Man-Land Equation in Abdel-Fattah’s Where The Streets Had A Name: An Eco-Critical Study

Abstract

This research paper is about the contemporary issues of migration, place-attachment and trauma in Randa Abdel-Fattah’s novel Where The Streets Had A Name (2008). The novel is centered on the lives of displaced Palestinians from their native land. The novel has been analyzed through Lawrence Buell’s concept of space, place and imagination. The theory of Eco-criticism is built in large part around the concept of raising awareness about natural world. The forceful migration of people from their native land causes trauma and constant longing to return to their homeland. The paper illustrates that the displaced Palestinians are connected to their land. They all share same culture, traditions, and history so they feel connected to each other and to their land. The paper is also valuable for social awakening as it aims at sensitizing the human race towards the environment.