This study investigates the intricate connection between literature and national identity in Syrian society by analysing Khaled Khalifa’s two works, namely No Knives in the Kitchens of This City...Show moreThis study investigates the intricate connection between literature and national identity in Syrian society by analysing Khaled Khalifa’s two works, namely No Knives in the Kitchens of This City and Death Is Hard Work. More specifically, this study illustrates how both works reflect Syrian reality during transformative periods that correspond to the Ba’ath Party’s acquisition of power and the Syrian Civil War. Khalifa’s narratives offer extensive material for reflecting on memory, effect of political oppression on people’s lives, aspiration for independence and freedom, and family relations. In this way, the novels characterize Syrian national identity throughout a detailed depiction of the characters’ experience in the rapidly changing Syrian political and social setting. This reflection employs the academic concepts of Benedict Anderson, James L. Gelvin, Ana Douglass and Thomas Vogler to uncover the interconnection between literature, history, and formation of identity. Furthermore, the reflection provides insight into how the Syrian literature has changed to reflect and construct the national identity under the pressure of significant political change.Show less
