Characteristics of Political Literature and Novel from the Point of View of Iranian Experts

The current study is aimed at investigating the characteristics and components of political literature, precisely about the political novel from the perspective of Iranian writers. To be concise, achieving specific definitions and characteristics of the political novel or literature will assist researchers in this respect. In the research in question, various perspectives of Iranian critics and writers have been addressed in their works regarding the definitions and characteristics of the political novels or their related literature. Followed by that, their commonalities and differences have been identified through integrating inductive content analysis. As the results of the provided analysis provided, the characteristics of political literature or novels can be counted as; attention to issues of power and sovereignty, sensitivity and reaction to political events, attention to political issues (e.g., identity, civil rights, freedom, homeland, law, and political equality), opposition to tyranny of the rulers, criticizing the society's dominant ideologies and discourses, criticizing the status quo and the ruling power, as well as being eager to change it. Furthermore, focusing on anti-colonial struggles, condemnation of foreign interference, and the necessity for political independence, being ideological and influenced by specific political ideas and ideologies, denying some values and endorsing others, explaining clearly or criticizing political views and ideas, developing one "otherness" or the element of "other" , government or tradition; dealing with the lives of individuals and political figures, confirmation or providing support for political parties and the disagreements over them, discussing the political themes in terms of explicitness which can be overt or symbolic, and political literature or novels in terms of tone and style of expression can be counted as a number of other factors in this respect.
Introduction
One of addressed novel formats in terms of subject is the political novel, which has, first, attracted the attention of critics and writers in the west and, followed by that, was transferred to Iran. On the other hand, the political novel is a subcategory of political literature and includes poems, stories, novels, plays, etc.
The accurate use of scientific terms leads to greater understanding and interaction between the members of a scientific community and the people of a special knowledge, as well as the dynamism and continuity of theoretical discussions in that field. Considering the variety of views and definitions about the political novel, achieving a precise definition and understanding of its characteristics can be considered as a priority for the researchers in the field of literature and political novel. Accordingly, is this research is an effort to clarify the term “political novel” as much as possible and, furthermore, is a step toward paving the way for conducting other researches in this field of study. Iranian critics have delivered diverse characteristics and definitions of the political novel. This research aims to measure their thoughts and opinions about this and finally show the points of commonality and difference of their views.
Method
Through integrating the method of inductive content analysis, all the authentic writings of contemporary Iranian critics, experts and writers who have written about the characteristics and components of literature and political novels are studied and analyzed in this study. Precisely, the works that are about political literature, but in which no attention is paid to the definition and explanation of its components, will not be reviewed. The effort is to reveal the historical process of the researches that are conducted in this field including; books, articles, and other sources. In the historical order of works, their first edition and in the case of translated works, the date of their writing in the original language will be the criterion.
Conclusion
Iranian critics and experts have different views about literature or political novels. A number of individuals deny the existence of such species in literature. Others, however, consider all literary works to be political. Some individuals are against dealing with politics in literature and some are in favor. Those in favor consider political literature to be committed to the people and readers, and believe that it is, prior to anything, responsible to inform. Some even believe that all literature should be committed. On the other hand, some people are against the issue of commitment in literature and emphasize the aesthetic aspect, not its useful and practical aspect.
Critics and theorists have listed various characteristics for political literature, some of which are agreed upon by everyone, and there are disagreements about others. Considering the second category, two cases can be mentioned. Some believe that political literature only criticizes the ruling power and fights with it. Some others consider the literature that supports and defends the ruling power as political. Political literature pays attention to different types of power such as individual power (tyranny), the power of the people or the masses, the power of the government and the government, and absolute power. On the other hand, the second group considers all literary works to be political. They consider the works that have a private and family atmosphere as defenders of the status quo and therefore political. Those who do not consider them political are on the belief that this makes literature be synonymous with political literature. It can be declared that writing such works is a political act, however, the result is not a political novel or literature.
Results
Among the characteristics and components, nearly all critics believe that there should be at least one or more of them in a novel or literary work in order to be considered political. In this respect, the following options can be mentioned: 1. Paying attention to the issues of power and sovereignty; 2. Sensitivity and reaction to political and social events and incidents; 3. Dealing with themes, concepts and political issues such as identity and national identity, fighting against injustice, awareness of citizenship rights, freedom, especially freedom of speech, criticism of repression and censorship, democracy, women's rights, homeland, law, the need for political equality, etc. ; 4. Opposition to tyranny and emphasis on the need to eliminate the tyranny and cruelty of rulers; 5. Criticism of dominant ideologies and discourses of society; 6. Criticizing the existing situation and the ruling power, as well as wanting to change it; 7. Emphasizing opposition to foreign influence and focusing on anti-colonial struggles, condemning foreign interference and the necessity of the country's political independence; 8. Being ideological and being written under the influence of specific political ideas and ideologies; 9. Negating some values and affirming some others; 10. enlightening explanation or criticism of political opinions and ideas; 11. Cultivation of an "otherness" or "otherness" in which it may be the West, sovereignty or tradition; 12. Addressing the lives of individuals and politicians; 13. Confirming and supporting political parties and currents or opposing them; 14. Influence and awareness; 15. Hostility and aggression; 16. Realism and attention to the historical and objective issues of the society; 17. Highlighting the role of political fighters and popular political movements.
In general, the political novel is based on a kind of cynicism or conspiracy theory. There is another, other, enemy, disturbance that insiders or friends must rise up against and repel its disturbance.
Despite the presence of politics in the literary work, literature is its most important feature. The author's fascinating narrative of political developments and showing the intertwining of politics and society, gives strength to the work, not just describing the political conditions of a region. On the other hand, as the political aspect of a work increases, its literary and aesthetic aspect may decrease, such as stories that writers write to defend and support a political discourse and a specific ideology; As a result, their ideological load is more than their pure artistic value. This type of literature is customized, because its writers follow the ideals of parties, institutions and political groups and create literary works to advance their goals; Therefore, it is better to call it ideological or propagandistic literature, because it is written to defend a specific class or oppose a specific class, or it propagates a specific belief and culture. In addition, it is possible that in a work that is apparently free of political goals, the author may be unconsciously influenced by political events and unintentional politics enter his work.
In terms of openness, political literature either deals with political themes and issues in a clear and obvious way, or in a hidden and symbolic way. The second type is usually more prevalent in the period of suffocation and suffocation. The tone and manner of expression in political literature can be one of the following: a. serious b. humorous, funny and non-serious; C. A mix of both.