The Closed Space in the Narratives of Abd al-Halim Mahdor"

Abstract

The narrative text is constructed, in particular, from a set of elements that cannot be ignored because they represent the building blocks upon which the literary work is based, and its literary significance intensifies. The place has been considered one of the most important links between reality, possibility, and imagination. There is a connection that establishes the existence of these closed spaces that the writer employed in his narrative achievement, as he immortalized through them a part of his consciousness and the feelings he holds towards these places in the context of the narrative.

Furthermore, the writer dealt with the place as a furnished element for characters and connected them with other elements of time, events, and plot. We can see that the narrative, especially the novel, paid particular attention to this matter more than others. The writer presented the closed space in his narrative as a real place at times and an imaginary place at other times. Basra, with its streets, alleys, rivers, and neighborhoods, became the setting for Mahdor's narratives with its real and realistic names, giving his narrative a genuine credibility to convey reality in all its details. This, in turn, provided the reader with an opportunity to become acquainted with these places and understand their nature within the context of the narrative