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Scary Tehran by Moshfegh Kashani is considered as a pioneering social novel in Iran.In this article, we have tried to examine this novel from the social science perspective in order to explain its semiotics and answer the question of what signs this novel implies and whether the symptoms are ideological. To this end, following some preliminary introduction of the science of semiotics, we have analyzed the manifestation of signs in this literary work. Our findings indicate that the author has efficiently benefited from using signs in order to portray social problems such as social class differences, bipolar social system, and injustice. Further, the author  highlights the ideological concept of the symptoms and signs and how they represent the contrasts between the rich and the poor of late Qajar Tehran.

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Payandani (intercession and mediation) is one of the main theological topics in the opening centuries of the Islamic era. Theologians have haddifferent views on this issue, which along with other theological issues, such as determinism and free will, destiny, justice, and the vision of Allah, was widely discussed by Muslim scholars, and fiercely debated by the Mutazilite, the Asharite and later the Shia. The aim of this paper is to discuss in briefthe formation of Payandani and compare the views of the major Islamic schoolson this topic. Moreover, the researcher attempts totrace this subject in Persianpoetry, especially in the poetry of the distinguished Sufi poets of the sixth and seventh centuries, such as Sanai, Attar, Rumi and Saadi.

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Tarjoman al-Balaghah written by Omar Radoviani, as the oldest Persian book on eloquence and criticism, holds a special and prominent stand among works devoted to the subject.It is the main source and reference for significant Persian books on eloquence such as Hadaeghat al-Sehr and Al-Mo'jam, which were compiled later .It was the first attempt to understand and establish Persian literary devices.The present study is devoted to a structural review as well as  an appraisal of the innovation and imitation of the book.To this end, we started with its main source, namelyMahasen al-Kalam Fi  al-Nazm va al-Nasr written by Marghinani, and analyzed its configuration, definitions, titles of literary devices, indexes,  and examples.Then, a few chapters of Mahasen-al-Kalam were compared with its main source,Al-Badi'written by Ibn-al-Mo'taz.We proceeded to review the structure of Tarjoman al-Balaghah, the way literary devices were organized, and how it was influenced by Mahasen al-Kalam.We concentrated on the similarities and differences between the two to get acquainted with indexing of literary devices based on the main reference, the alterations, as well as added devices in new classifications along with Persian examples.These enabled us to observe and explain the formation and development of Persian eloquence from the very beginning.Our findings indicated that although Radoviani was directly influenced by Mahasen al-Kalam, he added new devices and categories which were absent from Mahasen al-Kalam, and scholars in the field of eloquence used his book as a model for compiling new books.His innovations included utilizing a treasure of Persian names and poems by his own efforts.Although Radoviani adapted parts of Mahasen al-Kalam, he used a new structure, and his simple and fluent work took a pleasant Persian format.

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As the most prominent novelist in contemporary Persian prose, Jalal Ale-Ahmad has had great influence on Persian writers, insofar as many writers have followed his suit. Employment of colloquial language is the characteristic style of his fiction. What makes his different, however, is mainly the employment of colloquialism in a subtle, precise and accurate way. Due to the extensive use of colloquial language in his fictions, this article studies terminologies, phrases and figures  such as metonymy, interjection, onomatopoeia, reduplication,  and also argot and proverb. Having defined these components in his selected works, the authors of this article will put forth some examples and, in multiple tables, illustrate their frequencies. According to a precise examination of his novels, we concluded that among different types of speech, respectively, the metaphoric phrases, argot, assimilation and then reduplication have the highest frequency in Al-e-Ahmad’s prose. He writes in broken Persian to convey the sense of colloquial language in his novels. Substitution and reduction are the most frequent methods he uses when he writes in broken Persian. Interestingly, this frequent colloquial style in his writings has led to a widespread popularity of his novels among the people.

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Narrative process and its narrative mechanisms help the reader make sense of the way events happen in a story. Using repeating images in the text of a story is a method of narrative development.  In Shahnameh, dealing with the world and images it gives rise to is one of the central motives of the text. The narrator in different parts of the poem seems captivated by the image of the world and this fact impedes narrative progress. This article intends to analyze “the images of the world” in “the story of Siavash” in Shahname from Gerard Genette’s perspective, employing his five narrative features. This narrative by the use of prior narration, repeating narration and focalization presents an image of the world, this technique also pinpoints the way a specific image of a special theme has the potential to reduce the speed of reader comprehension by tampering with the order of events narrated or actions or by disrupting narrative time, and as a result it can boost the texts suspense or the reader’s interest in knowing how the events will evolve.
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Semiotics is a research approach which evaluates the signs to understanding the hidden meaning in the context. This approach which utilize linguistics, sociology, and literary criticism, is an efficient way of analysis. Semiotic analysis of travelogues provides an opportunity to a new reading and better understanding of them. Moreover, semiotic analysis can clarify the role of travelogues in delineating and representing the social and cultural status of societies. Based on Pierre Guiraud’s theory, this paper attempts to reveal the hidden aspects of identity, culture and social customs of explored lands by reviewing the social signs in Haj Sayyah travelogue, which is the longest travelogue of an ordinary person with regard to time and place during the Naseri Era. Using a descriptive-analytic method, this study compares and sometimes contrasts the Iranian-Islamic culture with the European culture and the confrontation of human beings with themselves and the environment. The findings show that religious beliefs and issues, as signs of identity, are the most important concern for the writer who dealt with them critically both inside and outside of Iran. As a young clergyman, his excessive attention to holy places like mosques, temples and churches suggests his religious identity. 
 

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