<p>This thesis
argues that <i>Morituri</i> by Yasmina Khadra and <i>White Masks</i> by Elias
Khoury use the genre of the detective novel as a pretext for social and
political critique of Algeria and Lebanon respectively. This thesis links the generic (crime
fiction) and the conceptual (Political and Social Critique in Modern Arab
World). While the
detective novel is traditionally thought of as a non-academic, entertaining
part of popular culture, the use of the genre to critique the failure of nation
building after colonization elevates the genre and transforms it from mere
entertainment to a more serious genre. Both novels are emblematic of a shift in
the use of the detective and crime novel to address the political disarray in
their respective states and the Arab world as a whole. As modern examples of
detective novels in the modern Arab world, <i>Morituri</i> and <i>White Masks</i>
transform the genre through their complex interweaving of aspects of the
popular genre of detective fiction with the more serious political novel. The
historical and political context of both countries at the time of the novels’
settings are an intrinsic part of understanding the crimes and the obfuscation
of the perpetrator. In both of these novels, the technical and generic aspects
are connected to the thematic, and the detective novel structure is not just
there for suspense and entertainment. Instead, this structure points to the
neocolonial system, benefitting the most powerful and the most affluent at the
expense of the weak, poor, and disadvantaged.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/14462445 |
| Date | 07 May 2021 |
| Creators | Rachel Hannah Hackett (10682463) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/CRIME_FICTION_AS_A_LENS_FOR_POLITICAL_AND_SOCIAL_CRITIQUE_IN_THE_MODERN_ARAB_WORLD_ELIAS_KHOURY_S_i_WHITE_MASKS_i_AND_YASMINA_KHADRA_S_i_MORITURI_i_/14462445 |
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