The Punishment (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

by Tahar Ben Jelloun

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An innocent man ?s gripping personal account of terrifying confinement by the Moroccan military during the reign of a formidable twentieth-century despot In 1967 Tahar Ben Jelloun, a peaceful young political protestor, was one of nearly a hundred other hapless men taken into punitive custody by the Moroccan army. It was a time of dangerous importance in Moroccan history, and they were treated with a chilling brutality that not all of them survived. This powerful portrait of the author ?s show more traumatic experience, written with a memoirist ?s immediacy, reveals both his helpless terror and his desperate hope to survive by drawing strength from his love of literature. Shaken to the core by his disillusionment with a brutal regime, unsure of surviving his ordeal, he stole some paper and began to secretly write, with the admittedly romantic idea of leaving some testament behind, a veiled denunciation of the evils of his time. His first poem was published after he was unexpectedly released, and his vocation was born. show less

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El castigo cuenta el calvario, el de diecinueve meses de detención, de noventa y cuatro estudiantes castigados por haberse manifestado pacíficamente por las calles de las principales ciudades de Marruecos en marzo de 1965. Con la excusa del servicio militar, estos jóvenes fueron encerrados en cuarteles donde, bajo la vigilancia de suboficiales del entorno del general Ufkir, sufrieron vejaciones, humillaciones y maltratos. Estos acontecimientos se insertan en la represión de los denominados «años de plomo» durante el reinado de Hassan II.

Tahar Ben Jelloun, uno de los estudiantes represaliados, cuenta en primera persona lo que fueron aquellos largos meses que marcaron para siempre sus veinte años, alimentaron su conciencia y show more secretamente lo hicieron escritor. El castigo nos impone una reflexión sobre la fragilidad de la libertad. show less
El castigo» cuenta el calvario, el de diecinueve meses de detención, de noventa y cuatro estudiantes castigados por haberse manifestado pacíficamente por las calles de las principales ciudades de Marruecos en marzo de 1965. Con la excusa del servicio militar, estos jóvenes fueron encerrados en cuarteles donde, bajo la vigilancia de suboficiales del entorno del general Ufkir, sufrieron vejaciones, humillaciones y maltratos. Estos acontecimientos se insertan en la represión de los denominados «años de plomo» durante el reinado de Hassan II. Tahar Ben Jelloun, uno de los estudiantes represaliados, cuenta en primera persona lo que fueron aquellos largos meses que marcaron para siempre sus veinte años, alimentaron su conciencia y show more secretamente lo hicieron escritor. «El castigo» nos impone una reflexión sobre la fragilidad de la libertad. show less

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136+ Works 4,997 Members
Controversial winner of the prestigious French Prix Goncourt (1987), Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan writer who has not found much favor at home, despite his growing popularity abroad. According to some North African critics, Ben Jelloun intentionally sets out to please foreign readers. The critics contend that his writing reinforces European show more stereotypes by pandering to western tastes for quaint folklore and traditions, and exotic scenery. Moroccan critics have accused Ben Jelloun of creating artificial, fabricated stories that fail to convey a true picture of Morocco. They have also been offended by his criticism of Morocco, and the fact that he reveals sides of Moroccan life that are usually kept hidden. Ben Jelloun's story of a girl dressed as a boy, L'Enfant du Sable (The Sand Child) (1985), was scandalous in their eyes. After Ben Jelloun won the Prix Goncourt, a number of critics changed their minds and have begun to praise his work. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

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Genres
Fiction and Literature, Biography & Memoir, Historical Fiction
DDC/MDS
843.914Literature & rhetoricFrench LiteratureFrench fiction1900-20th Century1945-1999
LCC
PQ3989.2 .J4 .P86Language and LiteratureFrench, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literaturesFrench literatureProvincial, local, colonial, etc.
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Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
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2