"Exploring Identity, Displacement, and Palestinian Experience in 'A Curious Land: Stories from Home' by Susan Muaddi Darraj"

Abstract

I believe that Darraj, through her 2015 collection of stories, A Curious Land: Stories from Home, deeply probes into Palestinian identity, memory, and resilience through an ecocritical lens. This is important because it points to a gap in the literature, as there is much less often discussed a focus on the deep connection of Palestinians to their natural environment. Indeed, through ecocritical analysis, I can see that the landscape in Darraj's work is intricately woven into cultural and personal identities. This natural environment not only symbolizes resilience amidst displacement but also serves as a storehouse of history and memory. This relationship profoundly underlines the emotional and cultural significance of the land, making it an integral part of the Palestinian experience. Moreover, further analysis evidences that storytelling and cultural practices serve as powerful acts of resistance, preserving identity despite environmental and political turmoil and using cocriticism theory (Garrard, 2012) .The ecocritical analysis thus enriches our understanding of Palestinian narratives, insisting on the inseparability of people and their environment against displacement and exile.