Models of Humanitarian Issues in the Novels Children of Our Alley and Our Alley: A Comparative Analytical Study

Abstract

This study, entitled “Models of Humanitarian Issues in Naguib Mahfouz’s Children of Gebelawi and Akram Osman’s Kucha-ye Ma: A Comparative Analytical Study,” aims to examine selected humanitarian issues in the two novels, identify similarities and differences in the ways these issues are addressed, and clarify the intellectual perspectives and artistic structures employed by the two authors in portraying human beings and their concerns. The study focuses on several major issues, namely injustice, suffering, discrimination, freedom, and hope, selected because of their prominent presence in both novels. A comparative approach was employed to identify similarities and differences between the two works in their treatment of these issues, while an analytical approach was used to examine relevant textual passages, situations, characters, and dialogues. The study also draws on a sociological approach to literature to interpret humanitarian issues within the social conditions depicted in the two novels. The findings indicate that both novels engage with several shared humanitarian concerns, particularly injustice, suffering, discrimination, freedom, and hope; however, the manner in which these issues are presented and the degree of emphasis placed on them differ from one novel to the other. Naguib Mahfouz places greater emphasis on freedom and justice, presenting them within a framework of symbolic realism, whereas Akram Osman devotes greater attention to marginalization, class discrimination, imprisonment, and torture, through which he portrays human suffering in society. The study further reveals differences in the authors’ intellectual perspectives and artistic construction: Mahfouz tends to employ symbolism and suggestion, while Osman portrays social reality more directly. The principal contribution of this study lies in its applied comparative analysis of a well-known Arabic novel and an Afghan novel belonging to Persian-language literature, demonstrating how shared humanitarian issues are represented in two distinct cultural contexts. In doing so, the study broadens the scope of comparative literary studies between Arabic and Persian literatures.