Ricerc@Sapienza

The present work aims to analyze the symbolic image of queues, contextualized within the same geographic area (Egypt) but represented in two different historical moments: 1952 and 2012. The historical frame is provided here by two narrative works, a short story and a novel, both entitled al-Ṭābūr (The Queue) by two Egyptian writers, respectively Yūsuf Idrīs (1927-1991) and Basma ‘Abd al-‘Azīz (1976). The paper will try to provide preliminary but meaningful insight into the political (if it is so) and figurative meaning of queuing as portrayed by the two authors. The queue is not the protagonist but, rather, the perfect physical shape or iconic representation of the message they want to convey.