The Sociological Criticism of Land Reforms in the Novel The Empty Place of Salouch

When talking about the relation between literature and society, it is necessary to study the functions of sociological criticism. Sociological criticism of literature is a new approach to literary studies. It studies social classes and the similarities and differences in social structures in a given period of history. Social criticism can help the reader by informing him why some errors are typical of the literary works of a specific era (Ditches, 1389).Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, in his novel The Empty Place of Salouch, reveals the relations between society and literature, an image of a declining society which is devastated as a result of the wrong policies of the regime. He focuses on the relation between literary creation and the social and historical conditions and developments of his time and portrays the regional and climatic conditions of Khorasan in the era of land reforms.