Algerian War of Independence against French Colonialism and its Reflection in Literature

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor of French Language and Literature, University of Tehran

2 Ph.D. Comparitive Literature, French Literature, University of Tehran

Abstract

The Algerian War of Independence, which broke out in 1954 and lasted 8 years taking innumerable lives is widely reflected in the French and Francophone works of literature. Today, half a century after the signing of the Evian Accords, we are witnessing the emergence of new works on the war, which not only record the collective memory of the nation, but also strive to satisfy the curiosity of the younger generation. It should be noted that each author, even if he doesn’t seek to promote a pre-determined ideology, narrates the war from his own point of view, and has a particular perspective on the war and its margins. Thus, comparing different versions of a single phenomenon can help avoid one-sided interpretations by providing a more wholesome view of the issue. In the following article, in addition to providing a brief history on the relations between France and Algeria, we attempt to study the narratives of the French war of independence while adopting a comparative approach to present an introduction of the social and political contexts in which they were narrated.

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