A Minimalistic Analysis of Jebran Khalil Jebran's Narratives in "Altaeh"

A micro story (also known as micro fiction or mini fiction) or a very short story is one of the story genres which has recently attracted contemporary writers. This type of narrative is rooted in minimalism of modern era. Minimalism is an approach which eliminates unnecessary and extra elements and is based on simplicity and brevity. In the present study, the researcher first presents the minimalistic theoretical framework and describes its essential elements, and then, following a descriptive analytical method, tries to analyze those elements in "Altaeh" micro stories by focusing on narrative, literal, and thematic dimensions of the writings. The results of the analysis reveal that "Altaeh" stories are micro stories and follow the principles of minimalism as they are characterized by a limited number of characters, a very short length, a high amount of dialog, and the writer's attempt to employ words, sentences and paragraphs which are as short as possible.