Decoding Colonial Mindsets in Dawson's Short Narratives on Morocco: A Thematic Analysis of “Ben Ramar and the Christians” and “A Moorish Hero and-Juanita”

Abstract

This paper examines the representation of Morocco in colonial short narratives written during the colonial period in the early 1900s. Despite the growing body of research on Morocco’s representation in Western literary genres, there has been limited examination of short fiction, a newly developed form of literature, from the perspective of the "silent Other". The present study adopts a qualitative research approach, utilizing both content and thematic analysis methods. The content analysis traces the selectivity and frequency of words, patterns, and concepts in the narratives, while thematic analysis examines the recurring images and themes. This research sheds light on the inaccessibility or scarcity of these literary texts due to being out of print or unknown by readers and highlights their significance in disclosing, examining, and understanding the representation of Morocco during a time of colonial occupation and national uprising. The results of the analysis provide insights into the interplay between language, power, cultural conflict, and other relevant factors in shaping recurrent hegemonic representations of Morocco during this period. The study offers a unique perspective on Morocco and contributes to the field of postcolonial studies in terms of language and identity.