Narrative Discourse of Arab-American Autobiography : Text, Paratext, Context

DOI Web Site

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 在米アラブ系知識人の自伝における語りの形式 : テキスト・パラテキスト・コンテキスト

Search this article

Abstract

The three Arab-Americans, Ihab Hassan(1925〜), Edward Said(1935-2003), and Leila Ahmed(1940〜), share the common experience of writing an autobiography in English, reflecting on the boyhood or the girlhood spent in Cairo. They are sons and a daughter of an affluent family and finally went to America where they have distinguished themselves as eminent scholars. Our primary aim is to examine what characteristics each autobiography has in its narrative discourse in relation to the three fundamental elements of shaping identity ミ family ambience, sexuality, and religion. The second purpose is to investigate how the writings reflect the theories they advocate. The autobiography written by a critic should be regarded as the self-expression of the tenet he or she holds, because criticism and autobiography are difficult to separate(Andersen). The three autobiographers concerned are all prestigious critics and scholars, and therefore the difference in mode and discourse would presumably derive from the theory the author believe in. Before analyzing the main body of a text, paratexts will be interpreted, because they set the tone of the whole text. The affinity or discrepancy between paratext and text is our another concern.

Journal

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top