I and Others in the Novel of Al-Masabih Al-Zarq by the Syrian Author, Hanna Minah

The subject of “I and Others”, especially when we define and limit it in the context of “I am eastern” and “Others is western”, especially I'm an Arab, is placed in different spaces. “I and Others” first examines the interaction between the two sides in the Western world and introduces that I'm Eastern or an Arab who went to the West to study and for other reasons. This issue appeared in the Arabic novel in the early twentieth century, and the writers portrayed a civilized and dazzling relationship to the Western one in their novels. After years and decades, despite the conflicts between me, an eastern Arab and a Westerner, the conditions for strengthening the relations between the two became hostility and hatred. Following that, the field of relations between the East and the West, with the methods considered by the author, in the novel changed. As a result of these and many other related issues, categories such as “I and Others” have emerged in Arabic literature since the mid-twentieth century. The literary genre of the novel also became an arena for depicting the Arabic self, in which the author honors his original cultural values in the face of Westernization and it deals with cultural self-destruction. Hence, the subject of “I and Others” in literary genres has attracted the attention of many scholars. The present study also examines the subject of “I and Others”, how the image and the author's point of view differ in the novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq”.
Hanna Minah is one of the leading writers in literature. As he has influenced by the school of realism, he has written many of his works based on this school. Hanna Minah was born in 1924 in a village located in the Iskenderun region. He left Syria for Turkey when France occupied Syria. Minah went with his family to the coastal city of Al-Dhaqiyah in 1939. Living in this city inspired him to write many stories. Due to the turbulent conditions of that period, Hanna Minah has stepped in the field of politics as of a young age. He participated in the national struggle against the occupation of Syria by France and was imprisoned several times in the fight. He traveled many years to Hungary, China and Lebanon and spent some time in exile.
This research seeks to respond to the following questions:

Which characters of the novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq”is located in framework of “I and Others”?
How can “I and Others” be reflected in the novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq”in terms of confrontation, interaction and its role in strengthening identity?

 After analyzing the novel and research the issue of “I and Others”, and the way to read these two concepts in this field, the results are referred to:

Fares, the protagonist of the novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq”, represents the variable and anxious I, because his character is between adolescence that has no attitude and a man with a different attitude. Through the Fares' character in novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq”, the author shows: “Other”, which introduces by the novel as a colonist, can affect the behavior of “I” and how to deal with various issues.
Normal people in the novel, including Abu Fares' character, have the characteristics of patriotism and courage, and steadfast, and despite poverty and disasters, they are also stabled and proud of the motherland and do not hesitate to defend themselves. And the feeling of "I" is a patriotic against any foreigner who wants to harm their homeland.
The role of woman in novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq” has an impact presence, as in general appear in an unstable, anxious and disturbing state. Aging and disability and fatigue are the characteristics of the woman in the novel.
The “Others” in the novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq” is shown in different ways, where “Others” is displayed by the French, Turks, British, Germans and Italians, and the “I” looks at “Others” different from country to another.
The “Others” who is a Frenchman, appears in different ways, most of which have had an unpleasant effect on the look of the Syrian people. It is clear from the text of the novel that “I”, the Syrians, saw nothing but injustice, oppression and tyranny.
The novel “Al-Masabih Al-Zarq” drags the conflict between the “I”, who is Eastern or Arabic, and the “Others” who is Western into the Arab land in Syria, contrary to what is common, when writers or novelists express the relationship between the West and the East to travel and presence in Western countries, Hanna Mina states the relationship and differences between I, an Eastern or an Arab, and the other, a Western one, through war and colonialism, which is ruled by a frustrating hostility that leads to rejection and enmity with the other in various ways.