REPRESENTASI PERLAWANAN DALAM SASTRA ARAB MODERN: KAJIAN KOMPARATIF ATAS AL-AJNIḤAH AL-MUTAKASSIRAH KARYA JUBRĀN KHALĪL JUBRĀN DAN AWLĀD ḤĀRATINĀ KARYA NAJĪB MAḤFŪẒ

Abstract

This research was conducted to provide an in-depth comparative analysis of the representation of resistance in two masterpieces of modern Arabic literature that emerged from contrasting socio-cultural coordinates: the novel al-Ajniḥah al-Mutakassirah by Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān and Awlād Ḥāratinā by Najīb Maḥfūẓ. The study aimed to systematically examine the typology of resistance constructed by the two authors against structures of socio-political power. This research employed Susan Bassnett’s comparative literature approach, which emphasized cross-contextual reading and cultural refraction as its primary analytical instruments. This study formulated three categories of resistance: individual-existential, institutional-symbolic, and collective-socio-political. The findings demonstrated that Jubrān constructed resistance through romantic lyricism centered on the sovereignty of the individual soul in confronting ecclesiastical authority and Lebanese patriarchal norms during the mahjar era. In contrast, Maḥfūẓ employed a complex allegorical system of signs, involving the symbols of al-Bayt al-Kabīr (the Big House), al-Jabalāwī, and al-Ḥārah (the Alley), to depict communal resistance against post-revolutionary tyranny in Egypt. The study concluded that although both works shared an anxiety regarding oppression, a fundamental divergence existed in their philosophical resolutions: Jubrān tended toward spiritual escapism, whereas Maḥfūẓ offered a secular vision grounded in scientific rationality as a path toward liberation.