Title: Paul Bowles's Portrayal of Islam in His Moroccan Short Stories
Abstract: There has been a veritable cult following for Paul Bowles's works since his novels and short stories were first brought to the attention of American readers in the 1940s and 1950s; even in recent years his short-story collections have alternately shocked, puzzled, and entertained devoted readers with their NorthAfrican subjects and themes. However, despite Bowles's long familiarity with the culture of the Moroccan Arabs amongst whom he has chosen to live for over forty years, his stories reveal his penchant for suggesting an inaccurate image of Islam. By briefly examining some Moroccan-based short stories from his two major collections, Collected Stories and Midnight Mass,1 intend to demonstrate that Paul Bowles consistently portrayed the most simplistic believers as Muslim representatives. These are characters who misunderstand or deviate from the basic principles and injunctions of Islam with the same lack of insight into Islam that Bowles had. To lend credibility to this examination, I will also explore some of Bowles's statements regarding his attitude toward Islam as a means of assessing his characterization of Muslims.
Publication Year: 1992
Publication Date: 1992-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 2
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