An Analysis of the Concept of Survivance in Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree and The Heirs of Columbus

Abstract

The current research explores the concept of survivance in The Heirs of Columbus by Vizenor (1991) and in Shadows of Pomegranate Tree (2014) by Ali. The selected novels were analyzed through the qualitative content analysis technique under the concepts of the theoretical framework of anarchism. The analysis shows that the Moors in The Shadows of Pomegranate Tree and the Red Indians in The Heirs of Columbus have always survived through anarchist survivance (survival through resistance) when they were expropriated of their lands, properties and culture by the Euro-American colonizers. The analysis shows that Moors and Red Indians in the late fifteen century as depicted in the novel had survived through resistance for securing their unique civilizations against foreign oppression. The dispossession of their properties was openly resisted in spite of the acceptance of other types of dispossessions. The protagonists Zuhayr-al-fahl and Stone Columbus at the end of both novels symbolize the concept of survivance as a tactic through continued struggle against colonial encroachment. It was concluded that the cruelties of the colonizers were resisted by the colonized people with an anarchist concept and spirit of survivance.