Identity conflict between characters in the novel: I Don't Like the Sun in Paris

Abstract

The issue of identity and national belonging has long preoccupied novelists. The Algerian novel, in particular, has taken significant strides toward experimentation in the post-colonial period. Algerian novelists have succeeded in presenting new and evolving societal issues, such as the conflict between the self and the Other in cultural perception and thought, as well as the East–West dichotomy, which has generated identity conflict. Accordingly, this study is titled: (Identity Conflict Between Characters in the Novel “I Do Not Like the Sun in Paris”), which explores the identity struggle between the self and the Other. To achieve this aim, the research adopts the descriptive-analytical method as a tool to examine both the explicit and implicit narrative structures, and to derive the manifestations of identity conflict through the multiple struggles depicted in the novel. The study addresses several key questions, most notably: What are the main types of identity conflict presented in the aforementioned novel? The research concludes with several findings, the most important of which is that the novel successfully portrays the fluctuations of identity and its profound crisis among immigrants by depicting various forms of social, religious, and political conflicts.

Keywords: Conflict – Identity – Social Identity Conflict – Religious Identity Conflict – Political Identity Conflict.