A Comparative Semiology of Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi’s "Azā'dārān-e Bayal" and Franz Kafka’s "The Metamorphosis"

 
1. Introduction
Comparative literature is the study of literary works of different nations in order to better understand these works. Such studies will enrich national literature because "scholars and researchers of comparative literature all agree that the primary purpose of comparative literature is to use foreign literature to enrich and enrich national literature."  (Neda, 2004, 25).
    Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi (1936-1985) is one of the leading Iranian writers who has made remarkable works. Sa'edi narrates the fate of the inevitable contemporary man. This human lives in a backward society that is still far from reaching progress. The man who he describes is still embroiled in the superstitions and nonsense of such a backward society. The Mourners of Bayal, in fact is one of the most prominent and, as some critics say, the best forearm, depicts of such a society in its various dimensions. In a society which Sae’di describes, still prayer and cursing are the top tools for dealing with problems. Poverty has spread its ominous shadow over all aspects of this society, and robbery and looting is a clear sign of such a society that makes it more like primitive societies.
   Franz Kafka (1883–1924), also is one of the world's greatest writers, owns valuable works that have been the subject of comparative reviews. Kafka deals with contemporary man in his stories. A man who brought civilization and progress to his loneliness and despair, along with this loneliness, in the world of Kafka's fictional characters.
 

2.  Methodology

This study uses comparative method by using library research. This research tries to answer the following questons: Have Saedi and Kafka used similar symbols in the two works? What kind of symbols have Saedi and Kafka used in these two works? What are the similarities and differences between the symbols of these two stories?
 
3. Discussion
Sa’edi uses symbols to instill a secondary concept in the story of The Mourners of Bayal. Kafka also has used symbols in the story of "Metamorphosis" to achieve this end. Studying these two stories reveals the similarities and differences in the way they are applied and the broad meanings that each writer intended. We have divided the symbols of these two stories into human, non-human (places and objects) and animal symbols.
    Human symbols in the story of "The Mourners of Bayal " include arbāb (the master), maşdī eslām (Islām), müsorxe (red hair man), maşdī Hassan. In the stories of The Mourners of Bayal, the master is a symbol of "the establishment of a master system in the village" (cf: Shiri, 2014: 64). Sae’di does not create this fictional character, but the master is present in all stories, and the villagers perceive his heavy shadow in the context of the events.
   One of the minor characters in The Mourners of Bayal ing Stories is maşdī eslām, who becomes the main character in some stories, including the eighth story. maşdī eslām is, in fact, intellectually different from the people of the village. He therefore, represents the class strata of society that have little difference in attitudes and beliefs with the lower classes of society. Just like the story of Kafka, this story begins with a shocking incident. maşdī Hassan has gone to work in the village of Sayyed Abad. His cow is dead last night and the villagers do not want to give this bad news to maşdī Hassan. So they throw the carcass into the well and decide to tell maşdī Hassan that the cow has fled and sent one of the locals to find it. The metamophisis of maşdī Hassan in this story is a symbol of the fading, transformation and alienation of human beings in backward societies. It should also be noted that maşdī Hassan 's metamophisis is a spiritual rather than a physical transformation (in contrast to the metamophisis in Kafka's story).
    Müsorxe (red hair man) is another human symbol of this story. In the seventh story, the red hair man is the main character of the story. He suffers from severe hunger and insatiability. Everything even swallows junk. His metamophisis of as a rat is a physical metamophisis. A transformation that is lurking in every village. In fact, "the overeating insanity is a sign of hunger and excessive hunger for people who simply do not get it" (Taslimi, 2009: 121).
    Human symbols have also been used in the Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Father, mother and sister-in-law are human symbols of this story. Father of Gregor is a minor character in the story. He is a violent, bully, tyrant, and plays a leading role in one of the story's events - throwing apples at Gregor.
    Gregor's mother is a mild-tempered human being in this story, always trying to mediate and calm things down. Grigor's mother's personality is undoubtedly inspired by the true character of Kafka’s mother. "Kafka’s mother was a gentle and gentle woman and played a role of reconciliator at home" (Meghdadi, 2017: 15).
    Gregor's sister (Grete) first treats Gregor with embarrassment. She picks up food for him, and later, when Gregor turns to eating leftovers, she takes the leftovers him. She plays the violin, and Gregor provides the necessary equipment for her music classes when he is not ousted. The night that Grete plays the violin, Gregor is affected by the sound of her violin, and as he exits his room he goes to his sister, angering her. The incident causes a change in her sister's characteristics. Afterwards, Grete becomes Gregor's main enemy, trying to persuade her parents to get rid of Gregor - or this ugly creature.
    Human symbols of The Mourners of Bayal Stories include Bayal village, Poros, Khatunabad, the city, as well as things like generator and maşdī eslām and the bell.
    Bayal is a village with naive and superstitious people. Sa’edi describes the village with a dark, sad atmosphere where death always flows. The village of Bayal represents a community in which Saad lived.
   The inhabitants of Poros live near Bayal. They are known for theft and looting. The terror they create in their theft, looting and assaults is always evident in the village of Bayal. In fact, if Bayal is an icon of Iran, "Poros can also be a representation of ... England ... and America ..." given the background of Iran's historical and political developments from the Qajar period until the book was written. (cf: 2014: 66).
   Khatun Abad is a village near Bayal. The inhabitants of this village, although not as vicious as inhabitants of Poros, are sometimes vicious, but sometimes commit minor evils against the villagers. Bayal is a symbol of Iran, but Khatun Abad is undoubtedly a symbol of the Russian government.
      In The Mourners of Bayal, the city is described as an ideal place. Rural people often seek refuge in the city in order to free themselves from village problems.
     Generator is one of the non-humane symbols (objects) in Bayal's mourners. In the sixth story, several villagers return to the city in a strange way, a generator falling from the truck of American soldiers in the middle of the road. This object is not familiar to the villagers and because they hear a sound like crying inside it or imagine that it is the sound of crying, they take it to the village and make it a shrine. In fact, this object in the story symbolizes the ignorance and ignorance of the villagers.
    Other non-human symbols (objects) in the story are maşdī eslām’s instrument, which he sometimes makes people happy. His instrument must be interpreted as a symbol of something in which he has to bind himself to the ordinary people.
     Sa'adi uses the bell symbol in " The Mourners of Bayal". The sound of the bell rings everywhere. Especially when the presence of death is more felt.
    As noted above, non-human symbols (places and objects) are also used in the story of " The Metamorphosis". Non-human symbols in Kafka's "Metamorphosis" story include Gregor's room, a beautiful wall-mounted picture board, room furniture, apples, and a violin instrument.
     Gregor is forced to take refuge in his own room after his demise. The room actually becomes Gregor's world, and in a sense, symbolizes his isolation. It is a place where Gregor has to be imprisoned for being excluded from society. The photo frame is, in fact, a symbol of Gregor's affinity for sexuality, and the only attachment and interest he is unwilling to lose. In one scene of the story, Gregor comes out of his room and the father sees it as an evil sign from him and attacks Gregor with apples from the fruit bowl.
    In "The Metamorphosis", Kafka also symbolizes Gregor's sister's violin as a secondary concept. The music here is a symbol of everything that links Gregor to his time as a human being and stimulates his human emotions. In both stories, animal symbols are used. In the story of Bayal's mourners, Sae’di only uses the symbol of Abbas's dog to induce what he intends to do. In fact, the dog in this story symbolizes the sacrifice made by those around him, and his fate is nothing but death and destruction. The animal symbols of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" story are only limited to the creature that Gregor has become. In fact, the most powerful symbol of this story is the symbol of being depicted as an insect, and most of the meaning of the story is borne by it. Gregor's metamorphsis in this story is physical, not spiritual.
 
4. Concluson
This research concluded that these writers both used human, non- human (places and things) and animal symbols in these stories. Kafka and also Sā'edi wanted to transmit the deep concepts of the description of their era by these symbols. The character of Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and Maşdi Hassan in Sā'edi’s story are the most prominent symbols of these stories. We have explored the symbols of these two stories comparatively. Sa’edi and Kafka both are writers who have considered symbols in their works. Both depict the status of human in their societies, but there is a difference. The human who Sa’edi depicts that is rural human who has problems such as ignorance, superstition and poverty; but Kafka depicts human who has nothing solitude and lack of identity in the tumult of progress and modernization. Sa’edi in the stories of “The Mourners of Bayal” has used human, non-human and animal symbols. The human symbols of these stories are: arbāb (the master), maşdī eslām (Islām), müsorxe (red hair man), maşdī Hassan. Kafka also, has made Gregor Samsa’s father, mother and sister as the human symbols. The non-human symbols of Sa’edi’s stories are Porus and Khatun Abad villages, power alternator, maşdī eslām’s musical instrument and bells. Also, in Kafka’s story, we can find non-human symbols such as panel, clock, home furniture, apples and violin. In 5th story of “The Mourners of Bayal” there is an animal symbol which is a dog belongs to Abbas. In the Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, also, "monstrous vermin" is the only animal symbol.