Strangeness in the Characters of the novel of Al-Taib Al-Salih "Al-Zain Wedding"

Abstract

This study revolves around the concept of strangeness in the Zain's wedding novel (Zain is the protagonist, and Zain wedding is the first novel for the Sudanese writer Tayeb Saleh). It deals with the strangeness with the sense of uncommon. It aims at explaining the strange characters in the novel; showing how the author deals with the novel characters with understanding to sense of strangeness among them; and explaining the influences contributed to this dealing. Due the association of this study with the novel author society, so, it uses the descriptive and social analysis approaches. Hence, it analyses the novelist society and the author's original community or real life society.

It finds that Zain was born with these strange characters   i.e. physically; he grows with this strange body with strange attitudes that makes him the strangest personality of the Novel.

Alhaneen is a Sufi Sheikh who appears with strange character, his strangeness appears through the mystical conception of dignity. Nima is Zain's cousin and his wife, who represents the strangeness of a rebellious girl against her community   traditions or its religious dimensions at the end of the novel. Seifuddin was strange in his debauchery and his repentance. The author shows the strangeness on all of these characters through events or through direct descriptions.

It is obviously that the author has influenced by the environmental factors such as religious beliefs, Sufi perceptions, social values, and popular myths. Finally, for further studies the researcher recommends conducting some studies on the strangeness in the characters and events of Tayeb Saleh novels.