104.Aminpour, Q. (2007). Poetry and childhood. Elm-e Rooz.Anvari, S. (2008). My beautiful Lulu. Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Carroll, L. (1992). Alice in Wonderland (A. Panahi Khorasani, Trans.). Barbod.Defoe, D. (1991). Robinson Crusoe (K. Shayesteh, Trans.). Arghavan.Grenby, M. (2008). Children’s literature. Edinburgh University press.Grimas, A. (1985). Structuturalist poetics. Routledge.Hesampour, S. & Arameshfard, S. (2012). A look at the narrative dimensions in Three magical whistles By Ahmad Akbarpour based on Maria Nikolajeva’s theory. Journal of Children’s Literature Studies, 3 (1), 20-46.Honarmandnia, I. (2008). The pigeon and the clever mouse. Sayeh-Gostar.Hunt, P. (2007). Understanding children’s literature (A survey in world children’s literature) (M. Noormohammadi, Trans.). Sayeh-Gostar.Jamali, A. & Qorbani, H. (2018). Analyzing the narrative structure of A Thousand and One Year by Sharyar Mandanipour Based on Nikolajeva’s Theory. Literary Researches, No. 5, pp. 9-32.Lesnik-Oberstein, K. (2008). A look at children’s literature and childhood (T. Adinehpour, Trans.). In M. Khosrownejad (Ed.), Inevitable rereadings: Critical and theoretical approaches in children’s literature. Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Lintvelt, J. (2011). An essay on the typology of narrative – point of view (A. Abbasi & N. Hejazi, Trans.). Elmi-Farhangi.Lotfabadi, H. (1986). Professor Piaget’s theory about cognitive growth. Literary Researches, No. 75, pp. 445-482.Mohammadi, M. (1999). Fantasy in children’s literature. Roozegar.Mohammadi, R. (1992). Writing for children. Soroush.Nasef-Mostafa, A. (2008). 98 simple stories for children (A. Khajeim, Trans.). Soroush.Naseri, M. (2007). The fox and the clever turtle. Astan-e Qods Razavi.Nikolajeva, M. (2008). Growing, the dilemma of children’s literature (G. Bozorgmehr, Trans.). In M. Khosrownejad (Ed.), Inevitable rereadings: Critical and theoretical approaches in children’s literature (pp. 495-545). Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Noori, N. (2009). Art schools of the world of postmodernism. Sayeh-Gostar.Piaget, J. (2015). Child’s psychology (Z. Toufiq, Trans.). Ney Publications.Pouladi, K. (2008). The principles of children’s literature. Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Qasemzadeh, S. A. (2014). A postcolonial critique of The history of hives by Jalal Al Ahmad. Research Journal of Persian Language and Literature, 14 (27), 45-73.Rafiei, A. M. (2013). Transcendental audience orientation: needs, scopes, suggestions. Rowshanan, pp. 51-79.Sadeqi, O. (2018). Analyzing fantasy stories between 2001 and 2011 based on Maria Nikolajeva’s narrative theory. Bahar-e Adab, No. 3, pp. 183-203.Yousefi, M. R. (1994). The nest of the little sparrow. Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Zarshenas, S. (2002). Illusory realism and sterile literature. Fictional Literature, No. 62, pp. 8-13.

Research Paper

An Intertextual Interpretation of Mythology in Children’s Drama Teshtar, The Guardian of Rain

Ebrahim Mohammadi; Akbar Shayanseresht; Effat Faregh

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 167-192

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.35552.1755

Abstract

An Intertextual Interpretation of Mythology in Children’s Drama Teshtar, The Guardian of Rain Ebrahim MohammadiAssociate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Birjand ... Read More An Intertextual Interpretation of Mythology in Children’s Drama Teshtar, The Guardian of Rain Ebrahim MohammadiAssociate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Birjand UniversityAkbar Shayan-sereshtAssociate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Birjand UniversityEffat FareghPhD student in Persian Language and Literature, Birjand University Introduction and BackgroundAccording to modern educational approaches, the primary aim of education is the pursuit of reconstructing the experiences of the past generations in new formats, rather than only transferring cultural heritage. To achieve this goal, authors, particularly those who write for children and young adults, attempt to make use of such formats. Drama is regarded as one of these formats. In fact, due to its specific mimesis features and its similarity with children’s games, drama is more harmonious with their mindset.Myths are considered as one of the important resources for the authors. Myths convey a variety of meanings with themselves. Since children seek meaning just like adults, myths can be helpful in conveying meaning to them and acquaint them with their cultural heritage (Pouladi: 2007, 26). Since ancient times, water and rain have played significant roles in stories and dramas because they can influence human life and destiny. Their crucial role in myths has led to their use as hypotexts (pre-texts) in many literary works as well as plays for children and young adults. One such work is Teshtar, The Guardian of Rain by Atousa Shamloo (2020) which is written for children and adolescents regarding the myth of rain. Methodology, Literature Review and Purpose of the StudyUsing Genette's theory of transtextuality, particularly his theory of hypertextuality, the present study attempts to explore the quality of recreating the rain myth in the play Teshtar, the Guardian of Rain by Shamlou (2020) and to address these questions: which parts of the myth have been transformed? Why? How does the play introduce the myth of the rain, its potentials and narrative artistic elegance, and how does it make use of them?Although there are many studies on the effects of the myth and the application of intertextuality to examine literary and artistic works, most of them have focused on the adult literature. Hesampour et al. (2016) examined the story “It is raining in the large garden” based on Genette’s intertextuality theory. Jalali (2015) in her study explores intertextuality and its correlation with comparative children's literature. In addition to providing a meaning and a description of the myth, Soltan-gharaei (2008), attempts to define and describe the concept of myth and then elaborate on the popularity of myths in fictions and fairy tales. The studies by Latham (2007) and Lundin (1998) are globally-recognized studies in the field of children and young adults’ literature and are closely related to the main issues discussed in this study. Discussion and AnalysisTeshtar, the rain angel, is originally the name given to a star worshiped in ancient Persia (Afifi, 1995, 474). According to narratives, Teshtar fights with Apaosh, the demon of drought, and gains victory over him after sacrifices and supplication to Ahuramazda (Yahaghi, 1996, 262).The play Teshtar, the Guardian of Rain is affected by the myth of rain throughout the all five phases of transtextuality (intertextuality, architextuality, paratextuality, metatextuality, hypertextuality). The myth of rain is present throughout the drama to the extent that even paying attention to the content and the concepts of the play helps us recognize the relation between the rain myth and the play.The first hypotext of each work is its title. Here, the title Teshtar, the Guardian of Rain serves as the entrance to the text. By selecting this title for the drama, the author helps the audience to get mentally prepared for finding out the subtle implications about what they are going to encounter later in the text. Indeed, the existence of Teshtar and rain in the title is the entrance to the text. The author uses the words to emphasize that her work includes the myth of rain. in fact, most names and terms used throughout the drama are taken from the myth of rain, e.g. Teshtar and Satavis. The author of the drama Teshtar, the Guardian of Rain occasionally uses the whole hypotext or makes use of it without interpolating, and sometimes makes small changes in it. However, the hypotext is sometimes exposed to some changes. In fact, the drama makes use of a combination of transformation and imitation. Some parts of the drama include imitation while the other parts involve transformation. Imitation occurs when Teshtar, similar to the myth, emerges first in form of a 15-year-old boy, then turns into a bull with golden horns, and finally turns into a golden bridle horse and gains victory over the demon of drought; and transformation occurs when the author, having the audience and her goals in mind, changes Teshtar’s role and introduces him as the child of a family that is supposed to be the protagonist of the narrative. Other instances of transformation in the play are the introduction of Satavis as a beautiful young girl, praying, Ahouramazda’s sacrifice, etc.The transformational relationship between the play and the myth of rain is based on the fact that the play is written for children and young adults; hence, it should be influential and the audience should be able to easily connect with it, enjoy it, understand it and identify with its protagonists. ConclusionAs a manifestation of a rich and mysterious culture, Persian ancient literature, like any other country across the world, is full of myths and epics. Myths have emerged within every aspect of life, even in dramas, and have exercised great effects on dramas for children and young adults due to their similarities with children’s world. One of such myths is the myth of rain that has found its way into scripts because of its significance in human life. Teshtar, the Guardian of Rain by Shamloo is one such drama. According to Genette’s transtextuality theory, the drama has been fully affected by the myth throughout the five phases of transtextuality. The myth of rain has exercised the biggest influence over hypertextuality, i.e., making use of both imitation and transformation. In fact, the author’s affectability by the myth and her attempt to transform it, tailored to the audience mood, have helped her to create a work for children that guides them toward eidesis and thus acquaints them with the myth. Also, Shamloo has considered some thresholds in paratextuality to help the audience comprehend the text better. Overall, the drama makes use of all Genette's intertextual relations. ReferencesAfifi, R. (1995). Iranian mythology and culture in Pahlavi writings. Toos.Afrasiabi, R. (2012). Crossing the misty boundaries: A reflection on myth and the myths of nations (collection of articles). Navid Publications.Allen, G. (2001). Intertextuality (P. Yazdanjoo, Trans). Markaz.Bagheri, N. (2014). Intertextuality in the meta-story of Babur's beautiful heart by Jamshid Khanian. Journal of Children's Literature Studies. 5 (2), pp. 1-24.Bahar, M. (1996). A Study in Iranian mythology (first and second parts) (2nd Edition). Agah Publications.Bettelheim, B. (2002). The magic of legends (A. Shariatzadeh, Trans.). Hermes Publications.Eliade, M. (1983). Mythical visions. (J. Sattari, Trans.). Toos.Hatami, H. & Shokraneh, N. (2018). Myth in the children's verse tales (with a look at the tale “I ran and I ran”. Mystical and Mythological Literature. No. 52, pp. 95-118.Hesampour, S. (2016). A reflection on intertextual links in the story “It was raining in the big garden” by Ahmad Reza Ahmadi. Journal of Children's Literature Studies. 7 (1), pp. 25-48.Hinnells, J. R. (1989). Persian mythology (J. Amoozgar & A. Tafazzoli, Trans.). Cheshmeh Publishing.Ismailpour, A. (1998). Myth, the symbolic expression. Soroush.Ismailpour, A. (2002). Tirma sizzeh shu (Tirgan celebration) and the myth of Tishtar. Anthropology Letter, 1 (1), spring and summer, pp. 77-99.Jalali, M. (2015). "Principles of intertextual criticism in comparative literature for children and adolescents". Literary Essays, No. 189, pp. 141-166.Latham, D. (2008). Empowering adolescent readers: Intertextuality in three novels by David Almond”. Children's Literature in Education, Vol. 39, pp 213-226.Lezgi, H. & Monfaredi, N. (2010). A study of the role of the elements of dramatic expression in children and adolescent theater with a therapeutic approach. Fine Arts: Dramatic Arts and Music. No. 42. pp. 71-78.Lundin, A. (1998). Intertextuality in children's literature. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, N. 3, pp 210-213.Mir-Ehsan, A. (2003). An inquiry into the relationship between literature and cinema. Farabi, 12 (48), pp. 83-96.Mohammad-Rafi, S. & Mousavi-Sirjani, S. (2017). The effect of structure in the study of children's plays (with a look at two plays by Davood Kianian and Moslem Ghasemi for the age groups of B and C). Scientific-Research Quarterly of Theater, No. 69, pp. 79-98.Namvar-Motlagh, B. (2007). Transtextuality, the study of the relationship of one text to other texts. Journal of Humanities, No. 56, pp. 83-98.Namvar-Motlagh, B. (2011). An introduction to intertextuality: Theories and applications. Sokhan.Namvar-Motlagh, B. (2012). Hypertext typology. Journal of Literary Research, No. 38, pp. 139- 152.Poordavood, E. (Trans. & Ed.) (1998). Yasht-ha (1st Volume). Asatir Publications.Puladi, K. (2007). Myth and children’s literature, myths and children’s world. Journal of Rowshanan, pp. 18-27.Rahgozar, R. (1993). Are myths and legends useful and necessary for children and adolescents? Fiction, No. 11, pp. 56-60.Sarkhosh Curtis, V. (1994). Iranian myths. (A. Mokhber, Trans.). Markaz Publishing.Shamloo, A. (2020). Plays of Teshtar, the Guardian of rain; Hamlet and others (for teenagers). Katibeh Novin.Sultan-al-Qara'i, S. (2008). Myths and literary masterpieces; Services for children and adolescents (in the field of librarianship). Encyclopedia. pp. 75-95.Todorov, T. (2012). Conversational logic of Mikhail Bakhtin. (D. Karimi, Trans.) Markaz.Vaeznia, P. (2003). The role of myth in animation. Book of the Month and Art. pp. 64-66.Yahahqi, M. J. (1996). Encyclopedia of myths and fictional allusions in Persian literature. Sorush.Zamani, F. (2018). The analysis of hypertextual and non-textual relations of the novel The Secret of the Flying Mountain with Shahnameh. Journal of Children's Literature Studies, No. 2. pp. 77-98.

Research Paper

Studying Techniques of Metamorphosis in Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man: A Mythological Reading

Malihe Mosleh; Zahra Riahi Zamin

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 193-214

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.34071.1711

Abstract

Studying Techniques of Metamorphosis in Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man: A Mythological Reading Maliheh MoslehPh.D. Student of Persian Language and Literature, Shiraz University Zahra ... Read More Studying Techniques of Metamorphosis in Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man: A Mythological Reading Maliheh MoslehPh.D. Student of Persian Language and Literature, Shiraz University Zahra Riahi ZaminAssistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Shiraz University IntroductionMythology is one of the cultural, social and doctrinal infrastructures of a nation which scrutinizes the world in its mysterious ways and gives the nation its identity. Mythical interpretations of the world reveal the belief systems of each nation and its identity. This shows the importance of myths for young adults whose identities are in the process of formation. It seems that, now more than ever, young adults are in need of strong and rooted elements such as local legends and myths. One of the most important techniques used in myths for fulfilling these wishes, and one of the most colorful motifs in children’s and adolescents’ works is metamorphosis (transformation). However, research shows that despite this significance, there has been no scrutinizing researches about pure myths and their techniques in children’s and adolescents’ literature so far. Methodology, Review of Literature and PurposeA thorough review of the existing literature on children and adolescent literature reveals that there is not even a single book or article which studies Iranian pure legends and myths and the role of metamorphosis in them. Research in this wide field, especially about adolescent novels, is reduced to the analysis of archetypes and symbols. Mostafavi-Kashani (2005), Tajalli (2006), Jafari-Qanavati (2007) and Doostkhah (2008) have studied the novel Persians and I. Taremi (2012), Nikouyeh (2012), Sheikh-Hosseini and Pouryazdanpanah (2019) have analyzed mythical elements in some adolescent novels. Only Kaedi (1999) and Asadi (2018) have analyzed the novel Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man from perspectives other than mythology.Accordingly, this article, by the use of a descriptive method of analyzing qualitative content and with a mythological reading, tries to study the techniques of metamorphosis in Fariba Kalhor’s Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man. By revealing the potentials of this novel, the researchers intend to show the significance of paying attention to myths in both imaginative and research works in the field of children and adolescent literature. The main question of the research is how the novel represents myths and metamorphosis techniques and what potentials, conscious or unconscious, have these mythical techniques offered for the authors. DiscussionThe main character of the novel, the six-thousand-year-old green man, is a metamorphosis of several mythical figures (Kiumars, Mash’y o Mashyaneh, the sacred cow, glorious champions, Khidr, Haoma, Gilgamesh, Ishtar and Tamuz) with their unique characteristics in a mythical setting and atmosphere. A glorious man, he is the cultural ancestor of the nation and the collective wisdom of humankind and his destiny is the destiny of all the humankind in different times of human history and his experiences are the repetition of all the bitter and painful experiences of humankind. He is a convergent being of human-plant who is immortal; a character combining the figures of heavenly father and plant god; a human and earthly god; a holy seedling of immortality for which Gilgamesh was searching, but in vain. The green man is a model of the complete human being whose existence mandala is complete; hence, being glorious and meritorious, he has at the same time the ghoul of Khombebeh inside him, too. He is Tamuz the god of plants and has the cedar forest inside his body; therefore, Khombebeh, the guardian ghoul of the cedar forest, is his guardian and assistant. He is capable of longevity according to the myth of fertility.The significant point about the immortality of the six-hundred-year-old green man is that contrary to all other human beings who are always in search of immortality, he is tired of immortality and does not speak favorably about it. He believes that after a period of life, death is a blessing.Another example of metamorphosis in the novel can be found in the ghoul Khombebeh. In contrast to the legend of Gilgamesh, in this novel Khombebeh is a great companion for the green man. Whenever he feels threatened, he thinks about Khombebeh and his thoughts come into life and then Khombebeh is awakened. People are afraid of him and fly away; and after that, the green man makes the ghoul return back to his place. The green man is tied to the ghoul with a thin and invisible thread; and he drags the ghoul back inside him with that thread, as if he has the cedar forest of gods inside him.The figure of Ishtar is another example of metamorphosis in the novel and another result of artistic narration, suspense and creativity. Ishtar is a chosen figure like Utnapishtim in Gilgamesh with one major difference: Utnapishtim gains immortality but Ishtar, who is the symbol of fertility and generation, does not gain immortality but delivers an immortal child to the world. A powerful woman, she is the symbol of fertility and attains immortality through childbirth. ConclusionThis research showed that Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man contains symbolic signs and codes which can be decoded only by an extensive familiarity with myths and their deep analysis.Kalhor has selected the characters of her novel in such a way as to be in total harmony with each other as well as with the atmosphere and symbolic meanings of the work. By metamorphosis, breaking and sometimes recreating the myths, Kalhor has connected the narrative structure of her work to the modern imagination of adolescents. By creating a human-plant personality and with the help of combining several mythical characters, the writer has provided the enjoyment of re-reading many mythical stories about immortality, mortality, dignity, cultural ancestors of the people (collective wisdom of humankind), the perfect man (mandala), vegetation and the sanctity of plants, duality, blessing, fertility (the water-stealing ghoul, the secret of the immortality with plants, the ox of Varza) in a mythical place and time for her audience.Kalhor has used the epic of Gilgamesh and, in conjunction with it, the myth of Tamuz and Ishtar which are all ancient Mesopotamian myths. Just like in Gilgamesh, the destiny of the immortal green man is tied to plants, being chosen, the ox of Varza (the symbol of fertility), Ishtar, the goddess of fertility and agriculture, the significant role of women in civilization, the greenery-stealing ghoul, the journey in search of life and wisdom, being human-god, gloriousness, etc. Keywords: myth, metamorphosis, novel, Fariba Kalhor, Six-Thousand-Year-Old Green Man References: Ardavirafnameh (1992) (P. Gino, Ed. & Z. Amouzegar, Trans.). Moein Publishing Company.Asadi, S. (2018). The element of language in Iranian adolescent novel: Analyzing ten selected novels from ten authors. Ph.D. Dissertation, Shiraz University.Bahar, M. (1998). Several articles on Iranian people’s culture. Fekr-e Rooz.Bahar, M. (2012). A study in Iranian myths. Agah.Budin, S. L. (2004). The ancient Greek: new perspectives. ABC-CLIO.Campbell, J. (2016). The hero with a thousand faces (S. Khosrowpanah, Trans.). Gole Aftab.Doostkhah, J. (2008). The young generation and the classic literature: a different approach. The World of Books, No. 227 and 228, pp. 45 and 46.Eliade, M. (1991). Treatise on the history of religions (J. Sattari, Trans.). Soroush.Eliade, M. (1986). The encyclopedia of religions (Vol. 15). MacMillan.Faranbaghdadegi (2012). Bundahishn (M. Bahar, Ed.). Tous.Ferdowsi, A. (2012). Shahnameh (J. K. Motlaq, Trans.). Center for the Great Islamic EncyclopediaGarry, J. & El-Shamy, H. (2005). Archetypes and motifs in folklore and literature. M.E. Sharp.Guerin, W., Labor, E. & Morgan, L. (1991). A handbook of literary approaches to literature (Z. Mihankhah, Trans.). Ettela’at.Jafari-Qanavati, M. (2008). Iranian myths in the form of novel. Rowshanan, Vol. 6, pp. 126-135.Kaedi, S. (1990). Which one? Science fiction or mythological fantasy? Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents, Khordad, pp. 26-30.Kalhor, F. (2002). Six-thousand-year-old green man. Mehrab.Legend of Gilgamesh (2004) (J. burckhardt Ed. & D. Monshizadeh, Trans.). Akhtaran.Mokhtari, M. (1990). The myth of Zaal. Agah.Mostafavi-Kashani, H. (2007). A survey with Simorgh in the history of Iran: A look at Arman Aryan’s Persians and I (The secret of the flying mountain). Golestaneh, No. 7, pp. 87-91.Nikuyeh, Z. (2012). Function of myth in the poetry of children and adolescents in the two recent decades. MA Thesis in Persian language and literature, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran.Unamuno, M. de. (2004). The tragic sense of life in men and nations (B. Khorramshahi, Trans.). Soroush.Philpot. J. H. (1897). The sacred tree or the tree in religion and myth. Macmillan.Pourkhaleqi-Chatroudi, M. (2002). The tree of Shahnameh. Astan Qods Razavi.Qaemi, F. (2012). Anthropological analysis of the myth of Far and its functions in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and Iranian myths. Literary Researches, No. 174, pp. 114-148.Rastegar-Fasaei, M. (2004). Metamorphosis in Myths. The Research Institute for human sciences and cultural studies.Selections from Zadesparam (1987) (M. T. Rashed-Mohassel, Trans.). Institute for Cultural Studies and Researches.Sheikh-Hosseini, Z. & Pouryazdan Kermani, A. (2019). A comparison of warriors of Pale-An and Harry Potter based on mythological approach. Journal of children’s Literature Studies, 10 (1), 57-78.Tajalli, K. (2006). A survey of fictional and mythical themes of Persians and I (The castle of the dragon). Shargh Newspaper, Shahrivar 13th, p. 18.Taremi, F. (2012). Mythmaking in young adult literature (2002-2012). MA Thesis, Azad University, Central Tehran Branch.West, M. L (2007). Indo-European poetry and myth. Oxford University Press.Yashtha (1999) (E. Pourdavoud, Ed.). Asatir.

Research Paper

A Study of Binary Oppositions in the Works of Houshang Moradi Kermani and Roald Dahl

Neda Noor pisheh; ahmad tahan; Farzane Mozafariyan

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 215-238

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2019.34944.1734

Abstract

A Study of Binary Oppositions in the Works of Houshang Moradi Kermani and Roald Dahl Neda Nourpisheh GhadimiPh.D. Student, Department of Persian Language and Literature, ... Read More A Study of Binary Oppositions in the Works of Houshang Moradi Kermani and Roald Dahl Neda Nourpisheh GhadimiPh.D. Student, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Firoozabad, Iran Ahmad TahanAssistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Firoozabad, Iran Farzaneh MozaffarianAssistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Firoozabad, Iran IntroductionNarratives are created only through oppositions; therefore, it is necessary to analyze characters and their actions based on binary oppositions. This study focuses on binary oppositions as conceptual structures, such as good and evil, which can be found in the whole Persian literature. In general, one of the most fundamental issues in explaining similarities and differences between works of Iranian and non-Iranian authors is the comparison of their conceptual structures, including binary and oppositional structures.Literary structuralism, which is rooted in linguistic studies, is a method of analyzing literary texts. Structuralism and its general orientation are based on the analysis of binary oppositions and the relationship between them. It originated from the linguistic studies of Ferdinand de Saussure, and structuralist theorists have been significantly influenced by his thoughts. Methodology, Literature Review, and Purpose This is a theoretical research which uses descriptive and analytical methodology. First, the main elements of structuralism, especially binary oppositions, are surveyed in seminal works by structuralist theorists. Then, the biographies of both authors, Kermani and Dahl, are reviewed to obtain information about their social, cultural, and political situation.The purpose of this study is to explain the similarities and differences between the binary oppositions in the works of an Iranian and a non-Iranian author in order to find out which oppositions can be universal.There has been no independent research on binary oppositions in children and adolescent literature in Iran. However, research has been done on binary oppositions in other areas of literature; for example, Razmjooei (2016) in “The binary oppositions of war/peace and love/hatred in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh” comes to the conclusion that although love and peace are superior to hatred and war, their superiority is not ‘absolute’. Mohseni (2014) in “A study of binary oppositions in Nima Yushij’s ‘Sarivili house’” illustrates how Nima uses binary oppositions to express the most important differences, similarities, and conflicts of his thoughts against those in power. DiscussionThat binary oppositions are the basis of linguistic knowledge was discussed much earlier than de Saussure in the works of Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle established a dualistic view of human knowledge with his discussions of essence, form, etc., which later influenced literature and other areas of writing. The term was first used by phonologist Nikolai Trubetzkoy. He identified it as the foundation of a value system rooted in cultural history. This term is one of the key concepts in the field of linguistic theories, semiotics, and literary criticism.Roland Barthes believes that semiotics is based on binary oppositions. In literary criticism, this term is one of the fundamental concepts of structuralism and post-structuralism (deconstruction). Jacobson believed that children learn these oppositions first. In his view, language is based on binary oppositions, and the difference between consonant and vowel sound is the most fundamental element of phonology.Structuralism and its general orientation are based on the analysis of binary oppositions and the relationship between them. Claude Lévi-Strauss explains that items in a system are juxtaposed in pairs which are connected with each other. Each text is a set of contrasts that encompass confrontations of good and evil, rich and poor, black and white. ConclusionBy examining the oppositions and analyzing their relationship in the stories by Houshang Moradi Kermani and Roald Dahl, we came to the conclusion that the consequences of poverty in Iran and Britain are the same: children’s forced labor and their confrontation with the realities of life. Children are forced to deal with economic problems, illness and hunger when they should actually be enjoying their childhood. In the works of both writers, these poor children’s neighbors or classmates are from the rich class of society. This creates problems, since the children either escape or start to protest against the wealthy class. The use of force, violence and insults by the wealthy are other issues addressed by these two authors. The feeling of captivity and slavery felt by the poor are among other common themes employed by both authors.There are differences in the use of binary oppositions in the works by these two authors, too. In Moradi Kermani’s works, poor adults mainly believe in fatalism and superstitions but poor children are realistic; while in Dahl's works, poor adults and children are both realistic. In Moradi Kermani's works, the poor are harmless and they do not have any supporters; while in Dahl's works, the poor cause harassments and have supporters such as doctors or priests. Keywords: Roald Dahl, Houshang Moradi Kermani, binary oppositions, structuralism References:Ahmadi, B. (1991). Text structure and interpretation. Markaz.Babak Moein, M. (2004). The process of meaning generation. The First Symposium of Art Semiotics, Tehran, Academy of Arts.Bertens, H. (2005). Literary theory: The basics (M. R. Abolghasemi, Trans.). Mahi.Cuddon, J. A. (1999). The Penguin dictionary of literary terms and literary theory (4th Edition). Penguin Books.Dahl, R. (1993). Charlie and the chocolate factory (M. Binaei, Trans.). Zekr.Dahl, R. (1993). Danny, the champion of the world (H. Lezgi, Trans.). Zekr.Dahl, R. (1996). Fantastic Mr. fox (H. Lezgi, Trans.). Zekr.Emami, N. (2003). Deconstruction in the process of literary analysis. Rasesh.Haji Nasrollah, S. (2003). Moradi Kermani’s style, from Majid’s Tales to Pomegranate’s Smile. Research Journal of Children and Adolescent Literature, No. 34 and 33, Summer and Autumn, pp. 119-141.Hajvani, M. (1999). Children will finally bring God back. Journal of Child and Adolescent Literature, Fifth Year, Fall 1999, pp. 2-13.Harland, R. (2007). Literary theory from Plato to Barthes: An introductory history (B. Barakat, Trans.). University of Gilan.Hesampour, S., Dehghanian, J. & Khavari, S. (2011). A Study of techniques of satire and humor in the works of Houshang Moradi Kermani. Journal of Children Literature Studies, Shiraz University, Second Year, First Issue, Spring and Summer, pp. 24-54.Jamadi, S. (2010). Context and time of phenomenology. Ghoghnoos.Kheradkhord, F., Azarmakan, H. & Norouzi, A. (2016). The Evolution of the concept of childhood in the stories of Houshang Moradi Kermani. Thought and Child, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 7 (1), Spring and Summer, pp. 25-53.Moradi Kermani, H. (2015). You are not a stranger. Mehrab.Moradi Kermani, H. (2017). Majid’s tales. Mehrab.Moradi Kermani, H. (2017). Children of carpet-weaving house. Mehrab.Moein Darbari, M., Sharifi, S. & Khanejan, A. (2015). The application of cultural filter in the translation of literary terms: A case study of English translation of Children of carpet-weaving house by Moradi Kermani. Quarterly Journal of Language Studies and Translation, No. 3, pp. 29- 58.Okhovvat, A. (1992). Grammar of story. Farda.Rad, F. (2009). A Critical study of Fantastic Mr. fox. Book of the Month for Children and Adolescents, No. 147, pp. 38-44.Salajegeh, P. (2001). The sound of checking exercises. Moein.Sha'iri, H. & Vafaei, T. (2009). A way to the sign-fluid semantics: A case study of Ghoghnoos by Nima. Elmi va Farhangi.Scholes, R. (2004). An introduction to structuralism in literature (F. Taheri, Trans.). Agah.

Research Paper

Systems of Imagination in Buick Maleki’s Collection of Poems, Behind a Smile, Based on Gilbert Durand’s Theory

Omid Vahdanifar

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 239-260

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.34468.1721

Abstract

Systems of Imagination in Buick Maleki’s Collection of Poems, Behind a Smile, Based on Gilbert Durand’s Theory Omid VahdanifarAssistant Professor of Persian Language ... Read More Systems of Imagination in Buick Maleki’s Collection of Poems, Behind a Smile, Based on Gilbert Durand’s Theory Omid VahdanifarAssistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Bojnord IntroductionImagination is an essential element in children’s and adolescents’ literature. It is one of the components that motivate children and adolescents to read because by reading these works, they find themselves in a world beyond the world and logic dominated by adults and find a suitable place for psychological relief from the imposed pressures. Also, they come to an understanding of abstract concepts of the world around them with the power of imagination. Gilbert Durand is one of the prominent theorists in the field of literary criticism, especially literary imagination. He analyzes the visual and imaginative functions of artists in his theory of “diurnal system of imagination” and “nocturnal system of imagination”. Buick Maleki, a writer of adolescent poetry, reflects his concerns about the passage of time and death in his collection of poems, Behind a Smile; therefore, it is fruitful to study the presence of such concepts in this collection by the use of Durand’s theory in order to identify the poet's creative mentality in the making of imaginary pictures and to examine his way of thinking about the world, the effect of time and death on creation, and the way he uses his imagination to express his fears. Methodology, Review of Literature and PurposeDue to the value and importance of imagery in Maleki’s poetry, the researcher decided to investigate the structure of imaginary forms in the poetry collection Behind a Smile, relying on Gilbert Durand's theory of image clusters. There are a number of researches on imagery in children’s and adolescents’ literature; for example, “Farmers in Children and Adolescents' Poetry” by Pourvahhab (2002); “Imagery in Rahmandoost’s Poetry” by Armaghan (2006); “Content Analysis of Children's Poetry 1992-2002 (Age Groups A, B and C)” by Zarghani and Abbaspour-Noghani (2007); “Study of Imagery in Children’s Poetry with a Focus on the Works of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents” by Lavimi (2019). A number of articles have been written on Maleki's adolescent poems also, including “This Sidewalk Is Stretched Around the Earth” by Rajabzadeh (2003); “The Impressive Sensation of These Poems” by Nazar-ahari (2003) and “A Study of Poetic Imagery in the Adolescent Poetry of Buick Maleki” by Najafian (2012). The researcher did not find any study related to the function of literary imagination based on Gilbert Durand’s theory in the field of children’s and adolescents’ literature. DiscussionDurand believes that time manifests itself through images; this means that images show a fear of time because according to his theory, behind every fear, there is “fear of death” and behind every death, “fear of time”. Human beings make a connection between fear and time and realize that with the passage of time, they are going toward death; so, they are frightened and as a result, a series of images appear in their imaginations in response to the passage of time. In The Anthropological Structures of Imagination, Durand divides images into two large categories, the Diurnal System of Imaginations and the Nocturnal System of Imagination. The diurnal system is a dialectical system with contrasting poles that includes scary (negatively valued) and non-terrifying (positively valued) images; but the nocturnal system has a hybrid state, which means that the two poles are placed inside each other instead of facing each other. In this group of images, fear of time is modified and toned down. Negatively valued structures of the diurnal system are divided into three categories of descending, darkness and animalistic, all of which have one thing in common: creating fear. Positively valued structures of the diurnal system are also classified into three categories: ascending, spectacular, and separating, all of which are similar in overcoming the sense of fear with different structures. In fact, fear of time creates negative forms (descending, darkness, and animalistic), and overcoming fear of time creates positive forms (ascending, spectacular, and separating).It seems that Durand’s proposed model of diurnal system of imagination can be applied to Maleki’s collection of poems, Behind a Smile, because these poems exhibit binary (contrasting) images such as white and black, light and darkness, night and day, sadness and joy, cold and hot, full and empty. ConclusionImagination is such an active and subtle element in the Maleki’s Behind a Smile that can be felt and visualized while reading the poems. In the structure of imagination in this collection of poems, both the negatively valued structures of descending, darkness and animalist forms and the positively valued structures of ascending, spectacular and separating forms can be seen. However, in general, Maleki’s real state of mind belongs more to the “diurnal System of positively valued imagination” (non-scary and pleasant). Among the images in this collection, there are 36 samples of spectacular forms (39.13 percent), 23 samples of ascending forms (25 percent), 18 samples of darkness forms (19.56 percent), 7 samples of descending forms (7.60 percent) 5 samples of separating forms (5.43 percent) and 3 samples of animalistic forms (3.26 percent). This shows that Maleki has been able to save himself from the anxiety caused by the passage of time that he has shown in the diurnal system of negatively valued imagination. Therefore, Maleki can be considered a poet with an ascending spirit. Examined from Durand’s point of view, Maleki proves to be a person who does not accept the idea of destruction. Hence, he has been successful in softening the horrifying aspects of death for teenagers and making them more hopeful in life by creating calm and controlled images in contrast to the fast pace of time. Keywords: Buick Maleki, Behind a Smile, Gilbert Durand, adolescent poetry, imagery References:Abbasi, A. (2001). Gilbert Durand; nocturnal system, diurnal system. Book of the Month of Children and Adolescents, pp. 45-55.Abbasi, A. (2006). Classification of literary imagination based on New Criticism. Nafeh, 1 (11 & 12).Abbasi, A. & Shakeri, A. (2008). Fear of time in characters of Mahmoud Doulat-Abadi’s narratives. Research Journal of Human Sciences, No 57, pp. 217-234.Armaghan, A. (2006). Imagery in Rahmandoust’s poetry. Research Journal of Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, No. 45 and 46, pp. 222-238.Bachelard, G. (1943). Water and dreams: An essay on the imagination of matter. Pari. Balkhari, H. (2006). Artistic imagination from the perspective of Sheikh Ishraq. Journal of the Academy of Arts, 5 (43), pp. 59-58.Durand, G. (1992). Les Structures anthropologiques de l’imaginaire: Introduction à l’archétypologie générale. Dunod.Eliade, M. (2005). The myth of eternal return (B. Sarkarati, Trans.). Tahoori.Fotouhi, M. (2007). The rhetoric of illustration. Sokhan.Ibn Manzoor, J. M. M. (1405). Arabic language. Adab-e Houzeh.Jung, C. G. (1981). Man and his symbols (A. Saremi, Trans.). Amir Kabir.Kazemi, M. K. (1997). Aperture. Zarihe Aftab.Lavimi, S. (2019). Study of Imagery in Children’s Poetry with a Focus on the Works of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents. Baharestan-e Sokhan, 16 (44), 219-240.Maleki, B. (2012). Behind a Smile. Qadyani.Mir, M. & Shamshiri, V. (2014). Analysis of imagery in Nazari Qahestani’s Adabnameh based on Gilbert Durand’s theory. National Conference on the Criticism and the Analysis of Life, Works and Philosophy of Hakim Nazari Qahestani, Birjand University, pp. 927-938.Najafian, A. (2012). A study of poetic images in Buick Maleki’s adolescent poetry. Journal of Children’s Literature Studies, No. 6, pp. 115-139.Nazar-Ahari, E. (2003). The impressive sensation of these poems: A short look at Buick Maleki’s poems. Research Journal of Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, No. 32, pp. 196-205.Partovi, A. (1997). Research on the symbolic manifestation of dark water and its semantic approaches. Journal of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 30 (1 & 2), pp. 5-38.Purvahhab, M. (2002). Farmer in children’s and adolescents' poetry. Research Journal of Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, No. 31, pp. 188-200.Rajabzadeh, S. (2003). This sidewalk stretches across the earth (a critique of the collection of poems On the Sidewalk by Buick Maleki). Journal of Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, No. 32, pp. 171-190.Salajeqeh, P. (2008). From this eastern garden. Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.Shafiei-Kadkani, M. R. (1992). Imagery in Persian poetry. Agah.Shariati, S. (2006). Sociology of imagination. Critic Quarterly, 2 (4), 165-198.Sharifi-Valedani, G. & Shamei, M. (2011). The analysis of imagery in the resistance poetry based on New Criticism. Resistance Literature, 2 (3 &4), 299-321.Tajbakhsh, I. & Faraji Qarqani, A. (2010). The crow in Persian literature. Journal of Literary History, 3 (62), pp. 29-46.

Research Paper

Young Adults’ Agency: A Study of Mahdi Rajabi’s The Bean Man’s Report

Roya Yadollahi

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 261-284

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2020.33668.1700

Abstract

Young Adults’ Agency: A Study of Mahdi Rajabi’s The Bean Man’s Report Roya Yadollahi Shahrah Introduction One of the most important issues in ... Read More Young Adults’ Agency: A Study of Mahdi Rajabi’s The Bean Man’s Report Roya Yadollahi Shahrah Introduction One of the most important issues in theories about young adult fiction is the issue of agency of young adults in these stories, because it is agency that determines subjectivity in this literary type. Accordingly, the shaping of subjectivity in young adult fiction is considered as its main issue and its distinguishing feature from other types of stories.In the studies conducted on Iranian young adult novels, this issues is either ignored or left without a precise definition. The study of the hero’s agency in young adult fiction helps us understand whether young adults are imagined with or without agency in general. This is of course a very wide-ranging topic which cannot be confined to one article. The goal of the researcher is to introduce an integrated approach to the issue of the agency of young adults in the theory of young adult literature and then to analyze this issue in one exemplary story. Methodology, Literature Review and PurposeThe researcher will use content analysis with the technique of parallel methods for the first time in Iran. This is an in-depth and wide-ranging analysis which will cover all the different aspects of the issue. The theoretical basis of the article is based on this definition of agency: a position from which resistance against ideology occurs. This concept is traditionally in contrast with the concept of structure which delimits and determines the subject’s agency in the interaction process and the form of social relations.In the field of young adult literature, Robyn McCollum and Roberta Seelinger Trites have shown a relationship between the issue of agency with the issue of subjectivity. Young adult fiction is a showcase of growth, and growth means the formation of subjectivity in the young adult. The formation of subjectivity itself necessitates an understanding of social institutes and power relations and also one’s own place in these relations and power stratifications (dual understanding of structure and power).In fact, young adult fiction shows the growth of the character in the path of recognizing the relations and structures of power in the society and realizing their own place in these structures. The type and the level of agency for young adults can be described in different ways. In this study, two perspectives are combined to provide a theoretical basis for the assessment of this agency: The first perspective is Roberta Seelinger Trites’ perspective which views young adult fiction as a site of competition between romantic and postmodern attitudes. The first attitude emphasizes the subject’s independence, self-determination and individuality with rejection of society; but the second attitude emphasizes the importance of social institutions in constructing subjectivity and defines growth as the increase of a person’s understanding of the determining power of these institutions.The second perspective is Karen Coats’ which views young adult literature as the site of appearance of two aspects of young adults’ identity: the monstrous identity and the generative identity. Young adults are initially viewed as dangerous for the society because they are thought to have a potentiality and a tendency toward destroying social values; however, one should not forget that on the other side, young adults are on the threshold of an ethical and complex understanding of the world which shapes their ethical agency and creates a generative identity for them which is committed to taking care of other human beings and making connections with others. In Coats’ view, if the society is ready to accept young adults, it helps them to develop this generative identity and to shape their ethical agency based on it. DiscussionThe analysis of stories with the combination of these two views will show us, first, whether the agency of young adults in the stories under study is closer to the romantic approach (individualistic) or the postmodern approach (socialistic); and second, in this type of agency, whether the monstrous aspect or the generative aspect is more prevalent.The story which will be analyzed in this study is a short story by Mahdi Rajabi entitled “The Bean Man’s Report” in which it is easier to classify power structures. Also, prior to a methodical analysis, the hero of the story –who is also its narrator- seems to be relatively passive with weak agency.A theoretical concept is needed for any type of analysis. In the analysis with the technique of parallel methods, we use both types of inductive (self-made) and deductive (theory-based) categories. In this analysis, we have extracted the representation of main issues (agency, power structures and subjectivity) with the help of inductive reasoning. Accordingly, we have classified the power structures in three categories: characters and institutions, things and lifeless nature (related to value-ideology) and concepts revealing value-ideology.The characters and institutions are formed in four directions, each of which related to things and concepts of specific value-ideology from three categories above. The narrator of the story is surrounded by these four directions and the three main categories which construct the power relations. The researcher has tried to analyze the relationship of the narrator with each of these items. ConclusionAll the instances of the narrator’s interaction with these structures (pinpointing their contextual situations) were collected. Put together, these interactions show that in the beginning of the story, the hero is relatively passive; however, as the story goes on and the hero gets conscious of the other parts of the power structure, he moves toward taking a specific stance (which tends toward the father) which is not explicit first, but becomes more and more obvious. The most obvious characteristic of this stance is the rejection of the society and ignoring the structures. These characteristics show that the young adult’s agency tends toward the romantic approach; while the significance of power institutions and death (a biological and inevitable fact which limits agency) is also emphasized by the fact that the story open-ended and puts forward the possibilities of death or insanity.On the other hand, the narrator’s emphasis on “being together” (in the form of a small family) relates this romantic agency to generative identity. It should be noted that the open ending of the story relates it to the destructive (monstrous) identity, too. On the whole, we can identify the type of agency for the hero of this story as a romantic and generative– monstrous agency. Keywords: young adult fiction, postmodern subject, romantic subject, agency, The Bean Man’s Report, Mahdi Rajabi References: Aghapour, F. & Hessampour, S. (2016). A study of carnivalesque elements in Iranian young adult novels based on the theory of Mikhaeil Bakhtin. Contemporary Persian Literature, 6 (1), pp. 1-23.Coats, Karen. (2011). Young adult literature: Growing up, in theory”. In Wolf, Shelby A. et.al. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature (pp. 315-330), Routledge.Giddens, A. (1997). Sociology. Ney.Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic procedures and sofware solution. Kalegenfurt.McCallum, R. (2002). Ideologies of identity in adolescent fiction: The dialogic construction of subjectivity. Garland Publishing Inc.McDonough, M. S. (2017). From damsel in distress to active agent: Female agency in children and young adult fiction”. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Louisville.Meqdadi, B. (1999). A dictionary of literary terms, from Plato to contemporary times. Fekr-e Rooz.Nikolajeva, M. (2002). “Growing up: The dilemma of children’s literature”. In Sell, R. D. (ed.), Children's Literature as Communication: The ChiLPA Project, John Benjamin Publishing Company.Pashaei, R. (2012). Agency in Khaleh-Sooskeh and Who Took Pari. The Research Journal on Children and Adolescents’ Literature. No. 53, pp. 117-122.Rajabi, M. (2016). The bean man’s report. Peydayesh.Seelinger-Trites. R. (2000). Disturbing the universe: Power and repression in adolescent literature. University of Iowa Press.Weissman, J. & Swansrtom, E. (2016). Gender and agency in young adult fiction”. Undergraduate research Journal, Vol. 5, p. 6-12.

Research Paper

Spatial-Topographical Metaphor and Its Function in Akbarpour’s The Emperor of Words

Parsa Yaghoubi Janbe Saraei

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 285-308

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2019.34527.1723

Abstract

Spatial-Topographical Metaphor and Its Function in Akbarpour’s The Emperor of Words Parsa Yaqubi Janbeh-SaraeiProfessor of Persian Language and Literature, Kurdestan University IntroductionWriters ... Read More Spatial-Topographical Metaphor and Its Function in Akbarpour’s The Emperor of Words Parsa Yaqubi Janbeh-SaraeiProfessor of Persian Language and Literature, Kurdestan University IntroductionWriters of children’s and adolescents’ literature should take into consideration not only the limitations of age group of audience for representation, but also the social taboos. Nevertheless, these writers, just like the writers of adult literature, are free to choose any subject matter. Literary works, whether for children, adolescents or adults, can be divided into three categories based on how they deal with their subject matters: a) those in which the pleasure aspect or the evocation of the audience’s aesthetic sense is dominant; b) those which pay attention not only to the aesthetic aspect but also to the ideological and hegemonic aspects of the subject matter; in other words, those in which the aesthetic aspect serves the representation of a specific belief system; c) those which are concerned with the epistemology of a specific subject matter while showing some traces of the previous aspects. One of these subject matters is the significations of existence or identity-finding from ontological or social perspectives which is used in some of children’s narratives, too. The Emperor of Words uses such a subject matter. Methodology, Review of Literature and PurposeIn this essay, the representational aspects of the spatial-topographical metaphor have been analyzed with a descriptive-analytical approach. There are three previous researches conducted on the novel The Emperor of Words: Hesampour (2010) in a section of the article “A Study of the Implied Reader in Stories by Ahmad Akbarpour Based on Aidan Chambers’ Theory” identifies the implied reader and his/her orientation. Aghapour and Hesampour (2016) in “A Study of the Carnivalesque Elements in Iranian Adolescent Novels Based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s Theory” analyze the carnivalesque aspects of the story The Emperor of Words which represent the fracture in the dominance of adults in explaining and determining the geographical, racial and class boundaries. Jamali and Qorbani (2016) in “Analyzing The Emperor of Words Based on Karl Mannheim’s Theory of Distance” have tried to explain different aspects of eliminating distance between author-narrator and audience.In the present research, the implications of spatial-topographical metaphors in The Emperor of Words on two levels of “identity as loss” and “ways of its suspension” are analyzed in order to decode the cognitive-narrative ambiguity of the text. DiscussionBased on the philosophy of children’s literature and its didactic aspect and also in harmony with the cognitive-ontological world of children, The Emperor of Words represents an interdisciplinary subject matter (combining mysticism, philosophy, psychology, psychoanalysis and postcolonial studies) in order to show that although signification leads to identity-formation, it also entails different types of loss. The representative axis of the novel is based on the spatial-topographical metaphor which is one of the concepts of postcolonial studies. It is argued that topography as an identity-formative action gives agency to the other/others while imposing various types of omission and humiliation on them.The author-narrator has employed topographical metaphor, usually used for disclosing inequalities in cultural-political relationships, to represent an onto-epistemological process. Accordingly, relying on the tools of this metaphor which are lines and words in one level of the novel, the writer represents its dual and simultaneous function of “identification-loss”.In this novel, the author-narrator shows that the lines that give the characters their identities by setting boundaries between cities, rivers, countries and characters, simultaneously impose different types of loss such as separation, war and trial on them. The characters of the novel have to endure all these hardships when dealing with geographical boundaries such as the border between Korea and China or other fictional borders.In addition to lines, words impose similar misfortunes to the story’s subject-objects, too. The characters of the story are all identified with words that are imprisoned behind the lines of the book and in the limits of fiction and reality.On another, parallel level of the story, the author-narrator, who knows that signification and identity-formation is inevitable, tries to reveal how they are suspended in order to show that one can elude from the loss in a symbolic fashion. The basis for this symbolic action is observable in two forms: deferment of the self and the suspension of signs and aspects such as tendency toward poetry, pretention to madness and illiteracy, tendency toward rebellion and breaking the boundaries of the narrative which create a slippery and fluent situation in dealing with the subjects and prevents the imposition of loss on the subject-objects of the story.The companionship of the boy, Sani, the emperor, the poet, the boatman, the soldier and the rest and their success in overcoming all these hardships testifies to this claim. Even at the end of the story, when the boy and Sani are imprisoned in two adjacent cabins, the separation of the two seems to fade away by using the pattern of deferment of the self and the suspension of signs which resides in the namelessness of the boy and eliminates the duality and distinction between the two characters in a symbolic way. Keywords: Akbarpour, The Emperor of Words, Persian adolescent novel, loss, mapping, identity References:Agamben, G. (2011). Infancy and history: On the destruction of experience (P. Imani, Trans.). Markaz.Agamben, G. (2012). Language and death: The place of negativity (P. Imani, Trans.). Markaz.Aghapour, F. & Hesampour, S. (2016). Studying the carnivalesque elements in the Iranian adolescent novels based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory. Contemporary Persian Literature, 6 (1), 1-23.Akbarpour, A. (2011). The emperor of words. Peydayesh.Ashcroft, B. & Tiffin, H. (2016). Cartography (mapping). In their Post-colonial studies: The key concepts (Hajili Sepahvand, Trans.). Arya-Tabar.Baudrillard, J. (2010). Consumer society (P. Izadi, Trans.). Sales.Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (2008). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge (F. Mohammadi, Trans.). Elmi va Farhangi.Blanchot, M. (2008). Literature and the right to death. In L. Kouchek-manesh (Trans.), Literature and death (pp. 51-107), Game-Now.Bourdieu, P. (2011). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste (H. Chavoshian, Trans.). Sales.Buber, M. (1999). I and thou (K. Rigi, Trans.). Jeyhoon.Burr, V. (2015). Social constructionism (A. Salehi, Trans.). Ney.Cassirer, E. (2008). Language and myth (M. Salasi, Trans.). Morvarid.Cosgrove, D. (2016). Mapping. In D. Atkinson & P. Jackson, Cultural geography: A critical dictionary of key concepts (N. Khalesi Moqaddam, Trans.). Tissa.Currie, G. (2014). Image and mind: Film. philosophy and cognitive science (M. Shahba, Trans.). Minooye Kherad.Dondis, D. (2008). Principles of visual literacy (N. Manuchehr-Abadi, Trans.). Baztab-e Andisheh.Fink, B. (2018). Lacanian subject between language and juissance (M. A. Jafari, Trans.). Qoqnus.Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse: An essay in method (J. E. Levin, Trans.). Cornell University Press.Güven, F. (2018). Madness and death in philosophy (A. Amini, Trans.). Donyaye Eqtesad.Hegel, G. W. (2011). Phenomenology of spirit (B. Parham, Trans.) Kand-o Kav.Hesampour, S. (2010). Studying the implied reader in the stories by Akbarpour. Journal of Children’s Literature Studies, 1 (1), 101-127.Jakobson, R. (2002). Linguistics and poetry. In M. Khoozan & H. Payandeh, Linguistics and literary criticism (pp. 71-80). Ney.Jamali, A. & Qorbani, H. (2016). Analyzing The emperor of words based on Karl Mannheim’s theory of distance. Literary Researches, No. 195, 93-109.Kukkonen, K. (2011). Metalepsis in popular culture: An introduction. In K. kukkonen & S. Klimek (Eds.), Metalepsis in popular culture. Walter de Gruyter.Lechte, J. (2004). Fifty great contemporary thinkers from structuralism to postmodernism (M. Hakimi, Trans.). Khojasteh.Levinas, E. (2013). From existence to existents (M. Olia, Trans.). Qoqnus.McAfee, N. (2006). Julia Kristeva (M. Parsa, Trans.). Markaz.Mohammadi-Asiabadi, A. (2008). Moulavi’s Pari and its religious and mystical principles. Quarterly of the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, 3 (8-9), 177-194.Moulavi, J. (1996). Divan-e Shams (B. Forouzanfar, Ed.). Negah.New Testament based on the Holy Book of Jerusalem (2018) (P. Sayyar, Trans.). Ney Publications.Old Testament. (2016) International Association of Holy Bible.Ouhadi, M. (2006). Poetic inspirations. Bi-Quarterly of Researches in Persian Language and Literature. No. 5, 1-20.Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (2012). Psychology of the child (Z. Toufiq, Trans.). Ney.Quran Karim. (1997) (M. M. Fuladvand, Trans.). Dar-ol-Karim Quran.Sahlegi, M. B. A. (2005). Alnoor: Book of light in the mystical heritage of Bayazid Bastami (M. R. Shafiei-Kadkani, Trans.). Sokhan.Searle, J. R. (2016). The construction of social reality (M. Mohammad-Amini, Trans.). Farhang-e Nashr-e Now.Sharifzadeh, R. (2018). Negotiation with objects: Bruno Latour and the actor network theory. Ney Publications.Smith, L. T. (2015). Erasing colonialism from method (A. Naderi & E. Akbari, Trans.). Tarjoman.Vygotsky, L. S. (2001). Thought and language (H. Qasemzadeh, Trans.). Farhangan.Yaqubi Janbeh-Saraei, P. (2018). Margin in mysticism: From summoning of the margins to passing from the play of text and margin. Literary Criticism, 11 (44), 169-203.

Scientific extension

The first step in reflection upon theory of the philosophical novel in the P4C program: A critical study of P4C pioneers and scholar's views towards the philosophical novel

Soudabeh Shokrollahzadeh

Volume 12, Issue 1 , October 2021, Pages 309-336

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2021.6480

Abstract

This article sets out to critically examine the P4C pioneers and scholar's views towards the philosophical novel, in particular philosophical young adult novels. To this end, ... Read More

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Volume & Issue: Volume 12, Issue 1 - Serial Number 23, October 2021, Pages 1-300

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