Symbolism and allegory in the Algerian Arabic novel

This article aims to illustrate some of the features of the development of the Algerian Arabic novel by examining and comparing works by two of Algeria's most prominent Arabic novelists, Abd al-Hamid Bin Haduqah and al-Tahar Wattar. Both writers have been at the forefront of Algeria's Arabic prose literature, initially writing short stories before producing full-length novels. Bin Haduqah's Rih al-janub (1971) is considered as the first significant Arabic novel in post-independence Algeria, followed shortly by Wattar's al-Laz (1974) and al Zilzal (1974). The three novels discussed here - Bin Haduqah's al-Jaziyah wa'l darawish, and Wattar's Urs baghl and al-Hawwat wa'l-qasr - have been chosen in order to consider the way in which they move away from the realist impulse of the early novels towards the use of various kinds of symbolism. The discussion also aims to consider the way in which the use of symbolism is related to understandings of language and identity, and enables the texts to contest the values ascribed to Arabic within the nationalist discourse of the state.