Socio-Historical Criticism of the Stories “Bileh Dig, Bileh Choghondar” and “Namake Gandideh” Based on Claude Duchet’s Theory

Abstract

The language of fiction has been studied as one of the most influential tools for transmitting social, historical, and cultural concepts in literature. Fictional literature, especially in the form of satire, provides a powerful platform for expressing social criticism, and many writers in the modern history of Iran have utilized it. In this regard, Claude Duchet’s socio-historical theory, which places special emphasis on textual narration and the social signs embedded in the text, has been chosen as the theoretical framework of this study. According to this theory, literary works are reflections of the social, class, political, and cultural structures of society, and analyzing them can reveal the hidden layers of historical and social realities. In this study, using a library method and textual content analysis, two stories by Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh—Bileh Dig, Bileh Choghondar and Namake Gandideh—have been examined. Jamalzadeh is one of the first authors who, with a critical and satirical perspective, depicted structures of power, corruption, discrimination, and social inequality in his stories. The findings of the study show that these two works clearly reflect the social, political, and class conditions of Iran in their time. Through Duchet’s theory, it is possible to analyze how social structures contribute to the emergence of crises, administrative corruption, and cultural disorders. This research also demonstrates how fictional literature can function as a tool for raising awareness and social criticism, creating a link between the actual structures of society and their representation in literary texts.