چكيده لاتين :
Each literary work is a sign of its writer’ ideology and thoughts, and is based
on the social and political context of the community. Reza Baraheni, the
author of the Novel “Mysteries of My Land”, as a social reformer, influenced
by the atmosphere of the ruling community in Iran, especially Tabriz during
the years from 1959 to 1979, expressed his social-political ideas with the aim
of reforming society. Thus analyzing the writer’s thoughts is important from
the point of view of post-colonial literature. The present study is done via the
content analysis method to investigate the intellectual themes of the novel,
such as tradition and modernity, social disadvantages, status of women in
society, Self and the Other, apolitism, lack of self-esteem, and subaltern and
hegemony, and anti-colonialism .The research results depict that this novel,
drawing on the components of post-colonial literature, illustrates themes such
as the confrontation between tradition and modernity, the male dominance of
the traditional society, western subaltern and hegemony, moral issues, lack of
self-esteem, and identity fragmentation. But, on the contrary, relying on
mythological beliefs and ideas to achieve the former identity, the novel also
promotes the struggle against the belief in the supremacy of Western race as
well as anti-colonialism.
Keywords: literary criticism, postcolonial literature, ideology, Reza
Baraheni, Mysteries of My Land
28 Persian Language and Literature, Vol. 71, Issue 238, Fall & Winter 2018- 2019
The novel “Mysteries of My Land" can be a true reflection of the
society, traditions, customs and reactions of the people of Tabriz during
the above-mentioned twenty years, i.e. from 1959 to 1979. In fact, the
influence of the westerns in Iran began almost two hundred years ago
along with Russian wars with Iran, but its peak and intensity started in
1941, when and also thereafter, the British and Russians forces were
present in the west and north of Iran. Some writers such as Al-e Ahmad,
Barahani, Sa'edi, Daneshvar and Ravanipour responded to the influence
of foreigners in Iran during this period, and produced works with the
themes among which the postcolonial themes are the most striking
aspects of storytelling. Accordingly, the questions raised in this study
are as follows: What are the components of postcolonial literature in
Reza Baraheni's novel? What are the social and political fields affecting
this novel? How did the Iranian society, especially in Tabriz, treated
colonialism and colonialists?
Postcolonial literature, expressing liberation and freedom from
colonialism and gaining the political and cultural independence of
peoples under the colonial rule, extends to its own themes and different
styles. Consequently, postcolonial theory is one of the most important
literary theories coexisting with the postmodern era, especially since
structuralism shaded on the field of Western culture and the "white
myth", and introduced the West as the source of science, knowledge,
and philosophy, and the birthplace of theories and methods. This type
of literature, aiming to illegitimate the power of colonialism by force
and nation-building, has completely historical implications, notifying
the post-independence period. Therefore, the intellectual themes of the
novel of “Mysteries of My Land” by Reza Baraheni can be considered
as components of post-colonial criticism such as tradition and
modernity, social disadvantages, status of women in society, Self and
the Other, apolitism, lack of self-esteem, subaltern and hegemony, and
anti-colonialism.
This novel is a realist one that sometimes comes near magical
realism. Baraheni considers events as an evolutionary process, not as a
series of distinct phenomena that are related to each other and the
historical conditions, in a way that the contradiction and solidarity of
social life are introduced. Although this work can be considered
Postcolonial Criticism of the Novel "The Secrets of My Land'… 29
magical realism in terms of mythical components, which is one of the
roots of indigenous culture, its realism is more highlighted based on the
memories and narratives of the characters.
Reza Baraheni pursued another goal in the face of seemingly
political events and with the abundance of words in texts. In addition to
his pencils, he induces his thoughts to the reader, and, with the political
and social goals, expresses these positions depending on the narration
of each character. Positions reflecting the writer’s ideology are political
from several perspectives:
a. In the opening part of the novel, which is narrated with the thirdperson narrative mode, it reflects Baraheni’s opposition with the
Americans and his convergence with the Soviet Union, as it is
clearly visible in the dialogue between the interpreter and Davis,
the American. In the novel, Baraheni is constantly talking about
the disagreements of the Americans with Iran, but there is no
place in the novel about the dispute between Iran and the Soviet
Union, and in reality, Gorg (Wolf) the Alien Killer, is a
"socialist nationalist" who killed a Russian Cossack, not a
soldier from the Soviet Union.
b. In addition to the idea of the struggle against colonialism which
came through championship of Gorg the Alien Killer,
Baraheni’s political thoughts deal with the struggle against the
ruling regime; that is, Baraheni discussed intellectual
disagreements with the regime of Pahlavi and their government
officials. The novel, from the section of the American Captain
and Iranian Colonel, gradually criticizes the ruling government
in the context of the social and economic problems.
c. Another case that can introduce us to another approach to
Baraheni's political thoughts in this novel is the characters’
efforts to achieve revolution. He gives a glimpse of a revolution
in the great part of the novel, either by bringing in dreams and
dreams, or by events and letters, which must be tolerated in
order to achieve that demonstration. Baraheni predicts
revolution in the dream of Hossein Mirza as the symbol of the
rhythm of miserable life of the masses. Thus, he portrays the
revolution that he sees in Hossein Mirza’s dream about after the
30 Persian Language and Literature, Vol. 71, Issue 238, Fall & Winter 2018- 2019
demonstrations and events, attaches it to the first issue, i.e. the
colonialists’ struggle with the national spirit, and knows Gorg
the Alien Killer as its protector.
In addition, in a specific style derived from Baraheni’s own ideology
towards the ruling government and the Westerners, there is a picture of
his socialist thought, the nationality of the people, distancing from the
colonialism of the West and the achievement of freedom. This is
because his ideology sought to signify the social and economic
disadvantages, subaltern and hegemony, and the issue of supremacy of
the superior race and position of women in the society, which ultimately
endowed with the spirit of anti-colonialism and identity recognition,
wisdom and the mercenary of Gorg the AlienKiller, i.e. the embodiment
of the Iranians’ eternal anger and hatred of the invading aliens and the
defeat of colonialism. The research results depict that this novel,
drawing on the components of post-colonial literature, illustrates
themes such as the confrontation between tradition and modernity, the
male dominance of the traditional society, western subaltern and
hegemony, moral issues, lack of self-esteem, and identity
fragmentation. But, on the contrary, relying on mythological beliefs and
ideas to achieve the former identity, the novel also promotes the
struggle against belief in the supremacy of Western race as well as anticolonialism.
