Identifier

etd-03042013-113651

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Linguistics (Interdepartmental Program)

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Between 1969 and 2011, Libya experienced an oppressive dictatorship that paralyzed the country`s political, economical, and social growth. Libya`s literary identity was oppressed due to the policy of censorship and authors were unable to express their opinions freely. In fear of punishment, most Libyan writers criticized the regime and discussed their struggles in the society only implicitly. Censorship has led Libyan writers to adopt different literary styles to reflect on society. In this paper, I will shed light on one of the writers` techniques by examining six Libyan short stories using a stylistics analysis approach. I analyze the lexical feature of the language focusing on adjectives. I investigate how Libyan authors discuss socio-economic and political issues through the use of adjectives. I put the adjectives into different categories: adjectives of color, physical adjectives, personal adjectives, emotional adjectives, adjectives of nationality, etc. I look at how the denotative and connotative meanings of the adjectives reflect cultural concepts in Libyan society and the authors` perspectives. Data reveal that Libyan authors rely heavily on adjectives to help represent positive and negative images, as well as empowering and dis-empowering characters in the stories. Data analysis also reveals certain patterns in style such as the use of the colors black & white to create negative and positive atmospheres and to demonize and romanticize characters.

Date

2013

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Brody, M. Jill

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1433

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