Otherness and neo-oriental discourse in William H. White's the greater the honor (2003) and James L. Halley's the shores of tripoli : Lieutenant Putnam and the Barbary Pirates (2016)

Abstract

This research analyses otherness and neo-oriental discourse in the two postmodern American novels The Greater The Honor (2003) by William H White and The Shores of Tripoli: Lieutenant Putnam and the Barbary Pirates (2016) by James L Halley. It also traces back the origins of captivity narratives set in North African coasts and the first confrontation of the American Navy with the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. The study of the selected novels reveals that the North African is represented negatively as the Other. One of the objectives of the present research is to show the crucial role of Barbary captivity narratives in giving Westerners the opportunity to present the Orient in a very aggressive manner, especially after the 9/11 traumatic events, where myths, stereotypes, and clichés as well as racist discourse are used for portraying the “Muslim Other”.