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Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River
This thesis examines the dynamics of dispossession in two (post) colonial novels: Al-waqai‘ al-ghariba fi ikhtifa’ Sa‘id abu al-nahs al-mutasha’il (1974) by the Palestinian novelist Emile Habiby (translated as The Secret Life of Saeed: The Ill-Fated Pessoptimist [1985] by Salma Khadra Jayussi and Tr...
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2013
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Sabry, Mushira Salah El-Deen |
| author_browse | Sabry, Mushira Salah El-Deen |
| author_facet | Sabry, Mushira Salah El-Deen |
| author_sort | Sabry, Mushira Salah El-Deen |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. |
| description | This thesis examines the dynamics of dispossession in two (post) colonial novels: Al-waqai‘ al-ghariba fi ikhtifa’ Sa‘id abu al-nahs al-mutasha’il (1974) by the Palestinian novelist Emile Habiby (translated as The Secret Life of Saeed: The Ill-Fated Pessoptimist [1985] by Salma Khadra Jayussi and Trevor Le Gassick) and Crossing the River (1995) by West Indian novelist Caryl Phillips. Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of the “chronotope,” “carnivalesque,” and “polyphony” are used to show how the two texts avoid using “a rhetoric of blame” (Edward Said’s expression) as their objective. Rather, both novels provide the Other’s version of an event to supplement the mainstream narrative; ultimately creating a multifaceted text that is inclusive. As a result, they creatively expose the ideological hierarchy that perpetuates dispossession, and how it affects both the oppressor and the oppressed. This study also observes parallels shared between them such as the use of racialized discourse to perpetuate the marginalization and dispossession of one group of society. The texts refer to events that the colonizer and the colonized share to expose (hi)stories that were silenced or misrepresented in the mainstream version of events to prompt the reader to explore, uncover and suspect the history written by the victors. Bakhtin’s critical theory illuminates the narrative strategies used by the works to achieve subversion of the hegemonic discourse, introduction of multiple viewpoints, and the weaving of history with imaginative episodes |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1911 |
| institution | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:35:44.926Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| publisherStr | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| spelling | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1911 Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River Sabry, Mushira Salah El-Deen This thesis examines the dynamics of dispossession in two (post) colonial novels: Al-waqai‘ al-ghariba fi ikhtifa’ Sa‘id abu al-nahs al-mutasha’il (1974) by the Palestinian novelist Emile Habiby (translated as The Secret Life of Saeed: The Ill-Fated Pessoptimist [1985] by Salma Khadra Jayussi and Trevor Le Gassick) and Crossing the River (1995) by West Indian novelist Caryl Phillips. Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of the “chronotope,” “carnivalesque,” and “polyphony” are used to show how the two texts avoid using “a rhetoric of blame” (Edward Said’s expression) as their objective. Rather, both novels provide the Other’s version of an event to supplement the mainstream narrative; ultimately creating a multifaceted text that is inclusive. As a result, they creatively expose the ideological hierarchy that perpetuates dispossession, and how it affects both the oppressor and the oppressed. This study also observes parallels shared between them such as the use of racialized discourse to perpetuate the marginalization and dispossession of one group of society. The texts refer to events that the colonizer and the colonized share to expose (hi)stories that were silenced or misrepresented in the mainstream version of events to prompt the reader to explore, uncover and suspect the history written by the victors. Bakhtin’s critical theory illuminates the narrative strategies used by the works to achieve subversion of the hegemonic discourse, introduction of multiple viewpoints, and the weaving of history with imaginative episodes 2013-06-01T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/912 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1911/viewcontent/Mushira_20Sabry_20Thesis_20Final_20800080655_2026_20May_202013.pdf The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Postcolonial theology Eviction |
| spellingShingle | Postcolonial theology Eviction Sabry, Mushira Salah El-Deen Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River |
| title | Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River |
| title_full | Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River |
| title_short | Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River |
| title_sort | unveiling hi stories colonial dispossession in emile habiby s the pessoptimist and caryl phillips crossing the river |
| topic | Postcolonial theology Eviction |
| url | https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/912 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1911/viewcontent/Mushira_20Sabry_20Thesis_20Final_20800080655_2026_20May_202013.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sabrymushirasalaheldeen unveilinghistoriescolonialdispossessioninemilehabibysthepessoptimistandcarylphillipscrossingtheriver |