Approaching Oriental and Muslim characters in Herman Melville’s Poem Clarel in the Light of Edward Said's Insights on Orientalist Representations.

Abstract

In the several studies that examined how Islam is depicted in Herman Melville’s Clarel, I did not find a specific emphasis on the Muslim characters. This is why I attempted, in this paper, to shed light on some Muslim characters, how Melville presents some deconstructive portrayals and does not follow stereotypical representations. Melville’s characters lend themselves to Edward Said’s attempt to deconstruct Orientalist representations. Said’s main concern is the binary of East and West and the façade of representations of the Other, which the Orientalist, writing in the 19^th century, provides. In Melville’s epic poem Clarel, one finds representations of the Other which do not inevitably fall into stereotypes. They are not in the context of erotic or violent portrayals of Muslims or Orientals. On the contrary, he attributes some characteristics of wisdom, power and devotion to Muslim characters. However, he also highlights other aspects of hypocrisy and carelessness to some characters. Additionally, he unveils the religious pretexts of the Crusaders to invade the Holy Lands.