Social anarchy and identity crisis in the two post invasion iraqi novels al hafeeda al ameerkiyya and ajaeb baghdad a study

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the stages of development in Iraqi novel literature, its evolution under the influence of the American invasion on Irag, and to identify the main themes addressed in post- invasion Iragi novels. The study is focused on analysing the novels "Al Hafeeda Al Ameerkiyya” and " Ajaeb Baghdad”, with an emphasis on how social anarchy and identity crisis are depicted in these two works. The evolution of Iraqi novel writing was shaped by foreign and modern Arabic influences, as well as political and social cvents since Irag’s founding. Wars and sanctions limited publishing and drove writers into exile, where they depicted Iragi suffering. After the 2003 American invasion, Iraqi novels became a platform for expressing the people’s pain, social disorder, and scarch for identity, reflecting both personal and national struggles amid continued turmoil. Both Al Hafeeda Al Ameerkiyya by In'am Kachachi and Ajacb Baghdad by Warid Bader Al-Salim cxplore themes of social anarchy and identity crisis. Their protagonists, both cxiles returning to Iraq, mirror their authors’ experiences. Kachachi, an Iraqi living in France, writes about an Iraqi-American translator who returns with the U.S. army, highlighting cultural conflict and dual identity. Al-Salim, an Iraqi journalist, tells of a reporter returning from Dubai to a chaotic, post-invasion Baghdad, blending realism with fantasy to depict a city torn between contradictions and lost hopes. The research is divided into five chapters, ic: The development of the Arabic novel in Irag, The novel Al Hafeeda Al Ameerkiyya by In’am Kachachi, The novel Ajacb Baghdad by Warid Bader Al-Salim, Social Anarchy in the two novels and The Identity Crisis in the two novels. Both novels portray Social Anarchy in Iraq. The former highlights insccurity, disorder, migration, and civilian suffering, while the latter focuses on sectarian conflict, militias, corruption, and the collapse of social stability and humanity. The identity crisis in the former is formed through the internal conflict the protagonist faces between two identities -the original, authentic one and the newly acquired one - as reflected in the loss of identity, openness to the other identity, and cultural hybridization. The identity crisis in the latter is manifested through the presentation of anonymous characters, the stage of identity loss, and the stage of identity revelation.