Disrupting Literary Rhetoric: The Poetics of Survival in Mohamed Zafzaf’s Muh'awalat A'ysh

This paper examines Mohamed Zafzaf’s Muh'awalat A'ysh (An Attempt to Live) as a significant Moroccan post-colonial literary work that subverts nationalist and rhetorical literary traditions. Through a plainspoken narrative style and simple language, Zafzaf presents a vivid and honest depiction of Morocco’s marginalised urban poor. The paper contextualizes the novel within the historical trajectory of Moroccan literature after independence, exploring how post-colonial writers shifted their focus from celebrating national liberation to criticizing post-independence political repression and socioeconomic marginalisation. The novel’s stylistic simplicity, use of vernacular language, and avoidance of metaphorical language establish it as a distinctive work of literary resistance that reflects the lived realities of marginalised communities. By focusing on linguistic realism and peripheral voices, Zafzaf challenges conventional literary techniques and creates a powerful socio-political testimony.