CONTENTS
STATEMENT i
PREFACE ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF TABLES ix
LIST OF APPENDICES x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1
1.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic 4
1.3 Scope of the Study 5
1.4 Research Questions 5 1.5 Aims of the Study 5
1.6 Research Method 6
1.7 Research Procedure 7 1.8 Clarification of Main Terms 7 1.9 Organization of the Paper 9
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 2.1 Literature in a Postcolonial Perspective 10
2.1.1 Characters and Characterization 12
2.2 Postcolonial: General Definition 13
2.3 Postcolonial: Theory and Criticism 14
2.4 Postcolonial: the Key Concepts 19
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 Analyzing a Literary Text 27
3.2 Postcolonial Method of Literary Analysis 28
3.3 Technique of Data Collection 30
3.4 Technique of Data Analysis 31
3.5 Subject of the Research 34
3.5.1 About Karl May 34
3.5.1.1 Karl May’s Biography 34
3.5.1.2 Karl May’s Works 36
3.5.2 on Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah
Through the Desert 37
3.5.2.1 The Synopsis 37
3.5.2.2 Characters 39
3.5.2.3 Settings 41
3.6 Data Presentation 42
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Characterization 45
4.2 The Representation of Arabs-Muslim Characters 49 4.3 The Representation of European-Christian Characters 59 4.4 Discussion: Postcolonial Literary Analysis 66
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion 74
5.2 Suggestion 76
APPENDICES BIBLIOGRAPHY
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Once it is claimed that “great literature has a timeless and universal
significance” (Barry: 2002, p.192). It means by this ‘universalities’ one disregards
“cultural, social, regional, and national differences in experience and outlook,
preferring instead to judge all literature by a single, supposedly ‘universal’ standard
(Barry: 2002, p.192). Because of the arbitrary standard of ‘eurocentrict’ norm and
practices which comes from this ‘universal’ literature, post-colonial criticism then
comes forward to reject this form of universalism.
One of the significant terms in post-colonial criticism is representation. The
term representation indeed “are very broad arenas within which much of the drama of
colonialist relations and post-colonial examination and subversion of those relations
has taken place” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin: 1995, p.85). Below is what Karl Marx
says about representation:
They cannot represent themselves; they must be represented. (Karl Marx, the Eighteen Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, on the preface of Said’s Orientalism
(1979))
What can be interpreted from that excerpt is that in literature; the culture, the
people, the outlook and its appearance are represented, not represent themselves.
From this point, it can be said that in postcolonial literature, how the culture, people
2 text of colonized and colonizer becomes the major issues of how this two polar
subjects represent themselves and/or represent the other. It can be seen when how the
colonizer, in this case, the European texts capture “the non-European subject within
European frameworks which read his or her alterity as terror or lack” (Ashcroft,
Griffiths, Tiffin: 1995, p.85 italics added). This misjudge interpretation has given rise
to a great range of problems and debates in postcolonial studies.
One of the fundamental resistances of that representation, and also as the
seminal work of post-colonial criticism, is the work of Edward Said’s Orientalism. In
this book, Said says that “Orientalism is fundamentally a political doctrine willed over
the Orient because the Orient was weaker than the West, which elided the Orient’s
difference with its weakness” (Said: 1979, p.204). Said proposes that the term for the
East as ‘the orient’ is western’s invention, indicating this ‘orient’ is weak, inferior,
and as ‘the other’ within western perfective. This depiction of ‘the orient’ constructs
a world of backwardness, irrationality and uncivilized which belongs to ‘the orient’.
The Western who creates this depiction, in the other hand, place themselves as the
opposite of those characteristics; as progressive, rational, and civilized.
Baldonado (1996), according to Said’s Orientalism, says that this
representation “can never be exactly realistic”:
Representations, then, can never be ‘natural’ depictions of the orient. Instead, they are constructed images, images that need to be interrogated for their
ideological content.
(http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Representation.html)
In similar way, Spivak (1990) says that this representation or “speaking the
3 or the radical critics speaking for them; this question of representation,
self-representation, representing others, is a problem” (Spivak: 1990, p.63). She also says
that “constructing the Other simply as an object of knowledge, leaving out the real
Others because of the ones who are getting access into public places due to these
waves of benevolence and so on” (Spivak: 1990, p.63). By this commentary, Spivak
emphasizes that representation, or as she calls as ‘speaking the name of’ is a problem,
especially in the term of representing the other in postcolonial studies. She also adds
why this kind of representation becomes problem, the construction of the other
positions them just as an object of knowledge, judging this way can marginalize ‘the
real other’.
Shohat (1995) in an agreed tone says that the representation in any form
should be constantly questioned. She says that “each filmic or academic utterance
must be analyzed both only in terms of who represents but also in terms of who is
being represented in what purpose, at which historical moment, for which location,
using which strategies, and in what tone of address” (Shohat:1995, p.173). What
Shohat tries to say that the subaltern or the marginalized groups often do not have the
power of the representation. As the impact, they are often in a position of negative
capture depending on the behalf of the powerful one. By this reason, the
representation then, especially if the marginalized groups or the subaltern are
involved, must be questioned.
Form those points above, it can be concluded that the representation,
especially in the postcolonial studies, cannot be a mere “likeness”. According to
Baldonado (1996), it becomes an ideological tool for reinforcing “systems of
4 projects”. In this case, the representation of ‘the orient’/ ‘the East’ is done by ‘the
occident’/the West to maintain their superiority as their ideology and in the contrary,
maintain the inferiority as the ideology of their so-called the East as ‘the orient’.
Framing by related studies above, this study attempts to analyze the
representation of Arabs-Muslim characters in Karl May’s travel narrative entitled
Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert. This travel
narrative is interesting because the setting of the stories is in the Middle East, which is
written by German writer, Karl May. The character of the story is the German native,
Kara Ben Nemsi, who travels around in the Middle East accompanied by his servant,
an Arab native, Hajji Halef Omar. To emphasize, through this paper, the researcher
will try to uncover how the binary characters, the German—‘the occident’ in the
opposite to the Arabs—‘the orient’ are represented in the text.
1.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic
This study is conducted by these following reasons:
1. Karl Friedrich May, as the author of the book Oriental Odyssey I: in the
Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert, is one of the most famous writers
in German. He has written many fiction adventurous books, such as the most
popular books of Winnetou and Kara Ben Nemsi. His books also have great
influence upon the world. Among his story fans are Albert Einstein and Adolf
Hitler.
2. Karl May’s travel narrative entitled Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of
5 life and its people. It is interesting to study the story of Middle East life which
is written by the people outside the culture, in this case, in the eye of a
European writer, Karl May.
By those reasons, it is interesting to conduct the study of this story book,
especially from Postcolonial point of view.
1.3 Scope of the Study
The study will be limited in analyzing the representation of Arabs-Muslim
characters in the opposite of European-Christian characters in Karl May’s travel
narrative entitled Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah through the
Desert.
1.4 Research Questions
1. How are Arabs-Muslim characters represented in the text?
2. How are European-Christian characters represented in the text?
3. How do these contrast each other and what can postcolonial criticism do
about it?
1.5 Aims of the Study
1. To reveal how Arabs-Muslim characters are represented in the text
6 3. To examine how these contrast each other and what postcolonial criticism
can do about it
1.6 Research Method
The study will use qualitative method to analyze the text. There are some
advantages with using qualitative method to analyze qualitative data, as Miles &
Huberman (1994) notes:
Qualitative data are sexy. They are source of well-grounded, rich descriptions and explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts. With qualitative data one can preserve chronological flow, see precisely which events led to which consequences, and derive fruitful explanations. Then, too, good qualitative data are more likely to lead to serendipitous findings and to new integrations; they help researches to get beyond initial conceptions and to generate revise conceptual frameworks. Finally, the findings from qualitative studies have a quality of “underniability. (Miles & Huberman, p.1)
Miles & Huberman also states that the strength of qualitative data “is that they focus
on naturally occurring, ordinary events in natural settings, so that we have a strong
handle on what “real life” is like” (p.10).
Along with using qualitative method, the study also will employ descriptive
method. According to Nasir (1988) descriptive method “is a method in investigating
the group status of people, an object, a set of condition, a paradigm or a sequence of
current events. It is aimed at providing an accurate, factual and systematic description
on facts, natures, and relations of researched phenomena” (p.63).
Finally, the method used in this study is postcolonial criticism. By this
7 of how ‘the occident’ characters are represented in the text based on the postcolonial
theory.
1.7 Research Procedure
Firstly, the travel narrative will be read thoroughly. Then several major
characters of Arabs-Muslim and European-Christian Characters are chosen. A table
which consists of columns named textual evidences, encounters, and critical notes is
made. The purpose of making this table is to analyze and give textual evidences
which are needed for the research. Therefore, the textual evidences which have been
revealed by the analysis of several major characters will be analyzed by postcolonial
criticism. Finally, all the data findings are discussed to answer the research questions.
1.8 Clarification of Main Terms
Postcolonial: of, relating to, or being in the time following the establishment of
independence in a colony (The American Heritage Dictionary; second edition). In this
study, the term postcolonial related to the period of postcolonial which Karl May’s
travel narrative entitled Oriental Odyssey I still exists, that it is assumed the legacy of
colonialism still appears in the novel.
Postcolonialism (postcolonial theory): is a specifically post-modern intellectual
discourse that consists of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of
8 theory of the cultural legacy of postcolonialism which may appear in the characters of
the text.
Representation: it may connote the act of one person standarding in place of, or
representing another, as when one member of a class of persons brings a legal action
on behalf of the class (Encyclopedia Americana; Volume 23). In this study, the term
representation means how the Arabs-Muslim and European-Christian characters are
represented in the text.
Orientalism: is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological
distinction made between ‘the orient’ and (most of the time) ‘the occident’ (Edward
Said’s Orientalism: 1979). In this study, the term orientalism connects with the later
proving that the representation of Arabs-Muslim Characters is a depiction of thought
of the writer (in this case, Karl May as Western writer).
The Orient: Western’s depiction, how to define the non-European people (the
Eastern), its outlook, appearance, and places (Edward Said’s Orientalism: 1979). In
this study, the orient is Arabs-Muslim characters.
9
1.9 Organization of the Paper
This Paper will be organized into five chapters:
Chapter I is Introduction. This chapter contains background, reasons for
choosing the topic, scope of the study, research questions, aims of the study, research
method, data collection and data analysis, and organization of the paper.
Chapter II is Theoretical Foundation. This chapter will encompass some
related theories for the study.
Chapter III is Research Method. This chapter deals with the method of the
research, technique of data collection, technique of data analysis, subject of the
research, and data presentation
Chapter IV is Discussion. This chapter consists of the discussion of the
research’s analysis.
10
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
2.1 Literature in a Postcolonial Perspective
Literature, if one might say, is one product of culture and society. It has
various definitions. However, those various definitions can be simplified based on the
term ‘literature’ in this research, that is according to Answer.com (2010) literature is
the body of written works of a language, period, or culture and also imaginative or
creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value. Therefore, literature has
important roles or values to build the civilization of human being.
One of the genres of literary works is novel. According to Murphy (1996) the
novel has been the aesthetic object of choice of majority of postcolonial scholars. He
proposes three factors why novel’s predominance can be attributed in postcolonial
studies; (1) the representational nature of the novel (2) its heteroglossic structure (3)
the function of the chronotope in the novel. He also argues that the representational
power of the novel, its ability to give voice to a people in the assertion of their identity
and their history, is of primary importance to postcolonial writers and scholars.
The term “heteroglossic” according to Guide to Literary Terms Group (2009)
comes from the term “heteroglossia”, the term made up by Russian critic and literary
theorist Mikhail Bakhtin which refers to the idea that there are several distinct
languages within any single (apparently) unified language. These different languages
have each different voice and they compete with one another for dominance. A novel
11 another to define the text. So this heteroglossic structure important for postcolonial
studies because one of important study in postcolonial literary criticism is to examine
the binary opposition in the novel which can be seen from different voices in the text
competing with one another for dominance.
According to Dentith (2001) “Chronotope” is a term taken over by Mikhail
Bakhtin from 1920s science to describe the manner in which literature represents time
and space. In different kinds of writing there are different chronotopes, by which
changing historical conceptions of time and space realized. Dentith also argues that
specific chronotopes are said to correspond particular genres, or relatively stable ways
of speaking, which themselves represent particular worldviews or ideologies. Since
chronotope exists in the novel which represents worldviews and ideologies, the novel
becomes an important subject matter for postcolonial studies.
Since the novel is a form of fiction story, it is also one form of the texts, which
Gandhi (1998) says that texts is more than any other social and political product; it is
the most significant instigators and purveyors of colonial power and its double,
postcolonial resistance. “Imperial relations may have been established initially by
guns, guile and disease, but they were maintained in their interpolative phase largely
by textuality” (Lawson & Tiffin 1994, p. 3).
In this case, the travel narrative by Karl May entitled Oriental Odyssey I: in
the Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert will be studied and analyzed. Spencer
(2005) states that "In narrative writing, an author has a chance to make his or her
mark on the world by relating a story that only he or she can tell. Whether it comes
from a personal experience or is one that the writer has imagined, the point of a
12 May is a fictional one, which is also part of literature. This narrative has the same
generic structure with the novel explained above. Thus, this travel narrative also has
the possibility of the emergence of colonialism through its representational nature, its
heteroglossic structure and its chronotope function.
2.1.1 Characters and Characterization
In the real life, character has close relationship to the human personality
because everyone has his own unique character. However, fictional character in
literary work cannot be the same as the character of the people in the real life. In
literary work, the existence of characters is aimed to represent something or particular
individual.
Hawthorn (2001) points out that the character is intended to investigate the
human personality or psychology, to tell a story, to show a belief, to contribute a
symbolic pattern in a novel, and purely to facilitate a particular plot development.
Below is 3 points investigating the character in fiction and its relation to the character
in real life proposed by Hawthorn (p.81);
• The construction of characters in the novel depends on its representation
and correlation to real life;
• The different perspectives of people about life influence the construction
of fictional character;
• Character in a fiction is a symbol of character in real life.
Still in Hawthorn’s speak, a method used to learn the fictional characters is
13 providing the significant information about characters, and viewing the process as
what the writer is trying to achieve in the presentation of characters. Hawthorn also
points out two methods of characterizations (p.93):
• Explanatory, describes a person through the narrator;
• Dramatic, in which the readers are supposed to understand the story by
themselves as if witnessing a theatrical performance.
According to Hawthorn’s point of view about characters and characterization,
it can be concluded that characters and characterization is a part of representation in
the literature, especially fiction story. The characters and characterization then have
important role in the fiction story and in this study because of its representational
nature from the real life which is embedded in the characters and characterizations in
the fiction story.
2.2 Postcolonial: General Definition
The final hour of colonialism has struck, and millions of inhabitants of Africa, Asia and Latin America rise to meet a new life and demand their unrestricted right to self determination. (Che Guevara, speech to the United
Nations, December 11, 1964.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcolonialism)
The quotation of Che Guevara’s speech above is a reflection of challenging
colonialism. The term colonialism itself can be defined as “the practice by which a
powerful country controls another country or other countries” (A. Lawson, & C.
Tiffin: 2000). Thiong’o (1973) writes that the aim of this colonialism is “to get at
people’s land and what that land produces”. But, if going back to the excerpt above,
14 struck” indicating the new era of liberty and independence of Africa, Asia and Latin
America.
This condition then brings the term ‘postcolonial’ to the front. In a literal
sense, postcolonial “is that which has been preceded by colonization” (Bahri: 1996).
Meanwhile, according Bahri (1996) who cites the meaning of ‘postcolonial’ from the
second college edition of The American Heritage Dictionary, postcolonial is “of,
relating to, or being the time following the establishment of independence of a
colony”. But in practice, the term postcolonial can be more loosely. According to
Bahri (1996), it sometimes includes countries which have yet to achieve
independence, or minority people in First World countries, or even independent
colonies which subjugated by “neocolonial” forms through expanding capitalism and
globalization. More generically, this term can indicate the position of one against
‘eurocentrism’ and imperialism.
2.3 Postcolonial: Theory and Criticism
The field of Postcolonial studies has become prominence since 1970s. The
publishing of Edward Said’s Orientalism (1979) which criticizes ‘the orient’ as
Western’s depiction is claimed as the rising point of this theory in the academic field.
The use of this term grows when the book entitled The Empire Writes Back: Theory,
Practice, in Post-colonial Literatures (1989) by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and
Hellen Tiffin, appears. Since then, the use of postcolonial is widely used in the
15 In a very general sense, according to Bahri (1996), postcolonial study “is the
study of the interactions between European Nations and the societies they colonized
in the modern period”. However, it is true that the age of colonialism has ended, and
the postcolonial era has been born, but this not without ranges of problem emerging.
The world is not fully free from the colonialism. The new form of colonialism—
neocolonialism and imperialism subjugates the life of the postcolonial groups, the
minorities, the subaltern.
Holden (2008) writes that this new form of colonialism might be very variant,
a chain of fake solutions of progression;
Colonial modernity contained inherent contradictions of which colonized elites made strategic use. The new imperialism of the late nineteenth century clothed itself in enlightenment notions of progress, of the potential equality of human beings, and thus presented itself as—at least partially—a project of uplifting and educating “subject races”. Yet colonialism—in its British form, at least—constitively refused to grant equality to those who fulfilled the very criteria it laid down: indeed, most colonial governments exhibited considerable reluctance to accord non-Europeans the status of British subjects. (Holden, p. 47)
By the facts above, it is clear that the colonialism era is never fully ended, but it
changes itself into other forms. This fact can arrive to a conclusion that the
postcolonial countries or non-western countries still face a great range of colonial
problems and identity. The same problems also exist in literature produced by writers
from eastern countries or even literature produced by writers from western countries.
This fact also triggers the emergence of postcolonial theory, studies, and
criticism. This theory and criticism works through the process of ‘re-reading’,
‘writing back’ and ‘re-examine’ the canonical literature or literature produced by
eastern and western countries. One also says that postcolonial literary critics
16 For example, the postcolonial ‘re-reading’ according to Ashcroft, Griffiths,
and Tiffin (2000) can be done by ‘reading’ and ‘re-reading’ all kind of texts which is
inescapably influenced by colonization on literary production. They say that this kind
of ‘re-reading’ is a form of deconstructive reading which most usually applied to
works from the colonizers (but may be applied to works by the colonized) which
demonstrates its underlying assumptions (civilization, justice, aesthetics, sensibility,
race) and reveals its (often unwitting) colonialist ideologies and processes.
Postcolonial theory, provides a framework which deconstruct dominant
discourse which comes from the West, challenges inherent assumptions, and also
critiques the material legacies of colonialism. Bhaba (1994) says that the postcolonial
criticism comes from the East/minorities who demand for fair discourse of
representation;
The postcolonial perspective—as it is being developed by cultural historians and literary theorists—emerge from the colonial testimony of Third World countries and the discourse of ‘minorities’ within the geopolitical divisions of East and West, North and South. They intervene in those ideological discourses of modernity… often disadvantages histories of nations, races, communities, people. They formulate their critical revisions around issues of cultural difference, social authority and political discrimination in order to reveal the antagonistic and ambivalent moments within the ‘rationalizations’ of modernity. (Bhaba, p.246)
Bhaba’s argument emphasizes that the emergence of postcolonial criticism first comes
from the East, a region where the minority is a result of geopolitical divisions of the
East and the West. The Eastern people criticize the ideological discourses which
disadvantages their histories of nations, races, communities, and people. In this way
they formulate their critical revision towards the unfair ideological discourse.
As Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin (2000) speak, Postcolonialism, then, has been
17 and effects of, and reactions to,European colonialism from the sixteenth century up to
and including the neo-colonialism of the present day. They also remark that in its
development, Postcolonialism is now widely and diversely used to the study and
analysis of everything related to the way, form and colonial legacies in both pre- and
post-independent nations and communities.
In similar voice Slemon (1994) argues postcolonialism is now used in its
various fields, heterogeneous set of subject positions, professional fields, and critical
enterprises. To conclude, according to Gandhi (1988), postcolonialism directs its
critique against the cultural hegemony of European knowledge in an attempt to
reassert the epistemological value and agency of the non-European world.
In this case, some critiques against cultural hegemony of European knowledge
also address to the subject of this research, that is Karl May’s works, especially a
travel narrative entitled Oriental Odyssey I. Although Karl May’s works are very
popular, as can be seen from the comment by Louanna Alahem, which says that Karl
May’s Oriental Odyssey I “is an honest portrayal of this world, with only a slight
European smugness, but much less than most of the literature of the day. The Arab
Culture is not portrayed as barbaric or savage; rather we are shown its depth and
richness…” (2002), her comment is rejected by some other people’s comments, such
as what is found by Ganesa (2004).
According to Ganesa (2004) these comments are gained from amazon.com,
indokarlmay.com and private communication. The first comment is from someone in
Turkey, who says that Karl May has done misjudged description about the Muslim in
18 My respect for Karl May is not diminished when I learned-although his
incredible knowledge of the East World and Islam- that he made mistakes, for example: women in Islam do not have souls. Or as he put the blame of Islam followers into (a mistake) of Islam itself. In the same way the Muslims are sometimes discriminated against by Karl May. I do not worry about this. That is the view of the world by May. This view is also often included fascism, when May shows us that the Armenians or Greeks as human- without ethics. On the other hand the heroes are always represented coming from Germany.1 (Ganesa, p.126)
Another comment comes from Tantri Yuliandini from Indonesia, who says her
disappointment of other Karl May’s travel narrative, Winnetou, stating that the
European character (Old Shatterhand) is described as too perfect in the story:
I was 13 years old when I first read it, and I love Winnetou and American Indians in general because of it. It’s really a great story. Now, 13 years later, I feel have been deceived. The whole story was good when you were 13 years old. All were there, adventure, suspense, tragedy, and a touch of romance. But that's not realistic. Nothing, and no one is so perfect as Karl May described Old Shatterhand. Greenhorn who came directly from German who never hold a gun, but can shot the right target at the first shot (lucky? Maybe, but it's even worse). Never rode a horse, but at the first time trying could smoothly rode it. Could master Indian expertise in no time at all, who is he, Superman? I see Old Shatterhand as too perfect character, and (I) do not like it. I think Winnetou is more humane, with sadness and the urge for revenge. The story would be better if Old Shatterhand is eliminated.2 (Ganesa, p.128)
1
Translated into English from Bahasa Indonesia: “Hormat saya ke Karl May tidak berkurang ketika saya mengetahui-walaupun pengetahuannya yang luar biasa atas dunia timur dan islam-, bahwa dia membuat kesalahan-kesalahan, misalnya: perempuan dalam Islam tidak punya jiwa. Atau ketika dia menimpakan kesalahan pemeluk agama Islam menjadi (kesalahan) Islam itu sendiri. Dengan cara yang sama orang muslim terkadang didiskriminasikan oleh Karl May. Saya tidak khawatir tentang ini. Itu adalah pandangan May tentang dunia. Pandangan ini sering termasuk juga fasisme, yaitu ketika May menunjukkan kita bahwa orang Armenia atau Yunani sebagai manusia-manusia tanpa etika. Di lain pihak pahlawan-pahlawannya direpresentasikan sebagai berasal dari jerman. “
2
19 Ganesa himself, reveal Karl May’s weaknesses in his travel narrative, as can
be seen below:
Almost all techniques of the narration in the Travel Narrative use the narrator style as the "I". It more dense contained, the conflict is more varied, though still not separated from its weakness, that is excessive, both from the affirmation of the good side or bad side, including moral and religious, as well as half narcissist (said some people), because the "I" always win and excel in the end.3 (Ganesa, p.73, italics added)
Those comments show that despite the popularity of Karl May’s works, there are still
many things from his description in his stories which should be criticized, especially
from postcolonial perspective about how he describes the non-European characters in
contrast to European characters.
2.4 Postcolonial: the Key Concepts
Postcolonial criticism has wide-ranging subjects and terms. Therefore, in
doing the postcolonial analysis, this study conducts three key concepts of postcolonial
criticism as examined below:
2.4.1 Representation
According to Wehmeier & Ashby(2000), the term representation has various
meaning, but the first meaning is “the act of presenting sb/sth in a particular way;
something that shows or describe something”. In details, Baldonado (1996) explains
representation as the act of placing or stating facts in order to influence or affect the
20 actions of other. To conclude, the term representation has a semiotic meaning;
‘standing for something else’, which implicated in the postcolonial studies.
Postcolonial studies find that in the European texts, the representations of
non-european subjects have been described as lack or inferior. “Within the complex
relations of colonialism these representations were reprojected to the colonised—
through formal education or general colonialist cultural relations—as authoritative
pictures of themselves” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin: 1995, p.85).
Referring to the term representation, Said (1979) shows his resistance to the
Western representation of the East, especially the term ‘orient’ and ‘occident’. He
argues that the term for the East as ‘the orient’ is western’s invention, indicating this
‘orient’ is weak, inferior, and as ‘the other’ within western perfective. This depiction
of ‘the orient’ constructs a world of backwardness, irrationality and uncivilized which
belongs to ‘the orient’. The Western who creates this depiction, in the other hand,
place themselves as the opposite of those characteristics; as progressive, rational, and
civilized. This depiction then used by the West as the way of dominating the East:
Taking the late eighteen century as a very rougly defined starting point Orientalism can be be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient—dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it. In short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient. (Said, p.3)
In the same voice, Spivak (1990) says that this representation or “speaking the name
of” is not a solution. “The idea of the disenfranchised speaking for themselves, or the
radical critics speaking for them; this question of representation, self-representation,
representing others, is a problem” (Spivak: 1990, p.63). By this commentary, Spivak
21 especially in the term of representing the Other in postcolonial studies. She also adds
why this kind of representation becomes problem, the construction of the Other
positions them just as an object of knowledge, judging this way can marginalize ‘the
real Other’.
Shohat (1995) in similar tone says that the representation in any form should
be constantly questioned. She says that “each filmic or academic utterance must be
analyzed both only in terms of who represents but also in terms of who is being
represented in what purpose, at which historical moment, for which location, using
which strategies, and in what tone of address” (Shohat: 1995, p.173). What Shohat
tries to say is the subaltern or the marginalized groups often do not have the power of
representation. As the impact, they are often in a position of negative capture
depending on the behalf of the powerful one. By this reason, the representation then,
especially if the marginalized groups or the subaltern are involved, must be
questioned.
What can be drawn from the facts above is that representation, especially in
the postcolonial studies, cannot be a mere “likeness”. According to Baldonado (1996),
it becomes an ideological tool for reinforcing “systems of inequality and
subordination”; it also can sustain “colonialist or neocolonialist projects”. In this
case, the representation of ‘the orient’/ ‘the East’ is done by ‘the occident’/the West to
maintain their superiority as their ideology and in the contrary, maintain the
22
2.4.2 Binarism
Firstly comes from French Structural Linguist, Ferdinand De Saussure, the
term binary opposition, or binarism, has particular sets of meaning in postcolonial
theory. According to Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin (2000), binarism means a
combination of two things, a pair, ‘two’, duality (OED) (p. 18). The more extreme
form of binarism is binary opposition, like sun/moon, man/woman, life/death,
black/white. “Such oppositions, each of which represents a binary system, are very
common in the cultural construction of reality” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin: 2000,
p.18). In fact, this binary system entails a violent hierarchy, demonstrates that one is
opposed to the other. Furthermore, it still exists to confirm the dominance of one to
another.
In postcolonial studies, “the binary logic of imperialism is a development of
that tendency of Western thought in general to see the world in terms of binary
oppositions that establish a relation of dominance” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin:
2000, p.19). The binary opposition in colonial discourse can be seen as the following:
West : East
Colonizer : Colonized
Center : Margin
Self : Other
Occident : Orient
Superior : Inferior
Civilized : Savages
Rational : Irrational
23
Beautiful : Ugly
Hero : Villain
Human : Bestial
Originally, as Nesbit (2001) argues, the binary system of colonial discourse comes
from the colonization era;
Though the colonizing empire may indeed entrench itself in the land which it means to take, the empire must also entrench itself in the minds of people in the minds of the people whom it means to rule. Therefore, the colonizer must present a model of reality which is seemingly absolute and flawless as a replacement for what comes to be considered the old, savagely imperfect modes of thought ascribed to by the natives. (http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/myths.html)
As the result, this binary system, as Gandhi (1998) says, makes the colonized was
henceforth to be postulated as the inverse or negative image of the colonizer.
However, Nesbit adds that this binary system dehumanizes the natives/colonized not
only in the minds of the people of the empire, but in the minds of the
natives/colonized as well. To make it simply, the purpose of this binary system is to
make the imperialism and all its manifestations mortal and strong.
2.4.3 Orientalism
The orient that appears in Orientalism, then, is a system of representations framed by a whole set of forces that brought the Orient into Western learning, Western Consciousness, and later, Western Empire. If this definition of Orientalism seems more political than not, that is simply because I think Orientalism was itself a product of certain political forces and activities. (Said:, p.202-203)
Edward Said’s Orientalism (1979) has been one of the seminal work of
postcolonial criticism, and has been projected the case of representation as its subject
24 culture, and also in ideas, history, politics by the West. In his study of how the West
constructs a stereotypical image of the East, Said as cited by Yang (1999) argues that,
far from simply reflecting what the countries of the near East were, actually like,
‘Orientalism’ is the discourse by which European culture is able to manage and even
produce the East politically, sociologically, military, ideologically, scientifically and
imaginatively.
In the same voice with Said, Hall (1997) explains that ‘Otherness’ is tightly
related to ‘difference’. He proposes two arguments of why ‘difference’ is so
compelling as an object of representation. The ‘difference’ is essential to meaning
since it is the one which signifies meaning and without it, meaning could not exist.
‘difference’ is needed because meaning can only constructed through a dialogue with
the ‘other’. To conclude, the ‘other’ is so fundamental to the constitution of the ‘self’.
Discussing about Said’s prominent work Orientalism, Sered (1996)argues that
Edward Said's evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs known as Orientalism
forms an important background for postcolonial studies. He says that Said’s work
highlights the inaccuracies of a wide variety of assumptions as it questions various
paradigms of thought which are accepted on individual, academic, and political levels.
Said’s Orientalism also mainly discusses about the representation of the East as
Western’s depiction which create the binary opposition maintaining the West as
dominant and superior.
In his writing, Sered (1996) remarks that the term ‘Orientalism’ firstly exists
in 19th century through the Western scholar which is called ‘the Orientalist’. They
study the East for the purpose of the colonial conquest. They assume that by having
25 Said’s critique presents this idea of power. In his book, Said argues that the so-called
Orient becomes the studied, the observed, the object; meanwhile Orientalist scholars
are the students, the observers, the subject. This presentation of The Orient as object
of the study and the Orientalist as the observer indicates The Orient as passive and in
the other side the West as active.
Sered (1996) also remarks one of the most significant constructions of
Orientalist Schoolar which is the Orient itself. What is considered the Orient is a vast
region, through across vast cultures and countries such as Asia and Middle East as
well. In this vast areas, as Sered points out, ‘essentializing’ an image of a prototypical
Oriental--a biological inferior that is culturally backward, peculiar, and
unchanging--to be depicted in dominating and sexual terms. The discourse and visual imagery of
Orientalism is bounded by notions of power and superiority which is formulated by
the West to facilitate their colonizing mission.
Studying Said’s statement in Orientalism, Sered (1996) then says what Said
argues that Orientalism can be found in current Western depictions of "Arab" cultures.
The depictions of "the Arab" as irrational, menacing, untrustworthy, anti-Western,
dishonest are the prototypical self-image of the Arabs depicted by the Orientalist
scholars. These notions are considered as the main foundations for ideologies and
policies developed by the so-called Occident. Below is what Said says about Muslim
representation as Western’s depiction of the Orient:
26 dogma that not only degrades its subject matter but also blinds its
practitioners. (Said, 1979)
In the quotation above, Said says that Western’s depiction of the Orient, especially the
Arab and Muslim world, is a form of political propaganda. This idea of the Orient is
made by single position, in this case, by only Western’s point of view. As the result,
this idea subjugates the subject matter (the East/the Arab). Moreover, it also blinds the
practitioners.
In his discussion, Sered (1996) argues that Said’s project attempts to call into
question the underlying assumptions that form the foundation of Orientalist thinking.
This is mainly about a rejection of biological generalizations, cultural constructions,
and racial as well as religious prejudices. Said’s Orientalism also tries to erase the line
which is made between the West and the East.
However, Sered (1996) adds that this Said’s Rejection of Orientalist thinking
does not entail a denial of the differences between 'the West' and 'the Orient,' but
rather an evaluation of such differences in a more critical and objective fashion. In
this case, the Orient cannot be studied only by the Orientalist’s point of view. It is
fairer if the people who have been known until now as the Orient give their voice in
presenting themselves.
Above all, this study will analyze the emergence of representation on literary
texts, concerning about the concept of binary opposition of colonial discourse which
27
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 Analyzing a Literary Text
This study means to attempt observing and analyzing a fictional travel
narrative. The study is conducted by using qualitative method. Burns and Grove
(1993) explain that qualitative approach is conducted due to the following beliefs:
1) There is no single reality
2) Reality based upon perceptions which are different for each person and change
over time
3) What we know has meaning only within a given situation or context
Qualitative approach is suitable for this study because it can put pieces together to
make a whole, it can be used to analyze the subject of the research since there is no
single reality and so many perceptions or interpretations when people analyze the
literature.
Along with using qualitative method, the study also will employ descriptive
method in the process of analyzing the data. Gay (1987) states that descriptive
method is a method of research which involves collecting data in order to test
hypothesis or to answer question concerning the current status of the subject of the
study. The purpose of descriptive method is to describe or illustrate the fact,
characteristic and relationship of research element systematically, factually and
accurately. The data presentations gained in this study is described descriptively,
28 Finally, the method used in this study is postcolonial criticism. By this
criticism means to analyze how ‘the orient’ characters are represented in the contrary
of how ‘the occident’ characters are represented in the text based on the postcolonial
theory.
3.2 Postcolonial Method of Literary Analysis
In analyzing the subject of the research which is the travel narrative
entitled Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert by
Karl May, postcolonial literary criticism is used as a tool of analysis.
According to Dobie (2009), postcolonial literary criticism looks not only at
the works of postcolonial writers, but also canonical texts. She argues that attitudes
toward the “other” are evident in works that may not, on the surface, seem to deal
with colonialism at all. Helen Tiffin argues as cited by Dobie (2009) that the real job
of postcolonial criticism is to investigate the means by which Europe imposed and
maintained.
The way to do so, as Helen Tiffin suggests is to use “canonical
counter-discourse” which is a process of examining characters or the basic assumptions of a
British canonical text, and unveils (colonialist) assumptions, subverting the text for
postcolonialist purposes. In the other words, the real purpose of postcolonial literary
criticism is to examine the legacy of colonial ideas in postcolonial and canonical texts.
In order to abridge the examining of postcolonial literary criticism, Dobie classifies
29 important to postcolonial theory, such as the term ‘universalism’, which is believed by
the European colonizer that their ideals and experiences are universal.
This ‘universalism’ becomes the standard of the non-European people (in
the other word, ‘eurocentrism’). The term ‘eurocentrism’ is the standard from
European colonizer for what any culture should be. In this case, “the European
colonizers assumed the superiority of their own culture and the inferiority of the
conquered ones” (Dobie: 2009, p.209). “They thought of themselves as civilized, even
advanced, and of the colonists as backward, even savage” (Dobie: 2009, p.209). The
term of ‘universalism’ and ‘eurocentrism’ then, is evident in European literature, as
well as American and Asian literature.
Dobie (2009) also proposes ‘the practice of othering’, that is by “viewing
those who are different from oneself as inferior beings, divides people and justifies
hierarchies” (Dobie: 2009, p.210). She classifies this practice into two terms: (1)
‘demonic other’ is how the dominant culture sees the other as evil; and (2) ‘exotic
other’ is when theother is assumed to have natural beauty.
Guided by those basic assumptions and generalizations, an analysis of the
text by postcolonial literary criticism can be done more deeply and more aimed. The
next step is to know how to read and analyze the text. According to Dobie (2009), a
postcolonial analysis begins with the assumption that examining the relationship
between a text and its context. She argues that the postcolonial reader will generally
be alert and sensitive to the presence of the following elements that recur in the
literature:
a. Presentation of colonialism
30 c. Validity of the Narrative
d. Expressions of Nativism (Nationalism)
e. Recurring Subjects and Themes
f. Context
g. Minor Characters
h. Political Statement and Innuendo
i. Similarities
In conclusion, those elements can be used as the first reading to analyze the text from
postcolonial perspective.
3.3 Technique of Data Collection
In carrying out the research, several steps taken as mentioned below:
1. Identifying the subject of the research which is a travel narrative entitled
Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert by
Karl May.
2. Locating the significance of investigating postcolonial theory in the travel
narrative.
3. Conducting library and internet research to collect and comprehend references
which are related to the study.
4. Formulating research questions about the representation of Arabs-Muslim and
European-Christian characters based on postcolonial literary criticism in the
text.
31 6. Highlighting the characters of Arabs-Muslim and the characters of
European-Christian which have distinctive characterizations.
7. Making a table which consists of columns named textual evidences,
encounters, and critical notes.
8. Finding some textual evidences through the table which are related to the
research questions.
9. Analyzing textual evidences by using postcolonial literary criticism.
10.Drawing conclusions and suggestions based on the findings of the research.
3.4 Technique of Data analysis
The data is taken in the form of textual evidences and only related to the
representation of Arabs-Muslim and European-Christian characters in the text. The
findings then classified and assessed in accordance with the issue of the study. The
novel itself would be the main source from which the data can answer the proposed
research questions.
Postcolonial Literary Criticism is used as the framework of analyzing the data
in this study. The findings which are related to the research questions connected to
other sources from which references taken. Several major Arabs-Muslim and
European-Christian characters are analyzed to reveal the issue according to the
purpose of the research. The analysis of these several major Arabs-Muslim and
European-Christian characters aims to gain the valid information about the text and to
32 The way of analyzing several major Arabs-Muslim and European-Christian
characters is by revealing their characterizations and their descriptions based on
textual evidences found in the text. Afterwards, the findings in the form of textual
evidences are analyzed by using postcolonial literary criticism.
The analyzing of textual evidences will be done, firstly, by examining the
presence of some particular elements according to postcolonial literary criticism as
proposed by Dobie (2009) which considered presented in the text, as can be seen
below:
a. Presentation of Colonialism
It will study how the text reflects attitude regarding the orient and the occident
which in this case, the Arabs-Muslim and the European-Christian characters. It
also will study how the narrator of the text positions itself, as an observer or a
participant in the story’s cultural setting. Finally, it will study what traditions
and practices serve to maintain the cultural hierarchy.
b. Treatment of Characters
It will study the portrayals of Arabs-Muslim and European-Christian characters
in the text, what the descriptive terms characterize the depiction of each binary
characters and what the relationship between them in the narrative.
c. Validity of the Narrative
It will study how political and cultural domination presented explicitly or
allegorically in the text. It will try to find the answer if some elements contrary
to what actually happened and if the rationalizations believable. This purpose
will be done by finding some elements in the text, and by elaborating Karl
33 d. Political Statement and Innuendo
It will study if the text makes ideological statements or support a particular
course of political, economic, or social action, if it takes up the case for against a
particular group of people, in this case, the Arabs and their Islam ideology, and
if it criticizes those who represent a specific ideology (Islam).
However, those points above are formulated and resumed in the research questions,
which is about analyzing the representation of Arabs-Muslim and European-Christian
characters and how do these binary characters contrast each other, and more
importantly, how it can be seen from postcolonial criticism’s point of view.
Afterwards, the categorization of the findings based on textual evidences
found, will be in the form of contrasting how Arab-Muslim characters and
European-Christian characters are represented in the text. It will be done based on the binary
opposition of colonial discourse, as can be seen as the following:
West : East
Colonizer : Colonized
Center : Margin
Self : Other
Occident : Orient
Superior : Inferior
Civilized : Savages
Rational : Irrational
Good : Evil
Beautiful : Ugly
34
Human : Bestial
By that way, this study will be able to analyze the data and to answer the research
questions.
3.5 Subject of the Research
The subject of this research is a travel narrative entitled Oriental Odyssey I: in
the Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert by Karl May. In order to support the
study of the text by postcolonial literary criticism framework, the review of extrinsic
and intrinsic elements of the novel is important, which is examined below:
3.5.1 About Karl May
3.5.1.1 Karl May’s Biography
Karl Friedrich May was born in Ernstthal, Germany, in February 25 1842. He
was one of the famous German writers. His books had sold thousands copies and had
translated into many different languages. May’s books mainly told the narrative set in
the American West, Middle East, China, South America and his own native Germany.
Beside writing novels, May also wrote poetry, and several plays. He also wrote his
autobiography which is important for any study of his life. May also composed music,
being highly competent with several musical instruments. Karl May's musical version
of "Ave Maria" became very well known to today.
Karl May was born into a poor family and--according to his autobiography—
he suffered from visual impairment and rickets shortly after his birth, this diseases due
35 Karl May finished a Teacher's College and became a teacher in Waldenburg and
Plauen (Saxony). However teaching still made him live poor because at that time
teaching was not paid well and held low social prestige. His short career as a teacher
ended in 1863 when he was accused by his friend because stealing a pocket watch,
which May himself always denied. He permanently lost his license to teach and
suffered from a nervous breakdown. In the following years he was accused of the
fault while at the same time he was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. He
was twice jailed for matters which nowadays would not make anyone jailed.
During in the prison May began writing. Although he wrote many novels set
in the American West, Middle East, China, South America, actually he had never
gone to those regions. He wrote those novels only based on his knowledge gained by
reading geographical journals. In 1875 he published his first story, although he
remained commercially unsuccessful for a long time. When 'Winnetou I' published in
1892, he then achieved success with his writing and became very popular. Many of
his main characters of the books written as first-person accounts by the
narrator-protagonist.
In his stories, non-dogmatic Christian feelings and values play an important
role, and his heroes are often described as German native. His Native Americans are
portrayed as innocent victims of the white, and many of them are presented as heroic
characters. This might be because he was inspired by the Romantic ideal of the "noble
savage", and by the writings of James Fenimore Cooper.
In his books set in America, May described the character of Winnetou, who
was the wise chief of the Apache Tribe, and also Old Shatterhand, the author's alter
36 time of Ottoman Empire. In this series the narrator-protagonist called himself Kara
Ben Nemsi, (Karl, son of Germany) and travelled with his local guide and servant
Hajji Halef Omar through the Sahara desert and the Near East, experiencing many
exciting adventures.
May had many famous admirers such as Albert Einstein, Hermann Hesse,
Heinrich Mann, Karl Liebknecht, Bertha von Suttner, Adolf Hitler and German
author Carl Zuckmayer who named his daughter by the character Winnetou. For a
long time, literary critics criticized May's books as trivial.
The Karl May Society (Karl-May-Gesellschaft) was founded in 1969 to study
his life and works. May's house in Radebeul near Dresden in Germany changed into a
museum devoted to Karl May and his anthropological collection of Native American
Indian origin artifacts.
3.5.1.2 Karl May’s Works
Karl May writes many stories mainly about the adventures and heroic events,
which set in the American West, Middle East, China, South America and his own
native Germany. The most famous books he is written are Winnetou series which set
in American West. These books have Old Shatterhand as its major characters. Other
famous books are the Oriental Cycle (Volume 1-6).
The first volume of Oriental Cycle is chosen as the subject of this research,
that is Giölgeda Padischahnun (Durch Wüste und Harem or Durch die Wüste ) which
is translated into English version by Michael M. Michalak into Oriental Odyssey I: in
37
3.5.2 on Oriental Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah through the
Desert
3.5.2.1 The Synopsis
This travel narrative is the first series from total eight series of Oriental
Odyssey books. This book consists of four episodes: Abu El Nasser (Father of
Victory), Tschikarma (Kidnapping), Abu Seif (Father of the Saber), and the Desert
Battle. Each story, although seems to stand by itself, is a continuing story.
Abu El Nasser (Father of Victory)
The story started at the desert when Kara Ben Nemsi, accompanied by his
faithful servant Hajji Halef Omar, found horse footprints in the sand, which after been
followed, belonged to a corpse, which was killed along with his camel. The corpse
was a Frenchman, which Kara Ben Nemsi assumed was killed and robbed by his two
companions. Kara Ben Nemsi and Hajji Halef Omar then buried the corpse.
Moved by his strong humanity feelings and a few clues gathered from the
corpse, Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef tried to find the murderer. In the middle of their
investigation, they met the two people who were suspected as the Frenchman’s
murderers. They talked with these two men which ended in the escaping of the two
men. The investigation became more difficult because they had to cross the Sahara
with its chotts (a kind of salt swamp which behaved like a quicksand) ready to
swallow everyone who tried to cross it. To abridge the journey across the chotts, they
asked Halef’s friend, Sadek to be their guide. In the middle of the journey, they faced
38 murderers fell into the chotts and died. Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef then were saved by
Sadek’s son, who brought them to Wekil (Governor), the murderer (Abu El Nasser),
was Wekil’s guest. They tried to catch him there, but Abu El Nasser could escape.
‘Tschikarma’ (Kidnapping)
In Tschikarma, Kara Ben Nemsi was called to cure Mamur’s (ruler of an area)
wife who had been long sick. Kara Ben Nemsi then saw something weird and noticed
the problem when he checked the wife. He assumed that the wife was not Mamur’s
real wife, she had been kidnapped. His suspicion grown when he met Isla Ben Maflei
(Senitza’s fiancé—Senitza is the woman kidnapped by the Mamur).
To save Senitza from the Mamur, Kara Ben Nemsi pretended to be a physician
and tried to rescue her from the Mamur. Kara Ben Nemsi, Halef and Isla Ben Maflei
also planned the way to rescue her. Finally they succeed to rescue Senitza, even
though the Mamur escaped from punishment.
Abu Seif (Father of the Saber)
Kara Ben Nemsi's adventure continued. In Abu Seif (Father of the Sword),
Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef joined the battle between two tribes in Mecca (AteÏbeh
and JeheÏen). Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef helped AteÏbeh tribes because Abu Seif,
their enemy, was part of JeheÏen tribes. In this occasion Halef married Hanneh,
AteÏbeh woman. Meanwhile Kara Ben Nemsi successfully entered Mecca by way of
his cunningness, the Muslim sacred town which was banned to non-Muslim at the
time. The funny thing was, after successfully entered Mecca, he was titled Hajji by his
39
A Desert Battle
In A Desert Battle, Kara Ben Nemsi met an Englishman, David Lindsay, and
decided to travel with him. In the way of their travel, they met the Sheik form Shamar
tribes, who was also Sheik Malek’s friend (from AteÏbeh tribes). Shamar tribes would
be attacked by other tribes. Trying to help them, Kara Ben Nemsi acted like a General
and gave European war style training and strategic advice to their soldiers. He also
arranged the division of war loot from the defeated tribes. He began his adventure
again to save Amal el Ghandur (a son of Sheik Mohammed Emin from Shammar
tribes), and this time, accompanied again by Halef.
3.5.2.2 Characters
There are several characters in Karl May’s travel narrative entitled Oriental
Odyssey I: in the Shadow of the Padishah through the Desert which are divided into
major characters and minor characters.
In this case, major characters are the characters involved in all episodes of the
story, as the following:
• Kara Ben Nemsi: the center character, narrator-protagonist of the story,
German descendant, Middle East traveler, the hero.
• Hajji Halef Omar: an Arab Native, the local guide and the servant of Kara Ben
Nemsi.
Besides, there are minor characters which appeared in one or two episodes of the
40 but only minor characters which considered have more roles in the story, as the
following:
In Abu El Nassr (Father of Victory)
• Abu El Nasser: the villain, the murderer and the robber of the Frenchman in
the desert which Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef go after.
• The Young Villain: Abu El Nasser’s companion.
• The Wekil: the Governor whom Abu El Nasser taking a cover.
• The Wekila: the Wekil’s wife.
• Sadek: Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef’s guide to pass the chott.
• Omar: also a guide, Sadek’s son.
• Arfan Rakedihm: a guide who guides Abu El Nasser and his companion.
In ‘Tschikarma’(Kidnapping)
• Abrahim-Mamur: the man who kidnaps Senitza.
• Abu Hasan: Kara Ben Nemsi’s bestfriend.
• Isla Ben Maflei: a great merchant from Stambul, Senitza’s fiancé.
• Hamsad al Jabara: Isla’s servant
• Senitza: kidnapped girl, Isla’s fiancée.
• Sahbet-Bei: the police director of Egypt
In Abu Seif (Father of the Sword)
• Muhrad Ibrahim: A Turk, the wergi-bashi (ship officer).
• Abu Seif: the legendary robber and pirate from JeheÏen tribes.
• Martin Albani: A German descendant who becomes Kara Ben Nemsi’s friend
