The Concept of Alienation in Almoqri's the Handsome Jew

Abstract

: This research offers an insight into the concept of alienation specifically its two types of meaninglessness and isolation, in Ali Almoqri's The Handsome Jew . It investigates the religious differences among people of the same community as the main reasons behind the alienation of people. It particularly focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Salim,a Jew with particular reference to his relationship with Fatima, an educational Muslim daughter of a mufti. The study uses Seeman's (1959) socio-psychological theoretical framework to identify the negative impact of religious and social differences on the life of people. The objective of the analysis is to find out in what terms the character's concept of alienation is constructed which causes the characters to be alienated from their community. The text will be analysed using descriptive qualitative method. Findings from the analysis reveal how religious and social differences drive Salim and others who live under the same ideas of alienation to construct themselves as aliens in their homeland. And this consequently develops some other psychological problems such as lack of confidence, frustration, and the feeling of being alone.