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The Postmodern Novel in Saudi Arabia and America

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The Postmodern Novel in Saudi Arabia and America University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2017 The oP stmodern Novel in Saudi Arabia and America Mohammed Lafi Alshammari University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the American Literature Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, and the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons Recommended Citation Alshammari, Mohammed Lafi, "The osP tmodern Novel in Saudi Arabia and America" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 2570. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2570 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Postmodern Novel in Saudi Arabia and America A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies by Mohammed Alshammari University of Hail Bachelor of Primary Education in Arabic Language, 2006 Yarmouk University Master of Arts in Arabic Language/Literature and Criticism, 2009 December 2017 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. _________________________________ M. Keith Booker, PhD Dissertation Director _________________________________ ______________________________ Adnan Haydar, PhD Susan Marren, PhD Committee Member Committee Member Abstract In the early twenty-first century, Saudi Arabia is a global economic power that stands as an equal among the other members of the most powerful economic organizations, including as the Group of Twenty and The World Trade Organization. As a result of this economic status and of Saudi Arabia never having been colonized, recent Saudi novels (especially those published after 2001) can usefully be read postmodern, rather than as postcolonial—the usual paradigm in readings of contemporary Arab novels. To establish a reference point, a comparative approach that engages Saudi and American postmodern novels is applied in this dissertation through the critical lens of Fredric Jameson’s theory of postmodernism. I rely on the postmodern features which are listed in M. Keith Booker’s Monsters, Mushroom Clouds, and The Cold War: American Science Fiction and The Roots of Postmodernism, 1946-1964. Girls of Riyadh by Rajā al-Sani', Throwing Sparks by Abdo Khal, and Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart share postmodern features such as schizophrenia, fragmentation, and suspicion toward grand narratives, which demonstrate instability of personality. Weak historical thinking permeates The Dove's Necklace by Raja Alem, Life on Hold by Fahd al-Atiq, and No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. The resulting effect of late capitalism, a weak utopian imagination, shapes the outcomes of Where Pigeons Don't Fly by Yousef al-Mohaimeed, Days of Ignorance by Laila al-Johani, and City of Glass by Paul Auster. Although the project of modernization has not yet been fully completed in Saudi Arabia, the expression of postmodern characteristics is clear in twenty-first century Saudi novels, as might be expected due to Saudi Arabia’s economic positioning in the late capitalist model. ©2017 by Mohammed Alshammari All Rights Reserved Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. M. Keith Booker who gave me the most valuable opportunity that made a big positive difference in my life. This dissertation would not have been done without Dr. Booker's guidance. Also, I am very grateful to Dr. Adnan Haydar for his professorial guidance and fatherly advices that kept stress levels down during difficult days. In addition, I would like to express a special gratitude to Dr. Susan Marren for her willingness to join my committee at a late hour in the project. Her kindness is a model that should be emulated and followed. Furthermore, I am very beholden to my wife for her love and support. I would like to thank my family for their support. I would like to express my appreciation to Sultan Alfarhood for his friendship. I am very thankful to al-Jouf University for the financial support. Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my parents: Lafi and Dabyah Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: The Instability of Personality ................................................................................. 34 Chapter Two: Weak Historical Thinking ...................................................................................... 93 Chapter Three: Weak Utopian Imagination ................................................................................ 149 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 207 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 219 1 Introduction The declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occurred on September 23, 1932. The first Saudi commercial oil well was discovered on March 4, 1938. The emergence of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia accompanied the global shift of capitalism from its second imperialist phase to the third phase characterized by the domination of international corporations,1 in which the world economy continues to operate. International corporations cannot ship their products overseas without oil, which means oil is one of the most crucial commodities in the global market. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia has become one of the more important players in the global economic system in the contemporary era. This participation helps Saudi Arabia to build relationships with powerful countries such as the United States of America. These relationships encourage Saudi Arabia to align with Western countries, not against them. In short, Saudi Arabia endorses the West and Saudi Arabia is an essential part of late capitalism whose cultural logic, for Fredric Jameson, is postmodernism. Postmodernism, as the “cultural logic of late capitalism” serves as the main critical and interpretative principle in this dissertation, and discussion of the Saudi novel after 2001 as a postmodern novel will form the main topic of my dissertation. In addition, discussing the postmodern American novel provides a significant reference to aid me in revealing whether the Saudi novel after 2001 may be a postmodern novel. Discussion of the Saudi novel should not be isolated from a consideration of the postmodern American novel because the postmodern American novel and the postmodern Saudi novel are both being written under the domination of late capitalism. However, the representations of postmodern culture in the postmodern Saudi novel and the postmodern American novel may be different because the political and social 1 I rely on Frediric Jameson’s Postmodernism, Or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. 2 contexts are different as well. In other words, while the similarity between the Saudi novel and the American novel is due to the domination of late capitalism, the difference is due to the different social and political conditions of Saudi Arabia and the United State of America. In this dissertation, there are six Saudi novels which will be discussed as primary texts, and three postmodern American novels2 that will be discussed as reference points through which to demonstrate postmodern characteristics in the Saudi novel3. Saudi novels published between 2001-2011 are the focus of this dissertation because this historical period started with the catastrophe of 9/11 and it ended with the beginning of Arab Spring. I will not discuss the Saudi novel after 2011 because Arab Spring has not been over yet. After 9/11, the Saudi novel has become to criticize the traditional discourse which leads to suspicion metanarrative. Also, as a consequence of this catastrophe, Saudi novelists write novels that endorse clearly western culture such as films and music. This endorsement is associated with some postmodern feature such as the instability of personality. Over the course of my dissertation, these American and Saudi novels are discussed to determine the similarity and the difference between them. I argue that these six Saudi novels4 might be most productively read using a postmodern perspective, and I attempt to demonstrate that, generally speaking, the Saudi novel after 2001 should be considered a postmodern novel rather than a postcolonial novel. In order to discuss this argument, I rely on 2 Since postmodern American novels will be used to references, they should not be written between 2001-2011. I choose different novels which help me to discuss my argument. 3 However, this does not mean that the dissertation will only be assigned to these six Saudi novels and three American novels. I mention some other postmodern novels to clarify the main argument. 4 I choose texts that are written by writers who hold the Saudi citizenship; therefore, I exclude some writers such as Abdel Rahman Munif who had not had the Saudi citizenship. Also, I choose three male writers and three female writers. Ultimately, I choose texts that are not banned in Saudi Arabia. However, this issue is not important in the age of the internet that helps everyone to obtain every content. 3 Jameson's dialectical
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