Iranian-Iraqi Intelligentsia in Dear Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad and Papa Sartre by Ali Badr (a Comparative Study)

There have been various studies regarding the concept of intelligentsia in Arabic literature. The present study tries to present the Iranian and Iraqi intelligentsia through the comparative study of two novels; namely: My Dear Uncle Napoleon by the Iranian novelist Iraj Pezeshkzad, and Papa Sartre by the Iraqi novelist Ali Badr. The focus here is on the definition of intelligentsia as a concept different from the thinker, by which we mean the classical intellectualism which some intellectuals claim to possess, but in fact, they don't. Then the study proceeds to determine the common cultural grounds between the two countries to give an image of the Iranian and Iraqi societies in an era ruled by the so-called “Fokolism” in Iran and the “Effendiyya” (wearing customs) in Arabic. The present study applies the American approach to find the common literary grounds between the two novels and tries to focus on different themes respecting the concept of intelligentsia based on each novelist's view about intellectuals. The study also investigates different issues, which, one way or another, are connected with the intelligentsia of the countries. Among these issues are the sense of alienation, both from oneself and one's family; reality versus illusion; the shallow intellectualism and intelligentsia; and Sanchoism, a term coined by the writer to signify characteristics similar to those of Don Quixote's Sancho Panza. Meanwhile, the study will shed lights on the concepts of the intellectuals and the thinker to draw a picture of the intellectualism in Iran and Iraq by suggesting examples from both novels and analyzing them. The examples focus mainly on the alienated intellectuals who live in their ivory tower and claim their superiority over the rest of the society. Finally, the study tries to show that both novelists want to draw a picture of the cultural aura which was in vogue in the 50s and the 60s to better understand the intelligentsia of Iran and Iraq.