IDENTITY CRISIS IN MAZHAR-UL-ISLAM’S SHORT STORIES: A STUDY IN SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION

Abstract:

Mazhar،ul،Islam’s short stories foreground the crisis of individual identity and the pervasive experience of non،recognition. His narratives present human beings not merely as external actors but as embodiments of existential and psychological dilemmas, where the self is repeatedly fractured, suppressed, or rendered invisible. Across his oeuvre, characters lose their identity under social pressures, the weight of past experiences, failed relationships, or systemic oppression, transforming into faceless, marginalized existences. Drawing on philosophical, existential, and psychological frameworks, Mazhar،ul،Islam explores the self as a dynamic and unfinished process, highlighting the tension between internal consciousness and external realities. Symbolic and abstract techniques, through everyday objects, natural elements, or ritualistic settings, reveal the inner disintegration of individuals, their suppressed desires, and the constraints imposed by societal and cultural structures. His work underscores the existential burden of life, where human beings survive physically but lose their internal essence, becoming mere shadows within society. The stories demonstrate that modern social, economic, and political structures exacerbate this alienation, leaving the individual in a perpetual state of identity crisis. Mazhar،ul،Islam’s literary canvas thus raises profound questions about selfhood, recognition, and the human struggle to reclaim meaning and agency in a world that systematically diminishes individuality.

Keywords:

Individual identity, Identity crisis, Non،recognition, Existentialism, Psychological disintegration, Symbolism, Allegory, Social oppression, Internal consciousness, Mazhar،ul،Islam, Existential burden, Alienation, Faceless existence, Selfhood, Literary symbolism.

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