Nativism and its Influence on Persian Modern Fiction (1320-1357 S.H.)

Nativism was a reaction from the intellectuals who aimed at catching the attentions of their addressees to their roots and origins. Many countries experiencing colonialism, turned their attention to the subject, and naturally, different intellectual communities in Iran responded to it, as well. Analysing pre-Revolution literary movements, we can find nativism, a movement usually ignored by the critics. The stories written during this movement criticizes the others, and the government following the others, and draw the people’s attention to their roots. In the present article, reviewing briefly Iran’s historical, social, cultural and literature conditions during the years 1320 to 1357 (S.H.), we have shown the main features of these stories, including, nativism, caring about Iranian-Islamic identity. The research reveals that during the 1320s and 1330s, the feature of nativism fades. The policies of Pahlavi regime in these two decades, and the way he treats the intellectuals create conditions which ultimately leads in their indifference to nativism. But the influence of the intellectual movements, particularly, the thoughts of Al Ahmad and Shari’ati, and the changes in the social condition of the country from 1342 on strengthens it in 1340s and 135s.