The Identity of the Body, the Appropriation of the Past, Purity, and the Crime of the Era

(A Reading of the Play ‘Drunken Days’ by Saadallah Wannous)

Abstract

This study addresses the play “The Drunken Days” by Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous, focusing on the concepts of identity, the body, and the invocation of the past through the symbolism of the puppeteer and its relation to the crime of the era. The study explores how Wannous uses the puppeteer as a means of expressing the internal and external conflicts faced by individuals and society within a complex historical context. Through the analysis of bodily vocabulary and the investment in collective memory, the research examines the ways in which identity is embodied and how social and political crimes impact individuals and communities. This research aims to shed light on the semantic and artistic dimensions of the play, enhancing our understanding of the profound impact of historical events on human identity.