AL-TAḤAWWULAT AL-IJTIMAʻIYAH FI RIWAYAH ‘LAʻALAHA MAZḤAH’ LIL RIWĀʼYAH ṢĀLIḤAH ʻUBAYD [SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE NOVEL ‘PERHAPS IT'S A JOKE’ BY THE NOVELIST SALIHAH OBEID

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This study aims to analyze the novel ‘Perhaps It's a Joke’ by the Emirati novelist Salihah Obeid and investigates its reflections in the artistic structure of the narrative work. The study analyzes the novel to identify the types of these transformations and to uncover their connection with the Emirati reality, considering it as a model for societal changes in Gulf countries after the discovery of oil. This has resulted in changes in social structure, cultural composition, patterns of thinking, social relationships, values, and influencing individual behavior. The novel ‘Perhaps It's a Joke,’ published in 2018, was selected for study as it represents a literary text expressing the social transformation that the UAE experienced over a timeframe extending from the mid-20th century to the second decade of the 21st century. This is depicted through characters representing two generations, spanning time and space in a journey that explores the circumstances of the Emirati individual and their reality. The study describes and analyzes the social transformations in the novel, categorizes them, and then reveals their connection to the environment in which they emerged. The results indicate the presence of various types of societal transformations in the novel, manifesting across economic, urban, demographic, and intellectual levels. It also addresses the role of women in families and society, as well as social relationships and individual behaviors. These transformations are interconnected with the Emirati human and societal reality, underscoring the impact of reality on narrative writing. The study proposes a preliminary conceptualization of Emirati literature in general and its portrayal of the resulting reality. It provides recommendations emphasizing the necessity of studying Emirati literary achievements to analyze social transformations within them and to reveal the cultural and societal structures of Emirati society, influenced by their reality.