A Thematic Analysis of the Resistance Elements in Five Novels of the Holy Defense

The themes in war novels are predominantly variant and realistic. For the most part, this idea rises from the unrests brought forth as a result of the war context. The procedures and processes of creating war novels principally abide by the dominant and ruling ideology, religious and belief systems, economic and political conditions of the society, and writers. Following this track, the narrative works representing the beginning phase of the Iran-Iraq war are mainly influenced by the ideology driven from the Islamic Revolution along with public and social inclinations towards the war. At the end of the war, however, a group of the new generation writers, who were acquainted with the world narrative literature, tended to take on realistic approaches in composing novels and creating characters in light of the realities of the war. In the works opted for the present study, there are some elements including religious identities of fighters, resistance against the enemy, and patriotism that are predominant and governing features of the themes of works such as Burnt Ground, Cold Suran, Chess with Resurrection Machine and Journey to Heading 270 Degrees, and the book Da. This is because these features are molded in the particular context of war. This research is aimed at investigating the themes of resistance in the selected works considered for the existing research concerning the elements of resistance and its various representations.

The most important themes of resistance in the works considered for the present research are as follow:2.1. The religious identities of the fighters No war is void of religious motivations. The element of religion is principally used to instigate the fighters amidst the war since the fighters fighting for the country and religion are largely appreciated in religions and their positions are defined to be in heaven. We can also see that the element of religion is significant during the 8-year sacred defense. The sacred defense has been constructed based on the religious ideology. This can be realized in opting for the title for sacred defense literature and Islamic Revolution. In the novels Burnt Ground and Cold Suran, the elements of country and its maintenance are in vogue much more than the element of religion although the elements of religion and religious motivations such as martyrdom have found remarkable representations in these two novels. In the novel Journey to Heading 270 Degrees, the element of religion has found greater emphasis than the other studied novels in this research. However, in novels Chess with Resurrection Machine and the book, Da both of the elements are equally taken into account although paying particular heed to the element of religion has a significant place in the underlying strata of this novel. 2.2. The Motivation of Defence and Resistance against the Enemy (Jihad in the Cause of Allah) The issue of resistance against the enemy and Jihad in the cause of Allah are one of the most important features of war and sacred defense novels in sustainability literature in Iran. This is an important element because the works about the sacred defense take defending the country and martyrdom a divine matter. This explains why the characters of the story have a great desire for sacrifice. The novels Burnt Ground, Chess with Resurrection Machine and Journey to Heading 270 Degrees, and the book Da have placed much more emphasis upon resistance against the enemy. This is also construed as a holy affair. 2.3. Exemplifying the Ashura uprising and the culture of martyrdom The characteristics and personality traits of prophets and Imams in Islam are exemplars and ideals of those Jihadists who have always been on the front for the sake of their beliefs and have remained firm to the end. So, they bestow the other people's self-confidence and assure them to step into the battlefield. Guided by this belief, the writers of sustainability literature, aimed at fighting with the enemy, have endeavored to picture the prophets and Imams in accord with the religious ideals and social changes as the principal element and the ideals of fighters and people's uprising. This issue makes people much more motivated to be inclined to these exemplars.  This very issue is represented in all the literary works chosen for this study, except for the novel Cold Suran. 2.4. Patriotism One of the most significant themes of sustainability in the selected novels of this research and also the sustainability literature in Iran is dedicated to patriotism and nation-loving. In the novel Burnt Ground, the people refuse to submit to the enemy; they unite altogether to fight with the enemy. Patriotism is also emphasized in the novel Cold Suran. In the book Da, the author puts more emphasis on the idea of defending the nation and concerns the separatism in the country that the fighters render it futile by recourse to resistance and sustainability.  In the novels Chess with Resurrection Machine and Journey to Heading 270 Degrees, patriotism and nation-loving themes are represented in terms of defending the country against the Ba'si enemy of Iraq.

Having analyzed the selected works using qualitative content analysis, the findings of the study indicate that fighting and defending the country against the enemy, martyrs, and the culture of martyrdom as well as defending the nation are more predominantly articulated than any other representation of resistance theme.  The themes in the novel Burnt Ground are investigated in light of the resistance theme that includes people's bare-hand fighting against the Iraqi forces, guarding and feeling responsible for the martyrs' bloodshed and defending the nation, idealizing and exemplifying the martyrs of Ashura uprising, participating in the funerals of martyrs and the likes. These are amongst the elements that Ahmad Mahmud serves to articulate them in his novel. In the novel Cold Suran, Afhami exceeds ordinary limits and depicts the space and events to which less attention has been paid. These events included soldiers' defending the nation, defending the defenseless and innocent people, and standing against the spies and oppositional political parties in the western part of the country. The novels, Chess with Resurrection Machine and Journey to Heading 270 Degrees put much more emphasis upon the religious identities of fighters and martyrdom, defending the nation, being killed for maintaining the religious and national values in light of sustainability theme. The analysis of the representation of the resistance theme in these novels indicates that the war is construed as a cardinal destructive factor leading the country towards drawbacks. This is whilst resistance shown to increase self-esteem and the resistance motivations in people. The book Da largely addresses all the elements of resistance such as the sanctification of martyrdom, defending the nation and insulating it from being separated, jihad in the cause of Allah, and fighters' religious identities.