Abstract

Statement of the Problem and Objective: Literature has consistently served as a central tools for representing and analyzing the social and historical conditions of diverse societies. Across different periods, it has effectively documented and interpreted collective experiences, identity crises, and political shifts within an artistic and meaningful framework. Contemporary Arabic literature, particularly works addressing socio-political issues, features numerous texts that critically and profoundly engaged with the hardships, struggles, and daily challenges of communities, most notably the Palestinian people. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Nasrollah’s the novel The Tefel almemhat (The Erased Child), part of the Palestinian Comedy series, holds a significant position because this novel does more than narrate the individual life of a character, mirrors the historical, social, and cognitive conditions of Palestinian society during one of its most critical and complex periods. Centering on the life of Fuad—from childhood through adolescence to his involvement in resistance—the narrative presents a multilayered depiction of Palestinian existence under occupation, marked by recurring defeats, influence of colonial powers, and the collapse of ethical values. The narrative of Fouad’s fall from the rooftop and his miraculous survival, which leads to his mother’s great hopes for her son’s future, symbolically represents the beginning of the formation of collective expectations and the mythologization of the hero. Fuad’s subsequent enlistment in the Palestinian Liberation Army and his confrontation with British intervention and political maneuvering further highlight the gap between revolutionary aspirations and harsh historical realities. The central problem of this study lies in investigating how The Tefel almemhat, as a literary text, represents the mental structures and collective consciousness of Palestinians and correlates them with broader socio-historical contexts. The objective of this research is to analyze and examine the novel through the perspective of Lucien Goldmann’s genetic structuralism in order to clarify the relationship between individual experience, collective consciousness, and the socio-historical structures of Palestine, while revealing the latent layers of meaning embedded in the text.
Methodology: This study grounded in Lucien Goldmann’s theory of genetic structuralism and adopts a descriptive-analytical approach. In this framework, a literary work is regarded not as a merely individual creation, but rather as the consequence of the collective consciousness of a social group operating under specific economic, political, and historical conditions. Accordingly, The Tefel almemhat has been  meticulously examined in conjunction with historical and social contexts of Palestine during the period represented in the narrative. Subsequently, the fundamental concepts of genetic criticism—including worldview, collective mental structures, and the relationship between literary form and social content—have been applied to analyze characters, events, and socio-political relationships in the novel.
Discussion and Analysis: Applying genetic structuralism to The Tefel almemhat reveals that the novel goes beyond a purely realist historical narrative, functioning as a manifestation of the worldview held by a specific social group. Fuad—characterized by his internal and external contradictions—embodies the Palestinian individual caught between revolutionary aspirations, traditional and superstitious beliefs, modern education, and a culture of martyrdom. This duality directly reflects the social condition of individuals situated between personal desires and collective expectations. Fuad is not portrayed as an idealized hero, he is a conflicted figure whose failures and doubts carry as much significance as his courageous actions. These contradictions are not simply personal characteristics, but signify structural tensions within Palestinian society under occupation, repression, and historical defeats. The narrative further elucidates the influence of colonial powers on military and political structures, the spread of deception and hypocrisy, and the collapse of moral values, thereby offering a critical re-examination of history and its consequences. From Goldmann’s perspective, the work reflects the collective consciousness of a society and, attempting to make sense of its precarious circumstances, represents its lived experience in form of literary expression. The narrative structure, multilayered characterization, and symbolic selection of events all contribute to expressing this collective awareness. Moreover, they illustrate how socio-historical conditions mold both the content and form of the narrative, as well as its inherent logic. Consequently, The Tefel almemhat emerges as a literary arena where history, ideology, and human experience converge.
Findings: The study concludes that Ibrahim Nasrollah’s The Tefel almemhat, as a cultural product, plays an crucial role in representing and analyzing the socio-historical conditions of Palestine. In this work, Nasrallah functions both as an author and as the voice of a social group. Through the story of Fuad—the novel’s problematic hero—the narrative reflects the complex situation of Palestinian society during periods of occupation and internal and external crises. Beyond presenting socio-historical realities, the novel illustrates the formation of Palestinian collective consciousness and the dynamics of individual-society interaction. Analysis of Fuad’s experiences implies contradictions between political aspirations, economic constraints, social pressures, and collective culture, demonstrating how these elements shape individual behavior and decision-making, all of which are meticulously represented throughout the text. Thus, by focusing on Fuad and the critical conditions of Palestinian society, the novel provides a coherent framework for a profound and clear understanding the historical, social, and cognitive complexities of this society and its interaction with the reality of occupation.