Paradox in the Characters of Abdullah Thabit’s Novels: A Study in Vision and Form

This research examines irony as an artistic and semantic mechanism that transcends the limits of apparent contradiction to express the depth of the psychological and intellectual conflicts experienced by characters within the novelistic text. In light of the intellectual and aesthetic transformations witnessed in Saudi narrative discourse, irony has emerged as one of the most effective narrative tools for uncovering the deep contradictions that govern the relationship between the individual, the self, and society. It is not merely an aesthetic device used to provoke surprise or astonishment, but rather a semantic structure that reflects a crisis-ridden consciousness caught between values and practices, and between belief and reality. The significance of studying irony in the portrayal of fictional characters by the Saudi novelist Abdullah Thabit lies particularly in his novel Al-Irhabī 20 (The Terrorist 20), which offers a precise artistic representation of the transformations of both individual and collective consciousness within a socially and religiously unsettled context. The research seeks to analyze how the author employs mechanisms of irony in shaping the narrative and intellectual structure of the text, by focusing on the dimensions of the characters and their role in deepening narrative conflict and highlighting the internal tension they experience. It also aims to reveal the symbolic dimensions of time and place as intellectual spaces in which the crisis of identity and consciousness is manifested, thereby granting the text its profound philosophical and humanistic depth. The study concludes that irony constitutes a semantic axis expressing the dialectical relationship between reality and belief, and between closure and openness. It plays a central role in intensifying narrative tension and activating the characters’ internal conflict. The findings further indicate that irony forms an intellectual and aesthetic structure that contributes to the embodiment of the crisis of human consciousness, transforming the novel into a fertile space for contemplating the value-based and existential transformations of both the self and society.