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Faculty Mentor

Dr. Nadine Adel Sinno

Abstract

This comparative study offers a close reading of Palestinian author Sahar Khalifeh’s Wild Thorns and The End of Spring. The paper focuses on the discussion that the novels explore with regards to the varying methods of resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. I argue that the novels mainly portray two differing modes of resistance: steadfastness, or nonviolent resistance and armed resistance. Additionally, I analyze the critique that Khalifeh provides in her novels of the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank and discuss the mental and emotional repercussions of the occupation on the daily lives of civilians.

Cover Page Note

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I was first introduced to the writing of Sahar Khalifeh in 2010 by Dr. Nadine Sinno, who used Wild Thorns as one of the required texts in her course on modern Arabic literature. In the summer of 2011, I approached Dr. Sinno with the proposal for the study that follows and the request that she act as my advisor. From the initial planning stages of this study, Dr. Sinno has offered me her unconditional support as well as the constructive criticism necessary to guide me in my writing and see the study to its completion. Her willingness and enthusiasm for this project has helped me to develop immensely as both a student and a writer and without her dedication to her students and her work, this study would not have been possible. I am truly honored that she was willing to work with me on this paper, and that she has been by my side as a professor and friend since I first set foot in her intermediate Arabic class in 2009.

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