Many works of literature are devoted to giving readers explicit or implicit instructions or teachings about a philosophy, an ideology, a craft, a lifestyle, or other ends. These works are supposed to entertain and teach and, accordingly,... more
Many works of literature are devoted to giving readers explicit or implicit instructions or teachings about a philosophy, an ideology, a craft, a lifestyle, or other ends. These works are supposed to entertain and teach and, accordingly, they are labeled as didactic literature. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (DVC) is a highly controversial novel that has been largely debated and discussed because of its content and intended message. In this novel, Brown intentionally presents an alternative understanding to Christianity which is received mostly as heretic and blasphemous. In many occasions, Brown avers that the visions he gave in his DVC are the findings of his research on Christian doctrines and institutions. Thus, they are accurate facts though they are written in a piece of fiction. He also emphasizes that he aims to share newly acquired knowledge with his audience through the pages of his work. This paper is an attempt to study Brown’s DVC as a didactic novel. It ultimately aims ...
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The famous motif of the Faustian bargain is encircled by many legendary and superstitious anecdotes. Yet, it has been adopted in the Irish fiction of the 19th century frequently where every work has given it a certain significance that is... more
The famous motif of the Faustian bargain is encircled by many legendary and superstitious anecdotes. Yet, it has been adopted in the Irish fiction of the 19th century frequently where every work has given it a certain significance that is related to real life. It started with a Lutheran chapbook (1587) to be one of the most aspiring legends in European culture. Many writers have adopted it in their literary products where they modified the original story in agreement with certain considerations and aims. This book explores the use of the Faustian bargain in Charles Robert Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. It tries to show three main ideas: (1) the change Maturin and Wilde have made in the legend, (2) how they have used it in their novels to discuss realistic issues, personal and universal, which are different from those in the traditional story, and (3) the spread of the Faust motif in the Irish novel of the 19th century. The book is divide...
The concept of “Otherness” can be perceived in several European narrative writings. Despite the complications that the definition of the term might imply, most of the works presented have a deliberate emphasis on presenting the... more
The concept of “Otherness” can be perceived in several European narrative writings. Despite the complications that the definition of the term might imply, most of the works presented have a deliberate emphasis on presenting the deleterious chauvinisms concerning the Orient. In Orientalist literature, one can notice the insistence on keeping the potentials and differences between the East and the West. The reader is presented with a variety of events that serve to indicate the Western superiority over the East in all aspects. In this conception, the social, philosophical and cultural structure of the Eastern societies is to be considered inferior to the Western one. Therefore, negation is viewed as the only way of comparison between the two. This study examines T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom (SPW) as a typical orientalist text. Moreover, it sheds light on the conflicting powers in the personal identity of Lawrence himself. Through evidences and insights, it argues that thoug...
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According to the famous Faustbuck, published in Frankfort by Johann Spies in 1587, the Doctorate of Divinity that the German scholar Faust holds does not satisfy his insatiable thirst ―to know the secrets of heaven and... more
According to the famous Faustbuck, published in Frankfort by Johann Spies in 1587, the Doctorate of Divinity that the German scholar Faust holds does not satisfy his insatiable thirst ―to know the secrets of heaven and earth;‖ therefore, he, using magic, has recourse to the Devil and strikes a written-and-signed-with-blood bargain with him according to which the Devil has Faust‘s high aspirations and desires accomplished. But Faust must hand his soul over to the Devil when the term of the bargain expires. It can be said that the Faustian bargain launches from this Lutheran book to be one of the most aspiring legends in European culture. To say nothing of the cinematic and musical works it inspires, many writers have adopted the Faust legend in their literary products. They have done some amendments to the original story in agreement with their genres, opinions, and times. Charles Robert Maturin (1782–1824) manages to tame the motif of the Faustian bargain, which is encircled by legendary and superstitious anecdotes, in his masterpiece Melmoth the Wanderer. He comes up with a new change in the traditional story of Faust to achieve certain aims of his own.
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The concept of "Otherness" can be perceived in several European narrative writings. Despite the complications that the definition of the term might imply, most of the works presented have a deliberate emphasis on presenting the... more
The concept of "Otherness" can be perceived in several European narrative writings. Despite the complications that the definition of the term might imply, most of the works presented have a deliberate emphasis on presenting the deleterious chauvinisms concerning the Orient. In Orientalist literature, one can notice the insistence on keeping the potentials and differences between the East and the West. The reader is presented with a variety of events that serve to indicate the Western superiority over the East in all aspects. In this conception, the social, philosophical and cultural structure of the Eastern societies is to be considered inferior to the Western one. Therefore, negation is viewed as the only way of comparison between the two. This study examines T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom (SPW) as a typical orientalist text. Moreover, it sheds light on the conflicting powers in the personal identity of Lawrence himself. Through evidences and insights, it argues that though Lawrence contends that he has written a travel narrative in SPW, the novel is an autobiography of an Orientalist imperial agent, a White Man who continues the tradition of reductionism and stereotyping and technically rests on Orientalist strategies.
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Many works of literature are devoted to giving readers explicit or implicit instructions or teachings about a philosophy, an ideology, a craft, a lifestyle, or other ends. These works are supposed to entertain and teach and, accordingly,... more
Many works of literature are devoted to giving readers explicit or implicit instructions or teachings about a philosophy, an ideology, a craft, a lifestyle, or other ends. These works are supposed to entertain and teach and, accordingly, they are labeled as didactic literature. Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (DVC) is a highly controversial novel that has been largely debated and discussed because of its content and intended message. In this novel, Brown intentionally presents an alternative understanding to Christianity which is received mostly as heretic and blasphemous. In many occasions, Brown avers that the visions he gave in his DVC are the findings of his research on Christian doctrines and institutions. Thus, they are accurate facts though they are written in a piece of fiction. He also emphasizes that he aims to share newly acquired knowledge with his audience through the pages of his work. This paper is an attempt to study Brown's DVC as a didactic novel. It ultimately aims to show how Brown manipulated the didactic theory of sugar-coated pill in his DVC to teach Christians about the theology and history of their religion. Adopting a descriptive-analytic method, the study first tackles Brown's Christian ideology. Then, it analyzes his DVC showing how he used different devices and techniques of didactic novels for the purpose of instructing his readers. The study concludes that DVC is not a mere piece of fiction but a didactic novel that used fiction as a cover to pass historical and theological teachings.
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Many attempts are made to record loanwords that Iraqis use in their colloquial speech. Being conducted by specialists, these attempts result in many highly respected books and articles which encompass hundreds of words borrowed from... more
Many attempts are made to record loanwords that Iraqis use in their colloquial speech. Being conducted by specialists, these attempts result in many highly respected books and articles which encompass hundreds of words borrowed from Western and Eastern languages respectively. Writers of all categories who have conducted etymological investigations on English loanwords in Iraqi colloquial tongue come up with excellent and fantastic works that are highly appreciated. However, some other writers or composers seem to shoot in the dark and their shooting results in superstitions and confusions about the linguistic origin of some words that Iraqis use. This paper comes as an attempt to refute superstitions and clarify confusions about alleged English loanwords in Iraqi Spoken Language.
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Critics point out that the Christ figure is a character who displays more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. In general, the character could demonstrate one or more of the following... more
Critics point out that the Christ figure is a character who displays more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. In general, the character could demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, display loving, kindness and forgiveness in spite of his agony, fight for justice, death and resurrection. Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves. They might be crucified, believed to have had a confrontation with the devil, and possibly tempted.
This article attempts to study the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne in the light of some of these qualities. This is because the presence of a female figure in Hawthorne’s novel that parallels the Biblical Jesus Christ to certain extent is a worth studying topic.
The article adopts the analytical approach to pursuit the development of Hester Prynne’s character; from a sinner to a Christ-like figure.
This article attempts to study the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne in the light of some of these qualities. This is because the presence of a female figure in Hawthorne’s novel that parallels the Biblical Jesus Christ to certain extent is a worth studying topic.
The article adopts the analytical approach to pursuit the development of Hester Prynne’s character; from a sinner to a Christ-like figure.
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The revolution of Imam Hussain (pbuh) has reached all corners of the world because Imam Hussain sacrificed himself, his family members, his supporters and companions, in the Battle of Karbala to stand for all what is noble, sublime, and... more
The revolution of Imam Hussain (pbuh) has reached all corners of the world because Imam Hussain sacrificed himself, his family members, his supporters and companions, in the Battle of Karbala to stand for all what is noble, sublime, and exalted in the history of humanity, and not only to defend Islamic values. For this reason, in particular, it is generally agreed that the aims of his revolution against tyranny, corruption, ignorance, and injustice are not confined to Muslims only but they are universal. That is why many worldwide non-Muslim leaders took Imam Hussain as a model in their struggle and achieved glorious victories against their oppressors. A good example of this kind is the Indian political and spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948 A.D).
The commemoration of the valiant sacrifice of Imam Hussain takes different forms and patterns. It depends on the levels of comprehension and understanding of the revolution of Imam Hussain that the people who perform Muharram observances possess. Some Shiite-Muslim communities are fully aware of the essence of Imam Hussain’s noble case while the knowledge of others does not even penetrate its shell. It is noticed that western writers concentrate on the latter slice of Shiite-Muslims with little exaggeration and much confusion which gives the western reader a hazy and distorted image of the revolution of Imam Hussain.
It is the main objective of this article to make an attempt to substitute the misshapen image of Muharram observances in the imagination of its western intended readers by their true image. This aim is particularly achieved through showing the vision that E.M. Forster (1879-1970 A.D) delineates in his masterpiece A Passage to India of Muharram observances.
The paper attempted first to provide an accurate definition of Muharram observances which can never be understood unless ideological and historical accounts of the story of Islam are put forth, starting with the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh and his progeny) and ending in Imam Hussain’s murder. The paper, then, attempted to juxtapose the Muslim-Shiite scholars’ understanding of Muharram observances with that of western writers, giving the western reader a precious opportunity to take knowledge from its authentic source. After that, the paper gave a detailed and transparent analysis of the way in which Forster portrays Muharram observances in his A Passage to India.
Finally, the conclusion sums up the findings of the article.
The commemoration of the valiant sacrifice of Imam Hussain takes different forms and patterns. It depends on the levels of comprehension and understanding of the revolution of Imam Hussain that the people who perform Muharram observances possess. Some Shiite-Muslim communities are fully aware of the essence of Imam Hussain’s noble case while the knowledge of others does not even penetrate its shell. It is noticed that western writers concentrate on the latter slice of Shiite-Muslims with little exaggeration and much confusion which gives the western reader a hazy and distorted image of the revolution of Imam Hussain.
It is the main objective of this article to make an attempt to substitute the misshapen image of Muharram observances in the imagination of its western intended readers by their true image. This aim is particularly achieved through showing the vision that E.M. Forster (1879-1970 A.D) delineates in his masterpiece A Passage to India of Muharram observances.
The paper attempted first to provide an accurate definition of Muharram observances which can never be understood unless ideological and historical accounts of the story of Islam are put forth, starting with the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh and his progeny) and ending in Imam Hussain’s murder. The paper, then, attempted to juxtapose the Muslim-Shiite scholars’ understanding of Muharram observances with that of western writers, giving the western reader a precious opportunity to take knowledge from its authentic source. After that, the paper gave a detailed and transparent analysis of the way in which Forster portrays Muharram observances in his A Passage to India.
Finally, the conclusion sums up the findings of the article.
