Trends in the development of the Jordanian short story of the twentieth century

Abstract

Literature of each nation has its own way of development in the world literary process. The literature of the Arab countries has also taken its rightful place in the world and it has made a significant contribution to the development of world literature. It should be noted that today the Arab East consists of twenty-three states; however, the process of formation and development of new Arabic literature (the end of the 19th century-the beginning of the 20 th century) in individual countries varies. In particular, Jordanian literature has its own way of development. Socio-cultural development of the country is associated with the movement of enlightenment - “an-Nahda” (the Awakening), covering a number of Arab States. But in Jordan, the movement “an-Nahda” arises later than in other countries, and it is formed in the 1920s-1940s. By this period, the short story (al-qissa al-qasira), a genre of short story, had become one of the leading genres of Jordanian literature. By the 1950s - 1960s, the withdrawal of Palestinians from their native lands, the defeat of the Arabs in the Arab-Israeli war in June 1967 led to an even greater appearance of works devoted to the events of the war. As a result, the political processes in the East in many Arab countries, including Jordan, the defeat of the Arabs in the Arab-Israeli war have led to the emergence of even more works revealing a gallery of events related to the war. This theme is considered to be one of the main themes of Arab literature, in particular, Jordanian literature. The political processes in the Middle East have created a new social and cultural environment in the Arab world, including Jordan. The study of short stories in Jordan in the early 60-80s of the 20th century shows that the problem of Palestine is one of the leading topics, received a deeper and more comprehensive coverage in their works. A characteristic side of the short story writers of Jordan 70-80s is that they take a biased anti-Israeli position. During this period, the writers create the short story which possesses a new form and content. It should be noted that the anti-Israeli position is characteristic of the short stories of Ilias Farquh, where the writer’s short story “Abo, illuminating the silence”, discusses the theme of the Palestinians who have become refugees in their homeland.