Kian Pishkar Assistant Professor

Since children are the basic foundation of any society, their literature is the most reliable and accessible way to understand the cultural and social condition of a nation. Considering this fact, the present study examines Neil Gaiman's Coraline based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there to show how Gaiman describes the changes that have appeared on a cultural scale. Draws a picture. To achieve its goal, this project is divided into two main streams of general and thematic study. In the section devoted to the study of the genre, Alice books are first examined as two typical examples of fantasy literature with the help of a combination of theories proposed by Eric Rabkin, Rosemary Jackson, Colin Manlove and Tzutan Todorov. Next, Coraline is discussed, focusing on theories of magical realism, that is, theories that Wendy Bayfares promulgated to show the novel's main distinction from its 19th-century predecessor due to its shift in narrative form, from fantasy to magical realism. Then, the themes that Coraline shares with the Alice books are explored to highlight their convergence and divergence in terms of cultural context and the role of the family in contemporary children's fiction. The significance of the shift from the imaginary wonderland - fantasy - to the real world of Coraline Jones' horror - magical realism - can be recognized when the Gothic elements in the text of Gaiman's novel are examined. This study ultimately suggests that Coraline's scary atmosphere becomes more palpable to child readers by being placed in a magical realist context rather than fantasy. Better exposure to difficult situations helps children to understand the importance of their attitude towards life.

The reality of today’s classrooms is that students have varied abilities
and needs. The diverse population of learners includes students who
are high performing in reading as well as those who struggle with
reading. This research concerns struggling readers. The goal of
teachers is to identify struggling readers and discover ways to address
the reading needs of those students. Pinnell (2006) stated that teachers
have a common goal: to make literacy a true part of the lives of all
students.There are many interventions to help struggling readers.
Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term reading intervention program
designed to help the children develop effective strategies for reading
and reach average levels for their particular peer group (Fountas &
Pinnell, 1996). Research has confirmed the positive impact of RR on
readers who struggle (Allington, 2005; Clay, 1993; McKee, 2006;
Schwartz, 2005). In particular, Allington (2005) outlined five
principles of scientific reading instruction: (a) classroom organization;
(b) matching pupils to texts; (c) access to interesting texts, choice, and
collaboration; (d) writing and reading; and (e) expert tutoring.
Research has shown that RR addresses four of these five principles.

Since the importance of spirituality and post modernism is a globalized one this study tries to show position of female characters in Wilson's masterpieces the Piano Lesson and The Fences. One of America's most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed black America, but in doing so he discovered an international audience. Alongside chapters addressing Wilson's life and career, and the wider context of his plays, this Companion dedicates individual chapters to each play in his ten-play cycle, ordered chronologically and thereby demonstrating Wilson's notion of an unfolding history of the twentieth century.

S. King's (1947) books have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, and comic books. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. "Apocalypse" is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling". As a genre, apocalyptic literature details the authors' visions of the end times as revealed by an angel or other heavenly messenger. The apocalyptic literature of Judaism and Christianity embraces a considerable period, from the centuries following the Babylonian exile down to the close of the Middle Ages. Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as advanced science and technology, spaceflight, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas" "Science fiction" is difficult to define, as it includes a wide range of subgenres and themes.

One of America's most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed black America, but in doing so he discovered an international audience.

Stephen Edwin King (1947) is the author of, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television series, and comic books. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. "Apocalypse" is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling". As a genre, apocalyptic literature details the authors' visions of the end times as revealed by an angel or other heavenly messenger. Science fiction (often shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as advanced science and technology, spaceflight, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas" "Science fiction" is difficult to define, as it includes a wide range of subgenres and themes.

آثار حماسی شناسنامه و هویت هر کشوری هستند و به جرات می توان گفت کشور بدون آثار حماسی سرزمینی است بی هویت.دو اثر حماسی عظیم در ادبیات جهان عبارتند از شاهنامه  حکیم فردوسی که بارها و بارها در باره آن نگاشته اند و خواهند نگاشت و دیگری بهشت گمشده جان میلتون انگلیسی ، که گرچه به هیچ عنوان هم شان و هم طراز شاهنامه فردوسی نیست و نخواهد بود اما جایگاهی در عرصه ادبیات جهانی دارد. در این بین شاهنامه و بهشت گمشده دارای مشخصات و ویزگی های  مشترکی هستند که به نظر میرسد تا کنون از بررسی آنها بصورت تطبیقی غفلت شده و جای دارد که مورد بررسی قرار بگیرد و آن تشابه نسبی شخصیت های  خوب و بد (نیک سرستان و بد سرشتان) آن آثار عظیم و فاخر می باشند. گرچه تفاوت های بسیاری از نظر نگارش،درون مایه ها ، بن مایه ها ،زمینه و سلوک شخصیت ها در این دو اثر حماسی  کاملا مشهود  می باشند ، اما با این وجود بررسی نقطه مشترک هردو نویسنده حماسی که تاکید بر جدایی شخصیت های نیک سرشت و بد سرشت و تاثیر آنها بر زندگی جهانیان است کاملا مشهود و بارز می باشد و این مقاله در صدد است تا این مطلب را از زوایه ای دیگر بررسی نماید.

Frederic Jameson one of the greatest philosophers with so many ideas about postmodern society, determinism and social situations has a great influence on the modern and postmodern literary criticism which have mingled and mixed with social, psychological, and economic views. The theme of determinism and existence of antihero are not separable from socialistic, Marxist ,postmodern literary criticism since these elements are the main structures of modern and postmodern literatures which their heroes are adoptable with Aristotelian views about traditional and cliché heroes such as Oedipus ,Ulysses and others. The characters of T. Dreiser’s masterpieces (An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie) can be analyzed for showing that these characters in modern literature do not follow Aristotelian patterns and frameworks about traditional and cliché heroes and they are dominated and social, psychological, economical and ethical restrictions and can be called gods’ modern puppets

The main thrust of the study was to explore the relationship between learning styles and learning idioms among Iranian ELT students with a gender-based focus. To this end, 63 ELT BA students majoring English Translation (ET) were selected as the participants of the study out of 70 through the proficiency test, i.e. Edwards' (2007) Solutions Placement Test: Elementary to Intermediate. The 63 participants took the Kolb's (2006) Learning Style Inventory questionnaire, and the Idioms Test. the test and questionnaire answered by the participants were scored, the data were extracted and put into the SPSS22. Using the descriptive statistics, correlation, regression and t-test, the data were analyzed. The results of the study indicated that the Abstract Conceptualization (AC), followed by the Active Experimentation (AE) is the most dominant learning styles among the participants. In terms of the descriptive statistics, the both genders were found to have similar performances on the both idiom test and the Kolb's (2006) Learning Style Inventory questionnaire with partial differences. The results of the correlation demonstrated the positive, significant and high correlation between the Kolb's (2006) learning style and idiom learning. Likewise, the study proved the highest correlation between the experiential learning style (Concrete Experience (CE) and the idiom learning. meanwhile, the study showed non-significant correlation either between gender and idiom learning or between gender and learning styles.

The diverse population of learners includes students who are high performing in reading as well as those who struggle with reading. This research concerns struggling readers. The goal of teachers is to identify struggling readers and discover ways to address the reading needs of those students. Pinnell (2006) stated that teachers have a common goal: to make literacy a true part of the lives of all students. There are many interventions to help struggling readers. Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term reading intervention program designed to help the children develop effective strategies for reading and reach average levels for their particular peer group (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Research has confirmed the positive impact of RR on readers who struggle (Allington, 2005; Clay, 1993; McKee, 2006; Schwartz, 2005). In particular, Allington (2005) outlined five principles of scientific reading instruction: (a) classroom organization; (b) matching pupils to texts; (c) access to interesting texts, choice, and collaboration; (d) writing and reading; and (e) expert tutoring. Research has shown that RR addresses four of these five principles.

First, what do we mean by “scriptures” generally speaking and specifically in
the case of Islam? If we classify “scriptures” under the wider rubric of cultural
artifacts that are textual in nature, including originally oral utterances that became
inscribed into written form, we may say that “scriptures” are a subcategory of textual
artifacts that are highly saturated with power and meaning. They are texts (oral and
written) that are imbued with sacred authority such that they function as templates
and charters of a society’s cultural norms. God, a supernatural power, divine being,
or ancestral spirit is usually the presumed author or originator of texts called
“scriptures.” This claim to ultimacy is both self-referential (staked out within
“scriptures”) and socially sanctioned (accorded to “scriptures” by religious
specialists and believers). The avowals of absolute authority that are found in
“scriptures” are thus taken to be self-evident and axiomatic by those within a
scripture’s charismatic field of influence. Islamic scholars have been involved in all
of the theoretical issues raised across the academy by the explorations of critical
theory. Going back further, the history of the study and research on signs and
semiotic on the Holy Scriptures suggests that the Holy Quran study was at the
forefront of the development of logical and historical methods of scholarly
interpretation. While historical and scientific studies undertaken by the Holy Quran
studies surely challenged earlier understandings of faith in the holy book,
comparison does something else. Comparison challenges uniqueness; it subsumes
this book of books within a crowded category as one among many. Semiotics can be
applied to film, theater and a host of other areas that involve or are concerned with
communication and conveying of information. Some semioticians suggest that
everything can be analyzed semiotically; they see semiotics as the king of the
interpretive sciences, the key that unlocks the meanings of all things.

The diverse population of learners includes students who are high
performing in reading as well as those who struggle with reading. This
research concerns struggling readers. The goal of teachers is to
identify struggling readers and discover ways to address the reading
needs of those students. Pinnell (2006) stated that teachers have a
common goal: to make literacy a true part of the lives of all students.
There are many interventions to help struggling readers. Reading
Recovery (RR) is a short-term reading intervention program designed
to help the children develop effective strategies for reading and
reach average levels for their particular peer group (Fountas &
Pinnell, 1996). Research has confirmed the positive impact of RR on
readers who struggle (Allington, 2005; Clay, 1993; McKee, 2006;
Schwartz, 2005).In particular, Allington (2005) outlined five principles
of scientific reading instruction: (a) classroom organization; (b)
matching pupils to texts; (c) access to interesting texts, choice, and
collaboration; (d) writing and reading; and (e) expert tutoring.
Research has shown that RR addresses four of these five principles.

This study provided an overview of research that has investigated the
role of (direct vs. indirect) written corrective feedback (WCF) in
enhancing writing accuracy of Intermediate learners of Navid English
Institute in Shiraz. This study is quantitative and experimental survey
and then accuracy in the used two functions of English article system
(referential indefinite ‘a’, ‘an’ and referential definite ‘the’) was
measured during eight weeks by means of pre-test and post-test sixty
students that include (20 control group,20 experimental group,20
experimental group) participated in the study which sought to
investigated whether what kind of teacher written corrective feedback
will be the most effective in writing accuracy then participants
received teacher WCF on ten essay under three treatment conditions:
Group (1)control group did not receive WCF on specific grammar
errors; group (2) received direct WCF; group (3) received indirect
WCF. Then at the end of the term, it investigated which type of written
corrective feedback will be the most effective in writing accuracy of
definite and indefinite article and does accuracy of two functions of the
English article vary during eight weeks as results of WCF or not.

This study concentrate on finding any possible relationship between Kolb's approaches and teaching and learning slang among students. 63 ELT BA students majoring English Translation (ET) were selected The 63 participants took the Kolb's (2006) Learning Style Inventory questionnaire, and the Slang Test. The test and the questionnaire answered by the participants were scored. Using the descriptive statistics, correlation, regression and t-test, the data were analyzed. The results of the study showed that the Abstract Conceptualization (AC), followed by the Active Experimentation (AE) are the most dominant teaching and learning styles among the students. In terms of the descriptive statistics, both genders were found to have similar performances on both slang test and the Kolb's (2006) Learning Style Inventory questionnaire with partial differences. The results of the correlation demonstrated the positive, significant and high correlation between the Kolb's (2005) teaching and learning style and slang teaching and learning. The study proved the highest correlation between the experiential teaching and learning style (Concrete Experience (CE) and the slang teaching and learning. meanwhile, the study showed non-significant correlation either between gender and slang learning.

S. King’s (1947) books have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, and comic books. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. "Apocalypse" is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling". As a genre, apocalyptic literature details the authors' visions of the end times as revealed by an angel or other heavenly messenger. The apocalyptic literature of Judaism and Christianity embraces a considerable period, from the centuries following the Babylonian exile down to the close of the Middle Ages. Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as advanced science and technology, spaceflight, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequen...

Universal concepts and globalization in literature has created new areas of literary studying. American Indian‟s literature has a great deep root which its traces can be followed in modern and postmodern American literature. Although most of the American Indians‟ oral literature and their universal concepts have not recorded, there are many literary evidences that their culture, rites and ceremonies have extensive influence on the American culture, literature and globalization of literature and has created a kind of multicultural literature that reflects universal concept and globalization which can be studied based on new historical criticism.

One of America’s most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed black America, but in doing so he discovered an international audience.

Since the importance of spirituality and post modernism is a globalized one this study tries to show position of female characters in Wilson’s masterpieces the Piano Lesson and The Fences. One of America’s most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed black America, but in doing so he discovered an international audience. Alongside chapters addressing Wilson’s life and career, and the wider context of his plays, this Companion dedicates individual chapters to e...

The alienation, loneliness and loneliness of modern man among crowed of the society are the main themes of Salinger's masterpieces which need to be clarified the combination of the two significant literary and social factors in this paper, namely, modern man and alienation, loneliness, and their exploration in Salinger's works of are not much investigated in the literature. Salinger's was one of the greatest literary masters in the last century who influenced and inspired literary masters.

The black literature as one of the most dominant literary movements, genres, and features of Modern American literature worth the better and deeper study. Since the black literature, here especially American Black Drama, based on the social and racial concepts which show a kind of protesting and fighting with oppressions and discrimination which are dominant in the modern American society and according to the Marxist view and Blacks' ideal utopia that they wish in their writing, making and building this kind of ideal and utopian society needs facing with different challenges. Baraka's Dutchman tries to portray, symbolically and allegorically, the bitter reality which is in the American society. The writer of this paper tries to present a new analysis according to the African-American writers' prevailing and leading views which has been blended with Marxist literary criticism for any kind of objection and protection against the whites' social norms which are based on ...

Stephen Edwin King (1947) is the author of, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television series, and comic books. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. "Apocalypse" is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling". As a genre, apocalyptic literature details the authors' visions of the end times as revealed by an angel or other heavenly messenger. Science fiction (often shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as advanced science and technology, spaceflight, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has be...

This study is significant because it provides ways to analyze power from an angle that empowers women. Although. Steinbeck had presented his women characters as sophisticated modern women who are liberated and powerful in leading their lives, the reality in the world still maintains that women are at the secondary position in comparison to men. By altering the presentation of women in literature, the researcher delivers the importance of power in women’s lives as it enables women empower their own lives to a certain extent if not entirely. Hence, the researcher discovers that the knowledge of power is as important as the power of knowledge in women’s lives.

The alienation, loneliness and loneliness of modern man among crowed of the society are the main themes of Salinger's masterpieces which need to be clarified the combination of the two significant literary and social factors in this paper, namely, modern man and alienation, loneliness, and their exploration in Salinger's works of are not much investigated in the literature. Salinger's was one of the greatest literary masters in the last century who influenced and inspired literary masters.

The importance of Salinger's works in modern American literature is so much that no critics can ignore it. So, for better understanding its texts, this paper tries to clarify the themes of alienation and loneliness in his masterpiece Catcher in the Rye. The difficulty of understanding the philosophical and social concepts in Salinger's great novel cause that Iranian English language and literature students encounter with so many misunderstandings in his novels the concepts such as modernity, modern man, alienation, loneliness, a labyrinth of life, meanings and loneliness in modern society. The dominant ideologies in the postmodern era incorporate, to a large extent, the notions of alienations, loneliness and modern man. The present paper is aimed at investigating the notions of modern man and alienation, loneliness in the novel written by Salinger.

The reasons of the study are to explore the situations in which women characters exercise power in relationship with men and to investigate in most of Steinbeck's work that the women characters carry dominant and active roles, which they gain empowerment in the selected novels. Although feminists are interested in criticizing the subordination of women, many works concerning women empowerment are also found in the canon. Thus, efforts to look at Steinbeck's works in relation to his women characters and power should also be given importance.

This study is significant because it provides ways to analyze power from an angle that empowers women. Although. Steinbeck had presented his women characters as sophisticated modern women who are liberated and powerful in leading their lives, the reality in the world still maintains that women are at the secondary position in comparison to men. By altering the presentation of women in literature, the researcher delivers the importance of power in women's lives as it enables women empower their own lives to a certain extent if not entirely. Hence, the researcher discovers that the knowledge of power is as important as the power of knowledge in women's lives.

The black literature as one of the most dominant literary movements, genres, and features of Modern American literature worth the better and deeper study. Since the black literature, here especially American Black Drama, based on the social and racial concepts which show a kind of protesting and fighting with oppressions and discrimination which are dominant in the modern American society and according to the Marxist view and Blacks' ideal utopia that they wish in their writing, making and building this kind of ideal and utopian society needs facing with different challenges. Baraka's Dutchman tries to portray, symbolically and allegorically, the bitter reality which is in the American society. The writer of this paper tries to present a new analysis according to the African-American writers' prevailing and leading views which has been blended with Marxist literary criticism for any kind of objection and protection against the whites' social norms which are based on sexual(gender), racial and social discrimination.

Speaking a language involves more than simply knowing the linguistic components of the message, and developing language skills requires more than grammatical comprehension and vocabulary memorization (Chastain, 1988). In teaching-learning processes, some methods which teachers use and the teachers' own speaking accuracy and fluency in the ELT classes for the foreign language students especially in Iran may have some positive and negative effects on ELT students' speaking fluency and accuracy. This study attempts to probe one of the main concerns of language learners, that is, how to improve their speaking components, e.g. oral fluency and accuracy through comparison of the effects of teacher's speaking accuracy vs. fluency on EFL learners' oral skill. The current study was designed as a true experimental research and the data were gathered from 60 ELT students of English language and literature in Iran. The data were the recorded speaking transcripts which were analyzed to show the probable progresses after four-time (10 weeks) treatment. The factors to be considered in present study were the numbers of filled and unfilled pauses in each narration, the total number of words per minute, mean length of utterance, and number of stressed words. The results were compared and their temporal and linguistic measures were correlated with their fluency scores. They revealed that the speech rate, the mean length of utterance, phonation time ratio and the number of stressed words produced per minute were the best predictors of fluency scores, and thus, students' speaking fluency increased, whereas the students' speaking accuracy decreased in some areas of speaking abilities and oral communications.

This paper is a report of a study on speaking fluency performed by six low level students using retelling technique. The aim of the study is to find out the effect of retelling on the students' speaking fluency and to know the strategies used by those students while retelling a story. The data were the speaking transcripts which were analyzed to see the progress after six-time treatment was given. The result reveals that the speaking fluency of the students increased in some areas as shown by the improvement on their vocabulary and comprehensibility. The result of this study may be used for promoting the students' speaking accuracy and fluency in high schools and universities where their teachers try to Speak English for presenting their lessons.

The goal of the study was to investigate the impact of using pictures and other graphic devices to improve the writing skill of the EFL learners of the study in a language institute in Bandar Abbas. To this purpose and as an experimental method of research, two groups of learners were chosen to participate in the experiment. The population of the study was composed of two intermediate groups of EFL learners in Shokouh Language Institute in Bandar Abbas. All of the language learners, male and female (n = 42), made up the study population. After taking the Oxford Placement Test and drawing the result, 6 subjects whose scores fell too far from the mean were excluded from the study. The other remaining 36 ones made up the subjects of the study and were classified into two groups. The first 18 ones were randomly selected and made up the experimental group (EG) and the other 18 ones made up the control group (CG). In order to maximize the validity and reliability of the results of the study, three types of instruments were used: a placement test, pre and posttests of writing and interview to seek the attitudes of the EFL learners. Results revealed that the subjects in the EG outperformed the ones in the CG. This supports the effect of the use of pictures in the L2 writing class.

Self-directed learning (SDL) can be studied in relation to various language skills and their development. In this regard, the effect of SDL on language learners' speaking accuracy could be studied. Meanwhile, as such an impact has been rarely focused on in the EFL literature; therefore, the present study can be significant from this respect. One of the areas which require investigation is the low achievement of speaking accuracy among Iranian EFL learners. SDL has its roots in andragogy. By distinguishing adults learning from children learning, based on the concept of andragogy, SDL has been described as a procedure in which learners take responsibility for their own learning, try to find and understand their own learning needs, and set goals. To fulfill the purpose of the study, sixty Iranian second language learners at the upper intermediate level were selected based on the results of PET as the proficiency English test. They also receive a pretest of speaking accuracy before experiencing the treatment. Following 8 weeks of instruction the participants took a post test of speaking accuracy as well as the self-directed Readiness scale questionnaire. The findings revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the participants in the control group. These findings could be employed by EFL learners, teachers, material developers and curriculum develops in the ELT domain.

Studying the relationship between self-directed learning and speaking accuracy of learners could be significant as its results may help the learners gain better speaking abilities. To fulfill the purpose of the study, sixty Iranian second language learners at the upper intermediate level were selected based on the results of PET as the proficiency english test. They also receive a pretest of speaking accuracy before experiencing the treatment. Following 8 weeks of instruction the participants took a post test of speaking accuracy as well as the self-directed Readiness scale questionnaire. The findings revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the ones in the control group. The results of the study could be employed by EFL teachers to help the learners gain better results in their attempts to learn English as a foreign language.

Iranian EFL students who were studying English at the advanced level in Language Institute in Bandar Abbas, Iran were chosen based on their performance in a TOEFL PBT from among 80 EFL learners to shape the participants of the study. The participants received the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), which has been validated by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995) and a standard copy of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) developed by Guglielmino (1977). The findings of the present study revealed that there was a significant relationship between Self-Efficacy Belief and self-directed learning of Iranian EFL learners at the advanced level of Language Proficiency. The findings of the study could be used by English teachers, and EFL learners in the EFL and ESL context.

The present study was an attempt to investigate the relationship among self-efficacy belief, self-directed learning, and critical thinking among advanced EFL Learners in a private language institute in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Sixty Iranian EFL students who were chosen based on their performance in a TOEFL PBT from among 80 EFL learners to shape the participants of the study. The participants received a validated copy of Honey s'(2004) critical thinking questionnaire, a standard copy of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) developed by Guglielmino (1977), and The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), which has been validated by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995). The findings of the present study revealed that firstly, there was a significant relationship between self-directed learning and self-efficacy belief of Iranian EFL learners. Secondly, the results revealed that there was a significant relationship between critical thinking and self-efficacy belief of Iranian EFL learners, and thirdly, it was revealed that there was a significant relationship between critical thinking and self-directed learning of Iranian EFL learners. Findings of the present study could be used by material developers, English teachers, and EFL learners in the EFL and ESL context.

The present study is a quantitative and experimental survey that measured the accuracy of using two functions of English article system, namely definite article " the " and indefinite articles " a " and " an " during eight weeks using pre-test and post-test. Sixty students including 20 in each group participated in the study to determine which kind of teacher written corrective feedback affects writing accuracy more. The control group did not receive WCF on specific grammar errors; the first experimental group received direct WCF; the second experimental received indirect WCF. The results of the study demonstrated that direct WCF affected students' performance more.

The relationship between professors’ perception about BA students' autonomy and
learners’ actual level of autonomy is the base of this study. This study attempted to shed
light on the factors that contribute to learners’ autonomy. Fifty undergraduate EFL students
and twenty-two EFL professors from Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas, Iran served
as the participants of the current study. Two questionnaires, one for students, and one for
teachers were chosen as the instruments of the current study. After collecting data, the
statistical analysis was done. The results of the study demonstrated that there is a positive
relationship between teachers’ perception about learners’ autonomy and learners’ actual
level of autonomy. Furthermore, those factors which foster learners’ autonomy were
identified.

Nowadays most researchers argue that incorporating vocabulary in classroom tasks can facilitate vocabulary teaching. The goal of the study was to investigate the impact of collaboration on vocabulary development of teenage EFL learners in a language institute in Kahnouj. To this purpose and as an experimental method of research, two intact groups of learners were chosen to participate in the experiment. The population of the study was made up of 85 EFL learners in a language institute in Kahnouj. To homogenize the study subjects, an Oxford Placement Test was administered and only those subjects whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected for the study. The other instrument was using two sets of vocabulary tests which were used to tap the initial vocabulary knowledge of the learners in both groups: pre and post vocabulary tests. The same type of material was used for both experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). In other words, the learners in both groups were instructed through the same sources, the same teacher, and the same teaching hours. Based on the achieved data, the participants in the CG did not benefit from the individual teaching processes as much as the learners in EG.

The present study primarily investigated the relationship between lecturers’ perception about learners’ autonomy and learners’ actual level of autonomy. This study also tried to shed light on the factors that contribute to learners’ autonomy. 50 undergraduate students and 22 professors of English major from Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas served as the participants of the current study. Two questionnaires, one for students, and one for teachers were chosen as the instruments of the current study. After collecting data through instruments, the statistical analysis was done. The results of the study demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between teachers’ perception about learners’ autonomy and learners’ actual level of autonomy. Furthermore, those factors which foster learners’ autonomy were identified. The present study has also some theoretical and pedagogical implications for both language learners and language teachers.

The present research examined the role of written corrective feedback (WCF) in enhancing writing
accuracy of Iranian Intermediate learners. The present study is quantitative and experimental survey that
measured the accuracy of using two functions of English article system, namely definite article “the” and
indefinite article “a” and “an” during eight weeks using pre-test and post-test. Sixty students including (20
control group, 20 experimental group,20 experimental group) participated in the study to determine which
kind of teacher written corrective feedback affects writing accuracy more. (1) Control group did not receive
WCF on specific grammar errors; group (2) received direct WCF; group (3) received indirect WCF. The
results of the study demonstrated that direct (WCF) affected students’ performance more.

This study was an attempt to determine whether a genre-based instruction improves the L2
reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, thirty homogenous Iranian BA
Students studying English at Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas Branch were selected as
the participants of the study using a version of TOEFL test. The selected participants were
15 females and 15 males who were randomly divided into two groups (an experimental
group and a control group). Nevertheless, the experimental group and the control group
took a reading-comprehension pretest followed by sixteen hours instruction, the
experimental group using a genre-based pedagogy and the control group through the
traditional methodology conventional in teaching reading comprehension. The two groups
took the same test that they had taken as the pre-test, albeit this time as the posttest. In
analyzing the data, the researchers utilized t-test for comparing the two groups. The results
of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the L2
reading comprehension of the participants who went under a genre-based instruction and
who did not. Furthermore, the study investigated the role of gender which led to nonsignificant
differences between the performances of the two genders.

This paper investigated the relationship between professors’ perception about BA students'
autonomy and learners’ actual level of autonomy. This research also attempted to shed light
on the factors that contribute to learners’ autonomy. Fifty undergraduate students and
twenty-two professors of English major from Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas, Iran
served as the participants of the current study. Two questionnaires, one for students, and one
for teachers were chosen as the instruments of the current study. After collecting data
through instruments, the statistical analysis was done. The results of the study demonstrated
that there is a positive relationship between teachers’ perception about learners’ autonomy
and learners’ actual level of autonomy. Furthermore, those factors which foster learners’
autonomy were identified. The present study has also some theoretical and pedagogical
implications for both language learners and language teachers.

For many years, different ways of teaching new words have been used in curriculum
planning. Nowadays most researchers argue that incorporating vocabulary in classroom
tasks can facilitate vocabulary teaching. The goal of the current study was to investigate the
impact of collaboration on vocabulary development of teenage EFL learners in a language
institute Iran. To this purpose and as an experimental method of research, two intact
groups of learners were chosen to participate in the experiment. The population of the
study was made up of eighty five EFL learners in a language institute in Iran. To homogenize
the study subjects, an Oxford Placement Test was administered and only those subjects
whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected for the
study. The other instrument was using two sets of vocabulary tests which were used to tap
the initial vocabulary knowledge of the learners in both groups: pre and post vocabulary
tests. The same type of material was used for both experimental group (EG) and control
group (CG). In other words, the learners in both groups were instructed through the same
sources, the same teacher, and the same teaching hours. Results revealed that, the
participants in the CG did not benefit from the individual teaching processes as much as the
learners in EG. That is, the learners in the CG in spite of depending on the teacher and his
assistance in various level of vocabulary presentation did not improve as satisfactorily as the
EG and thus were left behind the EG.

مفهوم زمان، بدون در نظر گرفتن معناي فلسفي آن به شكلي كه هايدگر، سارتر، شوپنهاور و ويتگنشتاين و عده‌اي ديگر به آن نگريسته‌اند، شايد زياد پرمايه و معني‌دار نباشداما معناي زمان بدون قرار دادن در چارچوب فلسفي، مي‌تواند به تنهايي نيز معناي عميق و دل‌انگيزي داشته باشد. آيا امكان وجود زندگي بدون آنچه كه ما را محدوده زماني مي‌ناميم وجود دارد؟ آيا اگر چارچوبهاي زماني حال آينده و گذشته را كنار بگذاريم ويا اگر اينها را در ادبيات به هم بياميزيم، به مرزها و مفاهيم جديدي در نقد ادبيات و پي بردن به مشكل انساني در تلاش براي فرار از مفهوم زمان خواهيم رسيد؟ اين مقاله در تلاش است كه نظرات چند تن از نمايشنامه‌نويسان، شاعران و رمان‌نويسان مختلف غربی و ایرانی را در مورد اهميت زمان بدون در نظر گرفتن مفهوم فلسفي (تسلسل در بحث) بررسي كند.

As CAIs have specific meanings in the Source culture, translating such elements are a kind of challenge for translators. According to Venuti (5999), translation of texts from one culture into another usually requires more than a simple choice of translation procedures, namely domestication and foreignization. In any translation project, the initial decision between which procedures to adopt, either a domesticating or a foreignizing one may affect the whole translation process. The present research is a qualitative study of the translation of CSIs in Science-fiction from English into Persian. The goal of this study is to explore how translators domesticates or foreignizes, in different cultural domains, by different means, to different extents, with different degrees of consistency in translation of English version of French author (Jules Vern) in to Persian in Science Fiction Literature. For this purpose, twelve chapter of two English version of Jules Vern books were selected, based on some theories proposed by Espindola and Vasconcellos (600:), and Molina and Albir's models of translation (60062909), by contrasting each ST-TL pair as the unit of translation, one hundred and ninety two instances of CSIs extracted and classified in to 50 of procedures of Domestication and Foreignization Translation Strategies that proposed by Molina and Albir. According to result of study, foreignization strategy is the superior strategy in translating English in to Persian of Culture-Specific items in Science Fiction Literature, although by putting aside calque procedure, it can be seen slight different between domestication and foreignization strategies.

The reality of today " s classrooms is that students have varied abilities and needs. The diverse population of learners includes students who are high performing in reading as well as those who struggle with reading. This research concerns struggling readers. The goal of teachers is to identify struggling readers and discover ways to address the reading needs of those students. Pinnell (6004) stated that teachers have a common goal: to make literacy a true part of the lives of all students. There are many interventions to help struggling readers. Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term reading intervention program designed to help the children develop effective strategies for reading and reach average levels for their particular peer group (Fountas & Pinnell, 6994). Research has confirmed the positive impact of RR on readers who struggle (Allington, principles of scientific reading instruction: (a) classroom organization; (b) matching pupils to texts; (c) access to interesting texts, choice, and collaboration; (d) writing and reading; and (e) expert tutoring. Research has shown that RR addresses four of these five principles.

Autonomy in learning and teaching plays a pivotal role for language acquisition and by knowing learners VAK strategy (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), teachers can perform better. Also, such teachers who are aware of learners' preferences in learning styles are successful in their teaching. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between EFL learners' autonomy and their sensory learning style. To meet the above purpose, a number of 50 male and 50 female students participated in the present study. After homogenizing them with TOEFL and Nelson tests and taking the VAK and Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (LAQ), the correlation of learners' autonomy and sensory learning was calculated according to Spearman correlation coefficient. The result showed that the language autonomy in two universities is not equal whereas both universities are equal in sensory learning skills. That is, the language autonomy of Hormozgan University students is more than Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas Branch. And Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas Branch students' sensory learning styles affect their language autonomy.

Reading is an important language skill and a highly complicated act that everyone should learn.
When a teacher teaches the reading technique in fact he or she can teaches some skills such as
(writing, speaking, vocabulary items, grammar, and spelling and other language aspects) at the
same time. So it is very important to students and teachers because the students can expand their
world knowledge by it.L2 learners cans comprehending or understanding the meaning of the text
by reading a text. Also the learners must to comprehend what they read and then summarize it, so
the teacher must enabling the learners to become more proficient readers in comprehend the text.
Some teachers use the short story to enhance students' reading proficiency. The short story is
exciting to students. Therefore, it makes students sensitive to the hidden and implied meaning. It
is suitable techniqueto help students to enhance their reading comprehension skill. It is more
effectively because of the motivational benefit in the stories. According to the Richard and Schmidt
(2006), intensive reading is related to further progress in language learning under the teacher’s
guidance. It provides a basis for explaining difficulties of structure and for extending knowledge
of vocabulary and idiom.It has had a great impact on language teaching and learning. By short
storiesthe teacher makes interest in students and helps them to enhance their vocabulary domain,
critical thinking also by it their writing is better. Birlik and Salli-Coper (2007) pointed out that
short story are used as literacy genre in the foreign language classrooms, with all levels of language
proficiency, all age groups and in many classroom activities (p. 93).Also, they explained how a
short story can be adapted in a university level intermediate EFL class for three different language
focuses: grammar, writing and speaking. The present study investigates the effects of oral
summarizing of short stories on reading comprehension of Elementary EFL students.

The translation of theatre text can be looked at and analyzed from a variety of different point of views. One can focus on the literary value of the text and view the translation of a particular text or author in a foreign language as an indicator of how they were received in the foreign country, or from a different standpoint, decide to focus on the nature of the theatrical sign and to investigate the dramatic text and its performance from the perspective of the translation process (Marinetti, 2007) This study will look at the translation of theatre text, first in descriptive view and explain about different theoretical aspect about translation of theatre texts, and then will be examined the translation of some cultural items in two translated drama text.

The black literature as one of the most dominant literary movements, genres, and features of Modern American literature worth the better and deeper study. Since the black literature, here especially American Black Drama, based on the social and racial concepts which show a kind of protesting and fighting with oppressions and discrimination which are dominant in the modern American society and according to the Marxist view and Blacks' ideal utopia that they wish in their writing, making and building this kind of ideal and utopian society needs facing with different challenges. Baraka's Dutchman tries to portray, symbolically and allegorically, the bitter reality which is in the American society. The writer of this paper tries to present a new analysis according to the African-American writers' prevailing and leading views which has been blended with Marxist literary criticism for any kind of objection and protection against the whites' social norms which are based on sexual(gender), racial and social discrimination.

Universal concepts and globalization in literature has created new areas of literary studying. American Indian's literature has a great deep root which its traces can be followed in modern and postmodern American literature. Although most of the American Indians' oral literature and their universal concepts have not recorded, there are many literary evidences that their culture, rites and ceremonies have extensive influence on the American culture, literature and globalization of literature and has created a kind of multicultural literature that reflects universal concept and globalization which can be studied based on new historical criticism.

The archetypal motif of quest is evident in each work. Each text also contains contrasting images of sterility in the cultural realm of the symbolic “fathers” and images of rejuvenation and renewal in the realm of the Great Mother - the pre-patriarchal natural world and its cyclical processes of transformation. In each novel, the world of the fathers – the human being and the sense of the masculine self – is contrasted with the realm of the unconscious feminine archetypes: the shadow, the anima/animus, the primordial feminine, the wise old man and himself. Although Hemingway's depictions of fishing, bullfighting, hunting, war, and other male-dominated occupations often categorize his work as "masculine," close study of the text shows images and symbols that are "feminine" in nature. Not only (and not always) Hemingway's women, but also his protagonists, display archetypal feminine traits.
Jungian criticism, with its suggestions for individuation and self-realization in individuals, has been an important source for scholars in the field of applied healing literature. However, Jung's traditional approach to literature has been criticized in recent years, especially for its apparent universal assumptions and insensitivity to context-specific issues in literature.
copy. For similar reasons, neo-Jungian critics have recently explored the possibility of reconciling Jungian concepts with more contextual literary theories.

Outline of this MA thesis is presented in this chapter. In General Overview, a
summary and brief review of discussion is given. The main discussion is discussed
in the Statement of the Problem. The Research Questions include three fundamental
questions regarding the main discussion of this thesis. In the next part, the
2
methodology presents how this thesis is done and which sources are used. The
Review of Literature presents the other existent researches on the main discussion
of this thesis. The Significance of Study finally expresses the aims and concerns of
this research and in fact the importance of what is discussed in this thesis.
Taken for granted, real space in fiction has its own espistemological, ontological,
anthropological, and etiological components in its setting. Now, in Cyborgian Space
all the aforementioned is metamorphosized. So, what are the characteristics of the
Cyborgian Fiction through the focalization of the abovementioned paradigms? The
root of all the aforementioned concepts is in postmodernism and posthumanism. In
cyborgian world there are not any binary oppositions and dualisms in the literary,
cultural, social and political dimensions and systems; therefore, all the borderlines
are disturbed and transgressed dear dr. As a matter of fact that the cyborg is a creature
of social reality or creature of fictional reality. The fictional character or subject is
fragmented and partial because it is, in the one hand, partly human and partly or semi
animal; on the other hand, it is partly human and partly technological machine. In
fact, we do not have any essentialism and conceptualism of human nature, human
subjectivity and human identity in the cyborgian world. In history and Western
knowledge, the human fiction is epistemologized, metamorphosized, fabricated and
theorized hybridity of human and organism due to the cyborgian, transgenetic
theories because we were and are cyborgs. We are onthological and biopolitical in
posthumanism. It gives us our politics and bioidentity. As a whole, the aim of
cyborgian technology is to increase the capacity of human beings, and to make him
more humanized; however, the condition of human identity and subjectivity is in
transition unfortunately

Reading comprehension is a skill that is critical in the educational success of all individuals.
So, it is necessary to help students to master this vital skill. By reading, the teachers can teach
some skills such as (writing, speaking, vocabulary items, grammar, and spelling and other
language aspects) at the same time. So by these features of reading, the students can expand
their world knowledge, also the students can grow their interests, and finding solutions to their
own problems. The main purpose of the present study was to discover the effect of oral
summarizing of short stories on reading comprehension of elementary EFL learners. Fifty male
and female students participated in this study. After the proficiency test, they were randomly
selected as the participants of this study and were assigned into experimental and control
groups. A set of reading comprehension items selected from IELTS1 was used as pre-test. Oral
summarizing of short stories was used as the treatment in the experimental group and the routine
instruction was applied in the control group. After 16 sessions, both groups were given an
identical post-test; the items were taken from IELTS1.T-test was employed for statistical
analysis. The result indicated that there was a significant difference between experimental and
control group performance. It meant that oral summarizing of short stories had a positive effect
on reading comprehension of elementary EFL learners.
Key Words: Oral summarizing, Short Stories, reading comprehension, Literatur

As CAIs have specific meanings in the Source culture, translating such
elements are a kind of challenge for translators. According to Venuti
(1995), translation of texts from one culture into another usually requires
more than a simple choice of translation procedures, namely domestication
and foreignization. In any translation project, the initial decision between
which procedures to adopt, either a domesticating or a foreignizing one
may affect the whole translation process. The present research is a
qualitative study of the translation of CSIs in Science-fiction from English
into Persian. The goal of this study is to explore how translators
domesticates or foreignizes, in different cultural domains, by different
means, to different extents, with different degrees of consistency in
translation of English version of French author (Jules Vern) in to Persian
in Science Fiction Literature. For this purpose, twelve chapter of two
English version of Jules Vern books were selected, base on some theories
proposed by Espindola and Vasconcellos (2006), and Molina and Albir’s
models of translation (2002:509), by contrasting each ST-TL pair as the
unit of translation, one hundred and ninety two instances of CSIs extracted
and classified in to 10 of procedures of Domestication and Foriegnization
Translation Strategies that proposed by Molina and Albir. According to
result of study, foriegnization strategy is the superior strategy in translating
English in to Persian of Culture-Specific items in Science Fiction
Literature, although by putting aside calque procedure, it can be seen slight
different between domestication and foriegnization strategies
Key words: Foriegnization, Domestication, Translation Strategy, CulturalSpecific Items, Science Fiction

The purpose of the present thesis is to assess the process of Cal Stephandies’s self-quest in Middlesex novel by Jeffrey Eugandies. The protagonist’s quest is obtained through a journey of hero in search of his true self with free will. To achieve the mentioned goal of the thesis, Lacanian theory is applied to show how Collipe or cal, as an intersex person, in his journey of quest gains knowledge, the fruit of quest, about himself. Moreover, how she/he challenges problems.
  Mirror stage, Object, desire and narcissism are concepts of Lacan theory, which is used in this thesis to analyze Cal/Collipe’s discovery stages and its process. Middlesex novel deals with gender ambiguity, and protagonist’s quest is associated with psychological and physical changes.
    As a queer, the protagonist assesses and reveals inequalities, discriminations, problems which queers are dealing with in second and third wave of feminism and highlights the role of patriarchy in maintaining the oppression of women and LGBTQI communities. Thus feminism experiences are so obvious through the novel. They can show the reader how an intersex could have feminist concerns even when his gender role identified as a male.
Key words:
Middlesex, self-quest, Lacan theory, intersex, feminism, queer

In recent decades, both narratology and feminist studies have become established as highly influential fields of study. One area that combines insights from both is the development of feminist narratology. Feminist narratology is a burgeoning field in the study of language and literature. The analysis presented here considers this in light of the potential relationship(s) between race, gender and narrativity. Particular reference is made to the fiction by contemporary black female American authors. The black female heroines and characters are portrayed not as individuals but rather as symbols and as a collective representative of the black female gender and their situation at the time. The black female characters are rarely  great heroines in post/modern novels and plays and it shows that very few novelists and playwrights have tried to show  their important positions in the family, society, politics and other areas such different sciences. According to Charles Banner-Haley the concept of race for African Americans has been tied up with slavery. Therefore race and culture share the same boundaries for African Americans and thus both race and ethnicity are socially constructed identities. The great ladies in all of these field have been emerged but just few of them such as Alice Walker’s, Tony Morrison’s and other black female writers’ characters became famous and popular. This study tries to point to some critical fields that show and prove that there are so many hidden black females such as Dorothy Vaughan    (the first African-American NASA’s supervisor, Mary Jackson NASA’s first female African –American aeronautics engineer and finally Katherine G Jackson NASA’s great space planner who was rewarded the presidential medal by Obama), and other outstanding black heroines whose personalities have changed the some of social routine ways. This study generally analyses without any case study the themes of quest, identity and importance of black female characters and writers in African-American literature.
Key words
Quest, Identity: Black Female Heroine, African-American, Postmodern Literature

Frederic Jameson one of the greatest philosophers with so many ideas about postmodern society, determinism and social situations has a great influence on the modern and postmodern literary criticism which have mingled and mixed with social, psychological, and economic views. The theme of determinism and existence of antihero are not separable from socialistic, Marxist ,postmodern literary criticism since these elements are the main structures of modern and postmodern literatures which their heroes are adoptable with Aristotelian views about traditional and cliché heroes such as Oedipus ,Ulysses and others. The characters of T. Dreiser’s masterpieces (An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie) can be analyzed for showing that these characters in modern literature do not follow Aristotelian patterns and frameworks about traditional and cliché heroes and they are dominated and social, psychological, economical and ethical restrictions and can be called gods’ modern puppets.
Keywords: Antihero, Determinism, Jameson, Dreiser, American Tragedy, Sister Carrie.

Ian McEwan born on 21st June 1948 is a very prominent British writer, novelist and screenwriter. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire although he spent his early childhood in different countries such as Singapore, Germany and Libya. He went to ‘Woolverstone Hall School’ and for further education enrolled in University of Sussex from where he received his Bachelor in English Literature in 1970. It was then when he first realized his passion for writing. So he started working towards getting published and getting recognized publically. He also attended the University of East Anglia where he did a course in creative writing.
His first book was a collection of short stories named ‘First Love, Last Rites’ which was published in 1975. The book was highly acclaimed winning the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976. His second published work was also a short story collection called ‘In Between the Sheets’ and it was published in 1978. Two of his early novels called ‘The Cement Garden’ and ‘The Comfort of Strangers’ were published in 1978 and 1981 respectively and gave him his nickname ‘Ian Macabre’. After these novels he wrote ‘The Child in Time’ (1987) and ‘The Innocent’ (1990) and ‘Black Dogs’ (1992). ‘The Child in Time’ won the 1987 ‘Whitebread Novel Award’. His works also include two children’s books titled ‘Rose Blanche’ (1985) and ‘The Daydreamer’ (1994).
In 2013, McEwan sharply criticised Stephen Hawking for boycotting a conference in Israel as well as the boycott campaign in general, stating that there are many countries "whose governments we might loathe or disapprove of" but "Israel–Palestine has become sort of tribal and a touchstone for a certain portion of the intellectual classes. I say this in the context of thinking it is profoundly wrong of the Israeli government not to be pursuing more actively and positively and creatively a solution with the Palestinians. That's why I think one wants to go to these places to make the point. Turning away will not produce any result."
In 2013 as part of a wide-ranging interview with Channel 4 News, McEwan reflected upon the furore that surrounded his remarks on Islamism in 2008, stating "I remember getting a lot of stick five or six years ago saying something disobliging about jihadists. There were voices, particularly on the left, that thought anyone who criticised Islamism was really criticising Islam and therefore racist. Well, those voices have gone quiet because the local atrocities committed by Islamists whether in Pakistan or Mali is so self-evidently vile."[54] In the same interview, McEwan remarked that he felt that protestors of the 2003 Iraq War were "vindicated" by what happened subsequently; argued that the chief legacy of the Iraq War was that "[...] sometimes there are things we could do [before that war] which we no longer can" in foreign affairs; stated that at one point prior to the 2003 invasion he had hoped to be able to seek an audience with Tony Blair to persuade him not to go ahead with the war; and as someone who voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 UK general election, that the current coalition government of the United Kingdom should end, stating "Let's either have a Tory government or let Ed Miliband try something different," to try and turn around a country of "great inequity". McEwan is traditionally a Labour supporter and said he had his "fingers crossed" that Miliband would become Prime Minister.

The evidence from a variety of studies showed that irony processing, as its recognition is culturally dependent, places a higher cognitive demand on recipients such as hearers, readers, translators than its literal equivalent. This indicates that it requires pragmatic contextual evaluations of the utterance. The comics are a literary and artistic form whose unique traits are often neglected and they are rarely translated in Iran. They are based on the interaction of binary system of speaker/hearer, writer/reader, translator and reader and in an ironic utterance; it is also between ironist and victim. This study aims to show the usefulness of pragmatics for verbal irony in Comics. In doing so, the researcher designs a research model and the translator's strategy to analyse the translations of verbal irony in "a confederacy of dunces".
Key words: Verbal Irony, Comics, Pragmatics, Confederacy of Dunces, Translator's Strategy

Modernism impacted music, art and literature by radically undoing traditional forms, expressing a sense of modern life as a sharp break from the past and its rigid conventions. Existentialism is the philosophy that makes life feasible. When we understand what it means we are well on our way to understanding what existentialism is all about and what the existentialists saw themselves while experiencing about philosophical matters. The existentialism and loneliness of modern man among crow of the society are the main themes of Saul Bellows masterpieces which need to be clarified the combination of the two significant literary and social factors in this study, namely, modern man and existentialism and their exploration in Saul Bellow’s works of are not much investigated in the literature. Saul Bellow (1915-2005) stands distinct from the most of literary intellectuals in his approach towards life. He tried to drift against the flow of river. Most of the people found it hard to see a pattern in the evolution of life. Saul Bellow paints a humanizing picture of American culture and a sympathetic portrait of struggle to find commands to solve these problems. The difficulty of understanding the philosophical and social concepts in S. Bellow’s great novels cause English language and literature students encounter with so many misunderstanding in his novels  the concepts such as modernity, modern man , existentialism, labyrinth of life , meanings and loneliness in modern society. The dominant ideologies in the postmodern era incorporate, to a large extent, the notions of existentialism and modern man. Dangling Man, his first novel was published in 1944. The novel is in the form of a diary. Herzog is the story of an intellectual, who tries to cope with the divorce in his second marriage. On the verge of insanity, Herzog resorts to excrete his emotions and ideas on paper in the form of unpublished letters.
Keywords: Modern man, S. Bellow, Existentialism, Dangling Man, Herzog.