Analysis of “Alquarib” written by Najib Killany on the basis of Barthes quintuple mysteries

Structural criticism is one of the most common methods of analyzing literary texts. French “Rolland Barthes” is a founder of this school, who has presented a model to identify or discover units of action, hermeneutics, semantics, symbolism and culture. They are called “five codes”. These codes transform signs into meaningful systems, thus creating a relationship between a sign and a signifier. Using an analytical-descriptive method, this study seeks to analyze the “Alquarib” story, as one of the short stories by Najib killany, who is a prominent contemporary Arab author. Based on the structuralist model, the five codes of the story are extracted and decrypted. The purpose of the study is to measure the extent of utilizing the principles of narration for the transfer of the author’s thoughts. The results indicate that the author poses a social disorder called hypocrisy as a cultural unit and introduces the main hero of the story as the symbol of this trait. The causes and motives of the one who has a tendency for hypocritical actions are clarified by referring to the dichotomies inside and outside his personality and by using semantic units such as secretarial jobs that involve pure obedience.