The Mechanism of Difference in the Novel Memory in the Flesh by Ahlam Mosteghanemi

Abstract

This study tackles the mechanism of contrast in Ahlam Mosteghanemi's novel, "A Bed for a Passerby". The writer depends on the tension between opposing forces, done through intertwining rhetorical devices: antithesis, irony, and juxtaposition. Different forms of irony and antithesis brings about reader anxiety and surprise by subverting expectations and transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar. Mosteghanemi applies this rich, poetic narrative style to depict post-revolutionary political truth in Algeria and the experiences of Algerian immigrants in France. However, juxtaposition plays a secondary role; the underlying factor of contrast enhances the text's more importance. This contrast blends with sarcasm to analyze reality, primarily through the protagonist's internal monologues. These reflections reveal a masochistic philosophy where fundamental contradictions-such as life and death, or happiness and grief —become equalized. Oppositely, external dialogue remains weak, and the protagonist's voice fails to rise above other characters. Alternatively, the dominant first-person ("I") narrative voice heightens the internal conflict. This dynamic gushes into rejection, tension, and self- farce, eventually symbolizing the psychological death of a man in the name of his homeland.