Leadership Problem and Consequences of Individualism in Tawfik Al-Hakim’s Fate of a Cockroach

Abstract

This study is an investigation of North African drama, aimed at contributing to the few available discourses on the few rather “silent” voices of writers from North African mainstream world literature. Within the theoretical framework of new historicism, the study examines the influence of Arab nationalism, colonialism, as well as literary trends and movements on the development of modern North African drama. The study provides textual analysis of selected work of Tawfiq Al-Hakim which is available in English translations for French. The paper evaluates the exact reading of the absurdity of human existence in Tawfik Al-Hakim’s Fate of a Cockroach. The focus on themes and techniques with regards to the culture of Arabian society. The work identifies themes of anti-colonialism, cultural identity, quest for freedom, leadership problems and patriarchy as recurring themes in North African Drama. The study traces and locates the place of North African drama in world literature, Al-Hakim, the Eyptian dramatist belongs to the theatre of absurd, whose thoughts are deeply shaped by existential philosophy. The study aims to show how modern civilization has killed the mankind by fatal weapons instead of giving him luxurious life. The discussing the autobiography of the playwright, the paper concludes that there’s a relationship between the attitudes of the playwright and his contributions to the literature, especially in the Arabian culture as the focus of this study.