Representation of Narrative Thoughts in the Novel "Raghse Aljadile va Alnahr" by Wafaa Abed Al Razzaq based on Leech and Short's Theory

Introduction

Narrative is a sequence of events and character is at the center of it. The ways the characters' thoughts are represented have always been a topic receiving the attention of structuralists and formalists. Abdul Rahim Kurdi believes: "Narrative uses tools to represent the characters' thoughts originating from their conscious or unconscious minds in the form of fantasy, concern, unfinished memories, thoughts, and reflections." English stylists Leech and Short have mentioned five ways of representing thoughts: "1. Direct thought, 2. Free direct thought, 3. Indirect thought, 4. Free indirect thought, 5. Narrative report of thought". Wafaa Abed Al-Razzaq is a contemporary Iraqi writer and intellectual. The fictional-realistic novel "Raghse Al-jadile va Al-nahr" is one of her works. This novel depicts the war with ISIS in Iraq and the people's concerns about this chaotic situation. The quality of representing the characters' thoughts in the novel about the events related to ISIS is the problem of the present research.

Methodology

In this research, the thought representation methods are analyzed in a descriptive-analytical manner according to Leech and Short's theory. This research aims to understand how the characters' inner thoughts and concerns—often originating from their psychological aspects—are represented in the novel.

Discussion and Results

Fictional thoughts are represented in five ways in the novel:

In narrative reporting, the narrator expresses the thoughts existing in the characters' minds. In fact, she is the only one who appears in the story, and the voice is hers. In an of example the novel, the narrator talks about the displacement of people and the abandonment of many children, such as "Biwar", who have lost their families and are innocently wandering in the wild; these thoughts are briefly expressed by the narrator.

In direct thought, the narrator expresses signs and actions indicating the thought. Then, the thought existing in the mind of the thinking character is immediately given directly with a punctuation mark of colon (:). In an example of the novel, a mute boy prays to his lost mother by taking refuge in the rocks and reviews the tragedies caused by ISIS in their lives. This thought is presented directly with a short introduction by the narrator and the character's voice.

Free indirect thought is a combination of narrative report and free direct thought. In this method, the character's thought is mixed with the narrator's point of view in a way that the narrator's speech is often expressed with an absent pronoun indicating the thinking character. In this method, both narrator's and character's voices are heard simultaneously, and there is no line between the narrator's words and the character's thoughts. In a fictional example, people think to themselves: How can one live on these mountains and rocks without feeling happy and safe? The narrator's voice is heard as the third person before and after the people's thought. Meanwhile, the people's thought is suddenly presented to the audience in an emotional tone with two distinct sentences and an outspoken question; a thought showing the psychological dimension of the people living in the mountains and the depth of their sadness and despair over their living conditions.

In indirect thought, the narrator expresses the character's thought with her/his own tone and style accompanied with the absent pronoun. In this method, the thought belongs to the character but the style and perspective expressing it belongs to the narrator. In another example from the novel, a mute child whose family members were brutally murdered by ISIS in Sinjar daydreams about having a better life and finding his lost family. The narrator also expresses this child's thought briefly and indirectly.

In free direct thought, the narrator's voice is completely hidden and the character's thought is revealed directly without any intermediary in a completely dramatic way. In an example of the novel, there are conflicting questions in a character's mind about ISIS Takfiris which he seeks to answer. In this example, Adel's internal dialogue is represented freely and directly.

Conclusion

Examination of the thought representation methods based on Leech and Short's theory in Raghse Al-jadile va Al-nahr indicates that in narrative reporting, the characters' thoughts are often represented to the audience briefly only in the narrator's voice; thoughts showing the ISIS's countless oppressions and the displacement of innocent children. However, in direct thought, the narrator's role is limited to the lead-up, and the characters' thoughts about the absolute brutality of ISIS in killing people are represented in the characters' own voices by mentioning some details in an influential way which is close to reality. In free indirect thought, the inner thoughts of the characters in the novel and the worry of being buried alive by ISIS and the extreme sadness and despair are represented limitlessly in the narrator's third-person voice at once in a different tone. In indirect thought—which is the opposite of direct thought—the characters' deepest wishes about getting rid of the rule of ISIS and returning to the good old days are represented briefly in the narrator's voice using absent verbs and pronouns instead of the speaker. In free direct thought, which is the opposite of narrative reporting, the character's inner questions and contradictions regarding the brutal actions of ISIS against innocent people are represented by the characters themselves freely and without the presence of the narrator in a realistic way. It is worth mentioning that the characters' psychological aspects are considered in all thought representation methods.

Of the five thought representation methods, narrative reporting and direct free thought have the highest and lowest frequencies in the novel, respectively. The author's frequent use of narrative reporting is because she has full control and authority in this method to represent the characters' thoughts and she can narrate numerous thoughts about the ISIS war in parts of Iraq especially in Mosul with less words.

Keywords: Leech and Short's theory, Narrative thoughts, Wafaa Abed Al-Razzaq, Raghse Al-jadile va Al-nahr