Browsing by Author "KIFOUCHE, Zina"

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    Myth and History in William Faulkner’s Light in August (1932) and Yacine Kateb’s Nedjma (1956)
    (Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou, 2014) KIFOUCHE, Zina
    This dissertation attempts to explore the use of myth and the construction of history in William Faulkner’s Light in August (1932) and Kateb Yacine’s Nedjma (1956). We have analyzed how the two authors introduced myth and history in the two mentioned novels. Our purpose in this study is to show how the two authors are affected by the situation of their society at two difficult periods; the American Civil War for Faulkner and the Algerian violent riots of the 8th May 1945 for Kateb. These events made the two writers question the values and the glorious history of their communities. Faulkner has created the mythical County “Yoknapatawpha” and Kateb Yacine his mythical character “Nedjma”. Our aim also is to show how the two authors represented history of their countries by using myth. We have started our dissertation from an assumption that Light in August and Nedjma use myth to speak about history, and as a theoretical tool we draw on Claude Levi Strauss and Northrop Frye theory of myth. Our work is divided into three chapters. The first chapter, method and material, has introduced the concepts used in the analysis of our works. The Material section has introduced the lives and times of the two authors. The second chapter has explored the construction of myth in relation to the main characters, and the main themes of the two novels. The third chapter has focused on reading history in relation to Faulkner’s and Kateb’s perception of the important events that happened in America and in Algeria.