Elsewhere and Home in Elias Khoury’s Gate of the Sun
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Date
2023-06
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Publisher
université mohamed boudiaf .m'sila
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The present study puts flesh on the bones of questions regarding Palestinian refugees’ status in our modern world. In this respect, it aims to highlight and explore the repercussions of unhomeliness, exile and trauma on displaced Palestinians particularly post-Nakba generations who reside in Lebanon’s refugee camps. The selected novel, Gate of the Sun (1998) by Elias Khoury, offers a sociohistorical account of a critical period in the Palestinian history namely the Nakba. In this regard, this study sheds light on the meanings of home and statelessness in a world built on nation-states. It demonstrates the feeling of alienation that Khalil, the main character, experiences while trying to come to terms with what Bhabha refers to as “unhomeliness.” In this vein, this study offers an analysis of the unhomely Palestinian self through the protagonist who portrays the psyche of post-Nakba generations. Khalil engages in a civil war that takes place within; hence, this study probes the depths of Khalil’s unhomeliness, ambivalence, exile and trauma in his journey to find his Palestinian-ness.
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Keywords
Keywords: Home, exile, trauma, unhomeliness, ambivalence