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18 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XL, No.2, WINTER 2017 Fighting Oppression with Colors in Libyan Short Story Post The Arab Spring: A Stylistics Analysis of Azza Al-Maghour`s Short Stories Safa Elnaili* Introduction Libya’s four decades of dictatorship and oppression put Libyan writers and authors under censorship for many years. They struggled with Qaddafi’s regime and were constantly punished for expressing their opinions regarding the dogmatic rule and the poor economic conditions of the oil country. According to Fagih,1 the leading character in Libyan short stories is mostly a simple man struggling daily to survive hardship and oppression, or a helpless woman suffering social inequality according to Alhaddad.2 Nevertheless, many of these writers and fiction authors adopted certain language and literary styles in order to channel their thoughts to their readers. Implicit writing and cultural metaphors were among their main literary styles. A study by Elnaili3 analyzed several Libyan short stories published during Qaddafi’s rule of Libya; the study revealed that Libyan authors relied heavily 1 *Safa Elnaili is an Assistant Professor in Arabic Language and Literature at the Modern She taught Intermediate Arabic in the Foreign Languages Department and an Arabian Nights Seminar in The International Studies Department at Louisiana State University. Her Research interests are: Libyan Literature, Modern Arabic Literature, Translation Theory & Practice, Critical Discourse Analysis, The Arabian Nights, and SLA. Ahmed Fagih, The Libyan Short Story: A Research and Anthology (United States: Xlibiris Corporation, 2008). 2 Fawzi Alhaddad, Critical Studies in Libyan Narrative (Benghazi: Dar Alkutub Alwataniya, 2010). 3 Safa Elnaili, “Adjectives of Colour in Libyan Short Stories:AStylisticAnalysis.” in Language, Literature and Style in Africa, ed. Arua E. Arua, Taiwo Abioye, & Kehinde A. Ayoola, 131-141 (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014). 19 on the use of colors and their connotative cultural meanings to represent and discuss certain socio-political issues in the Libyan society. Most of these stories paint the layman as powerless and helpless in the face of the regimès iron fist. However, with the 2011 uprising and the political change that swept the Arab region, writers gained more freedom of criticism and more space for expression. This article discusses the negative effect of the oppressive history in Libya on its literature, the radical change of the Arab Spring on Libyan creative writing during the revolution, the cultural meanings of colors and how their connotations contribute as a language/ literary style in Libyan short story, Libyan writer Azza Al-Maghour and seven selected stories, an analysis of the effect of use of colors in showing resistance to dictatorship, and finally a conclusion of the study`s findings. Libyan Literature before the Arab Spring Libyàs strategic location as a gate between North Africa and South Europe caused the state to undergo centuries of colonization and wars. Starting from the Ottoman Empire (1551-1911), following it the cruel Italian invasion (19111943 ), and the dictatorship of Qaddafi (1969-2011), all these many years of foreign and domestic oppression kept locals in constant fight with the suppressor to gain freedom and stability. This unsettledness prevented Libyan citizens from developing their society socially and economically and keep pace with the world. The political unrest, as a result, affected the growth of modern Libyan literature. After Libya declared independence in 19514 a number of magazines and newspapers featured some literary works by a few Libyan writers like WahbiAl- Bouri, other literary works were published abroad, mostly, in Egypt. After independence, the state experienced a major socio-political reform after many years of war and poverty; Literary works reached a high peak of production and this era was considered the Golden Age of Libyan literary works and journalism.5 Libyan writers were mostly addressing nationalism and the society`s social issues like social inequality. With the overthrown of the Monarchy in 1969 by Qaddafi, Libyan writers clashed with the regime and suffered extreme dominance over free expression especially during the 1980’s. Creativity in literary works took a different curve and lowered its tone. Several writers were imprisoned and others were even killed. The style of writing changed; there were no longer daring and challenging characters, Libyan writers used...

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