"رحلة عُمر، من قريةٍ في العالم، إلى عالمٍ في قرية": دراسة في النّقد الثّقافيّ، في كتاب السّيرة الذّاتيّة للكاتب نمر مرقس: "أقوى من النّسيان" (ترشيحا، 2000)

Abstract

This article examines the autobiography of the author Nimer Morqos, ʾAqwā min al-Nisyān [Stronger than Oblivion], published in 2000, from the perspective of cultural criticism. This autobiography interlinks with the journey of the Arab masses in Palestine, as well as the journey of the Communist Party, from the mid-1930s until the late 1970s. Morqos’s autobiography also serves as a voice for the oppressed and the marginalized against the domination of unjust offensive power and a new voice that exposes both the flaws and strengths of old traditions and viewpoints. As such, the study divides the author’s life into four organically interconnected stages: childhood and curiosity, posing questions and seeking answers, finding solutions that quench the author’s thirst, and applying these solutions despite the cost. These stages are further analyzed based on two main themes: the question of justice versus power and the question of the new negating and replacing the old.

By adopting contextual analysis and examining Morqos’s autobiography from the perspective of cultural criticism, the study aims to answer two main questions. First, How did the author’s awareness transition from the confines of the local small village to the global vastness of the world? Second, Was the author seeking answers for himself only or for others as well? The study sheds light on the important stations that the author paused at in his life journey, crystallizing his awareness and preparing him to embrace a local-global thought and approach to writing. It also shows how the author’s quest for answers was to find the path to solving both his and other people’s problems and liberate himself and others from the predicaments of oppression.