Language and identity construction for the creation of a coherent self in Mouloud Feraoun's la terre et le sang (1953)‎

Abstract FRE

The present paper revisits Mouloud Feraoun's second novel, La terre et le sang (1953) to examine how the author rehabilitates his Berber cultural heritage, which is manifest at the level of form and content.

In the first place, the author uses the French language within cultural oral markers, which are highly localised within his Kabyle culture.

Secondly, there is also the embodiment of the storytelling mode in the text.

The way Feraoun fuses the Berber cultural elements exemplifies the preponderance of his culture as a provider of content and a source of dialogical connections with the French imposed one.

His text has, in my view, an enduring value as it contains what can be regarded as an expression of a “Narrative as Social Practice”.

Hence, our analysis of his second novel will be undertaken in the light of Vansina's thoughtful and provocative insights provided in her book entitled, Narrative as Social Practice where she explores the complex and interrelatedness of narrative and culture.

What makes her approach particularly interesting and relevant lies in its focus on the exploration of interrelatedness of a text to the cultural environment in which it is produced.