The Space of the place in stranger of the river by Jamal Naji

Abstract

This study aims at examining the spatial location in Jamal Naji's novel stranger of the river . I applied in the analysis the concepts of narration and description , It analysis space based on specific binary oppositions: east and west, the sky and the earth, the opened and closed place, and the individual and collective place. The study shows that the border line between the east and the west in the novel is the Jordan River which separates the spatial location in the literary work into two uncrossed spaces. Both spaces indicate opposing values, for example, safety in the east is against fear in the west. The study also analyses the way the novelist relates the sky, the earth, and underground as three horizontal dimensions. Furthermore, it shows that the closed and individual spaces usually suggest freedom and privacy, while the open and collective spaces mostly forces the individual to submit to others and their rules.