The Impact of Imagination and Reality on the Plot of the Novels Khama and Zoo

Abstract

Postmodernism is a literary school to which some Iranian authors have turned, producing narratives in this style. One of the features observed in this style is the presence of an unconventional narrator, such that the narration is marked by uncertainty or ambiguity. In this study, aiming to identify the characteristics of this type of narrator, the novel Khama by Yousef AliKhani and Zoo by Khatereh Hejazi were examined. The findings indicate that although the narrator in Khama is not psychotic, he possesses a distinctive emotional quality, and due to his love for a girl, he constantly envisions her in his imagination and dreams, perceiving her as being with him until the end of his life and speaking about her. The narrator in Zoo is a girl who interacts with unusual characters such as jinn, directly addressing them and living alongside them, with the narrative leaving it unclear whether the narrator is alive while telling the story or speaking from another realm. The difference between these two novels lies precisely in this uncertainty, as the narrator of Khama is a real character and the events are definite.