이집트 소설을 통해 본 사회문제와 2011년 시민혁명의 전조

Social Issues and Signs of the People s Revolution of 2011 through Egyptian Novels

This study set out to analyze the work of Egyptian novelists, dealing with social issues in Egypt during the Mubārak regime and the citizens’ consciousness changes and social movements before the people’s revolution in 2011. For the purpose of research, the investigator selected ʿAlāʾ al-Aswānī’s The Yacoubian Building, Khālid al-Khamīsī’s Taxi, and Muḥammad Salmāwī’s Butterfly Wings among novels set in Egypt under Mubārak’s rule. This study analyzed these three novels based on the sociology theory of literature, which states that the situations of a society during a certain period can be figured out through literary work from that period. Following that sociology theory of literature by Georg Lukacs, which states that a writer’s ideas, experiences, and views were reflected in his or her work, the investigator examined the creative worlds of the three writers and analyzed the content of their novels. Conclusion shows the following findings based on these discussions: Egypt had prominent social issues, such as the oppression of human rights, control of the press, prevalence and fixedness of corruption, and polarization and inequality among the social classes, under the dictatorial regime based on the analysis results of the three pieces of literature. The citizens’ disillusionment about mundane rule, expectations for an Islamic system, and civil social movement for democratization depicted in the work is considered signs for the people’s revolution of 2011.