"Comparative Study of the Novels “On the Blue Red Roads” and “Frankenstein in Baghdad” Based on Yuri Lotman's Semiotic Sphere Theory with Emphasis on Border and Center

Cultural semiotics is the study of intercultural relations among interactive, conflicting, and confrontational poles that define the boundaries of one’s own culture and its codes in contrast to the constraints of another culture or non-culture. Lotman’s earlier conception of culture views it as a collection of semiotic systems with fluid boundaries, referring to all semiotic phenomena specifically organized along a continuum as the semiotic sphere. The border and cultural semiotic space emphasize both homogeneity and individuality, with the function of this filtering process transforming the foreign into the familiar and, at times, the other into the self. This research examines and elucidates the novels “On the Blue Red Roads” and “Frankenstein in Baghdad” through the lens of Lotman's semiotic sphere theory, focusing on the concepts of border and center. It employs notions such as interactive, conflicting, and confrontational poles within Lotman's semiotic sphere, using a descriptive-analytical approach. The authors highlight the border and center in the studied works as they relate to their own culture and strive to preserve it, although the spatial dynamics of these works, comprising a center and periphery, inevitably open a door to another culture. The research findings indicate a structural inequality of cultural signs at the border and in the relationships between different texts and spaces at the center. This inequality has hindered the blending of the self with the other. Consequently, the perspectives of the author and the characters in the story are not absolute, and the border has not been clearly defined within the semiotic sphere. Instead, irreparable confrontations persist within it. However, these two authors, especially Nader Ebrahimi, have preserved their own culture despite the conflicts and contradictions between their culture and the other. In engaging with another culture, they maintain the other outside the boundaries of their own cultural components.
Introduction
Anti-colonial novels serve as valuable examples in the study of identity and cultural conflicts. These conflicts, particularly the confrontation between self and other, are central to the authors' efforts to either equalize or assert cultural superiority. The novel “On the Blue Red Roads” by Nader Ebrahimi and “Frankenstein in Baghdad” by Ahmed Saadawi explore cultural comparisons between the host country and the authors' countries of origin. Both novels address the confrontation between immigrant (origin) and host (destination) cultures, highlighting the structural inequalities between the periphery and the center. These works reflect this cultural confrontation through themes of superiority or equalization of cultural elements between the periphery and the center. This research aims to examine “On the Blue Red Roads” and “Frankenstein in Baghdad” through the lens of Lotman’s semiotic sphere theory, applying concepts such as interactive, conflictual, and confrontational poles.
Methodology
The research method in this research is descriptive with case study, analytical, and comparative, and based on the method of taking notes from library resources, and the novels "On the Blue Red Roads" by Nader Ebrahimi and "Frankenstein in Baghdad" by Ahmed Saadawi have been examined and analyzed. In this research, we will examine the components of interactive, conflictual, and confrontational poles in Lotman's semiotic sphere in the aforementioned novels using a descriptive-analytical method.
Results
Love for the familiar homeland and commitment to it, as a boundary in the novel "On the Blue Red Roads", has explained the possibility of translation between the symbolic realm of beliefs and convictions and the external world. In fact, upon entering a different space, the narrator encounters signs of another world, but he cannot regain his hope due to confusion and helplessness. Consequently, he confronts this experience through the symbolic framework of his beliefs: "The sad story of the loving Mirmohana standing before her father unfolds as the thick Safavid book is closed and the rare multi-leaf notebook is also shut."The snowman of Shah Ismail, the substitute, was in the process of melting, and Mirnaser was no longer the old Mirnaser" (Ebrahimi, 2016: 53). The novel Frankenstein in Baghdad, like the novel On the Red Blue Roads, has a completely anti-colonial content and its characterization is based on enlightenment and egoism. The border determines the inner turmoil of the characters; wandering in the world on the “On the Blue Red Roads” is not only specific to the exploited countries, but also to the whole world; in fact, the whole world can be a defined border. “Mir Mahna” expresses a specific definition of traitor and betrayal based on the dominant ideology that has been institutionalized within her; she has come to the inner belief that although her duty is to suppress the occupiers and plunderers, there are other traitors (her father and companions) who have abandoned her belief in the hands of the enemy; “Mir Mahna, without waiting for an answer, turned to Mir Mustafa’s son, sniffed him a little, and then showed that she had smelled a foul odor. She wrinkled her nose and said: You apply Dutch perfumes to yourself, but you still smell bad, cousin! "The smell of stench..." (ibid: 40) The inner space of the symbolic sphere, like other symbolic elements, as well as the culture and inner feelings of the characters, changes in relation to another space, but this transformation may take time or be rapid, and structural inequality is a characteristic of the inner space of the symbolic sphere.
The signs of the self in the novel "On the Blue Red Roads" indicate a sense of self-superiority. The narrator believes that the rules of the dominant cultures of England and the Netherlands are being violated. He attempts to take a stand against the host culture, and although his inner world has changed, his perspective on the symbolic sphere in which he was raised remains unchanged. The presence of Mir Mahna in the novel serves as an intrinsic element; readers can perceive a character deeply passionate about his own culture reflected in Mir Mahna's thoughts and speech. The narrator and characters in both novels consistently defend their respective cultures. For example, "Mir Mahna" and "Shamsa," as representatives of their cultures, assert their identity and heritage with authority and pride, striving to resist the influence of other cultures.
This sense of cultural superiority and the defense of their own heritage are clearly evident in Mir Mahna's dialogues and behaviors. The characters possess deeply ingrained cultural identities and values, which compel them—especially Mir Mahna—to continuously defend their culture and confront others. By emphasizing her values and cultural identity, Mir Mahna seeks to demonstrate that these traditions must never be forgotten but preserved and strengthened. The novel “On the Blue Red Roads” effectively portrays cultural confrontations and interactions within the symbolic inner realm.
 
Ebrahimi attempts to define the relationship between the space inside the sphere (internal institutions) and the space outside it (alien culture). Sujoodi argues that a culture, while existing within boundaries that separate it from the cultural other, is continually exposed to processes of mixing with the other. Moreover, through its inherent heterogeneity and internal ruptures, the culture strives to preserve itself. In contrast, most of the events in the novel “Frankenstein in Baghdad” take place in a dilapidated building in the Batawin neighborhood of central Baghdad, which has a mixed population with various sectarian and national affiliations reflecting the city's multiple identities. According to Lotman (1990, p. 142), marginal points are not limited or constrained; rather, the center is compelled to endure limitations. In fact, marginal areas are the source of creativity and dynamic processes within the semiotic sphere.
Conclusion
The text and cultural system in the anti-colonial novels "On the Blue Red Roads" and "Frankenstein in Baghdad" are connected with another culture. These authors have determined and explained the border and center based on the space and its semiotic sphere in their novels, a space of the semiotic sphere with a center and a periphery that inevitably opened a door to another culture. The authors have placed their own culture at the center in the structure of the border and center of the novels under study and have determined specific boundaries for it. Although the semiotic sphere of this border space is in some cases, especially in the novel Frankenstein in Baghdad, influenced by another culture and has opened a border fence to another culture, they have not given it superiority over their own culture, but rather its main role; that is, the "thing" as a tool that has killed another.