Human Alienation and Philosophical Skepticism in Contemporary Novels (A Contrastive and Inter-Textual Criticism)

An epistemological approach to the new era shows that the modern man has fundamental difference with the classic man. The phenomenon of human alienation and skepticism and the dominance of the principal of probability over certainty in belief, speech and behavior are but a few of modern man’s characteristics not depicted in the past. These are reflected in the art and letters of the century, particularly in the literarynovel. The two novels under study here i.e. “Jean Barva” by Du Gar and “Kiss the Beautiful Face of God” by Mostafa Mastoor, have been written in different places, cultures and languages. What they have in common is a critical look at the fate of the modern man who views objective and even sacred phenomena with a skeptical eye. While Mastoor’s is a religious-philosophical novel,Du Gar’s is purely philosophical with a rationalistic view which questions the issue of religion. The author analyzes the element of character in these novels contrastively and concludes that while Mastoor is successful in design, plot and narration, yet it has less depth in arrangement and conclusion in comparison to Du Gar’s.