The Image of the Victim and Victimizer in Laila Halaby’s Once in a Promised Land

Abstract

The images of the victim and victimizer have been represented by many forms in literature—old and modern. As to their appearance in literature, one can say that they have appeared since the dwelling of man on earth and since the horrible murder done by the brutal, vicious killer and a cunning, violent and demonic Cain against his innocent brother Abel as it is revealed in the heavenly books. Hence, the tendency of aggressiveness has accompanied man since his creation. Aggressiveness has assumed many characters—social, political, economic, political and capitalistic. On the social and political level, characters are depicted in Laila Halabi’s novel Once in a Promised Land as victims of the 9/11 attack made against the World Trade Center in New York that is located in two towers already destroyed. The aftermath of the event has created many and various problems to people especially those Arab Muslims living in the US at the time when the catastrophe occurred. This research paper revolves around the theme of victim and victimizer to illustrate to what extent the victimizers have been cruel and vicious and to what extent the victims are innocent. Meanwhile the paper makes significant touches upon the psychological aspects of both of the victim and the victimizer as represented in Once in a Promised Land. It also points out that innocent people are often attacked by the malicious in one way or another due to the fact that the nature of man is the same at all times—good or evil. This novel has been a reaction against those novels that have already distorted the character of the Arab Muslims living in the US. It is a kind of justification that the Arab Muslim character can by no means be deformed at all. The protagonists have been alienated from the people whom they are to deal with, so they decide to return to their country which they have come from.