Representations of Identity and the Fragmentation of the Self in Sinan Anton’s Novels: A Cultural-Narrative Analysis

Abstract

             Identity in the Arabic novel is a subject of great importance in Arabic studies, as it is regarded as a central narrative theme concerned with revealing the changes and fractures experienced by the self; it represents an attempt to understand the Arab self within a shifting global context characterised by stability, transformation, convergence and divergence. This study aims to analyse representations of identity in the novels of the Iraqi writer Sinan Antoon, through a critical reading of three novels: *The Pomegranate Tree*, *O Maryam*, and *Index*, in the light of the events witnessed by Iraq after 2003. The study began with the following question: how is identity formed and transformed in the face of violence, sectarianism and exile? Identity in these novels is not a fixed given, but a dynamic structure that takes shape and is formed under the influence of violence, memory, religion and exile.

The study employed a cultural approach and narrative analysis, drawing on a number of contemporary theoretical frameworks, such as the concepts of Stuart Hall, Anthony Giddens, Paul Ricoeur, Harlems, Holborn, Martin Heidegger, Alex Michelelli and Edward Said. The body of the study comprised a three-part analysis: deconstructing the relationship between the body and death in the context of violence; examining religious and social identity in the context of sectarian division; and exploring the relationship between exile and writing in the reconfiguration of identity. The study concluded that identity in Sinan Antoon’s novels is characterised by fragmentation and fluidity, as the body becomes a site of violence and memory serves as a tool. For resistance, whilst sectarianism and exile reshape belonging. Furthermore, the study highlighted

The role of writing as a means of preserving identity in the face of extinction. The academic novelty of the study lies in presenting a comprehensive critical reading of a contemporary novelistic project, revealing the mechanisms that shape identity in Iraqi narrative as an open-ended process of transformation within a troubled historical context. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between literature and identity in the contemporary Iraqi context, and offers a comprehensive critical analysis of an important novelistic project in modern Arabic literature.