1. Introduction
The literary genre of the novel has a close connection with social and political realities. Authors use various historical events and issues as a basis for the creation of their works. The novelist does not only reflect the facts, but also tries to represent and recreate them. According to the ideology and special social interests, the author constructs characters and historical events in his own way. Two writers influenced by two different ideologies, consciously or unconsciously, depict the same historical event in a different way. The novel the Daughter of the Peasant by Mahmoud Etemadzadeh (M.A. Behazin) is written around one of the famous events in Iranian history, namely the Jungle Movement in Gilan, three decades after this movement. This research seeks to show the ideological point of view and tendency in the representation of the history of this movement. The questions about this novel are: 1. Which themes, issues, and political events have been given significance and which ones have been considered unimportant? 2. Which socio-political identities are constructed?, and 3. What ideologies, tendencies and political discourses are there?
2. Literature Review
So far, several works have been written about the novel the Daughter of the Peasant. Farzi and Ghobadi Samian, in the article “Examining the Novel the Daughter of the Peasant by Mahmoud Etemadzadeh Based on the Genetic Structuralism Approach by Lucien Goldmann”, have examined four aspects: the social system of lords and serfs, the ruling political system, the inefficient economic system, and the cultural system combined with Marx's ideology. In the article “Historicism and the Deliverance Myth in Persian Socialist-Realist Novels”, Rezayati Kishehkhaleh and Jalalehvand Alkami analyzed the novels the Daughter of the Peasant, Her Eyes and Neighbors with Marx's historical approach and concluded that all the actions and events of these novels can be reduced to three basic propositions: 1. Establishing a new social order; 2. The emergence of revolutionary awareness and action; 3. A definite promise to realize the ideal society. Other works have been written about this novel, which, like the aforementioned articles, are different from the present research in terms of methodology, theory, and purpose.
3. Methodology
In this research, the theory and method of “critical discourse analysis” is used. Language is not neutral to reflect things as they are; rather, it represents them. Issues are created in line with the interests of language users; some are given significance, some are trivialized, and some are not mentioned at all. How social relations, identity, knowledge, and power are created through written and spoken texts is among the main topics of critical discourse analysis. The analysis method of this research is a combination of the approach of James Paul Gee and Norman Fairclough.
In this research, firstly, the novel the Daughter of the Peasant is analyzed based on the seven questions of Gee, which include the following: 1. Significance, 2. Practices (Activities), 3. Identities, 4. Relationships between people, 5. Politics (the distribution of social goods), 6. Connections, and 7. Sign Systems and Knowledge. Then, using Fairclough's theory, the novel is interpreted and explained. Fairclough mentions three stages or dimensions in discourse analysis: 1. Description: Examining the characteristics of the text at the three levels of vocabulary, grammar, and construction; 2. Interpretation: Examining the link between the discourse in the text and other discourses; 3. Explanation: Studying the factors and social context of discourse creation.
4. Discussion and Conclusion
Behazin, the novelist and a member of the Tudeh Party, wrote the novel the Daughter of the Peasant in the second half of the 1320s, at the height of the party's activities, in the style of "socialist realism". The story is set from the constitutional revolution to the failure of the Jungle Movement (1286-1300). In this novel, many events and issues such as the chaotic situation in Iran at that time, the occupation of Iran in the First World War, British and Russian colonialism, internal tyranny, the Jungle Movement and the socialist revolution of Gilan, severe famine, the lord-serf system, etc. are given significance in this novel. Favoring deprived and poor people (commoners, workers and professionals); criticism of landowners, rich people, owners and nobles; the need to be aware of and fight internal tyranny and foreign colonialism in order to achieve an ideal classless society (socialism); emphasis on preserving the independence and freedom of the country; opposition to clergymen and the religion of Islam; etc. are among the ideological aspects in the novel. The Self discourse of the novel is the left or socialism, which is opposed to the ruling discourse (Qajar and Pahlavi governments), Islamist discourse (Shi'ism), and imperialism; But there are signs of nationalism or patriotism in it. This novel is a public and open struggle with the ruling system and was written to change the existing power relations. Since the Jungle Movement was based on the principles of Islam and the Shia religion, there is a negative and critical view of this movement in the novel. This unfavorable view is such that the author has ignored historical facts. He has shown the role and position of the Self (communists) beyond what it was, and on the other hand, he has reduced the importance of the Other (the Jungle Movement) and considered it ineffective; Even in some cases, their useful actions have been left unsaid. The author has distorted the history of the Jungle Movement and criticized its leaders, especially Mirza Kuchak Khan, because of his Islamic thoughts and his opposition to communist thoughts, and considered him to be against the revolution. From his point of view, Mirza is a naive, non-political, inconsistent, treaty-breaking and cowardly person. The author considers the Gilan revolution to be the result of the efforts of the Iranian communists (author's co-thinkers) and refers to them as “revolutionaries”. In general, this novel is an ideological and biased work in the direction of propagating the ideas of communists and emphasizing their role in the fight against colonialism and tyranny. Whether consciously or unconsciously, the author has represented an important historical period of Iran through the lens of communist and leftist ideology. However, this representation is fundamentally different from what is given in authentic historical writings.