The making of fear: Reading Zahran al Qasmi’s ‘Al Raw’
Zahran al Qasmi’s novel ‘Al Raw‘ is woven around a single dominant emotion: fear. Set in a traditional Omani village shaped by the forces of nature, the story explores how fear is created, inherited and transformed. The villagers live under the constant threat of darkness, isolation and the unknown, and these anxieties shape both their beliefs and their behaviour.
At the centre of the novel stands Mahjan, a man haunted by fear since childhood. His fears are not tied to one particular event but have become part of his personality. As a child, he was terrified of his own shadow, dark places, abandoned houses and anything associated with mystery or danger. These experiences left deep psychological scars that followed him into adulthood. The novel draws on a psychological idea familiar to modern readers: many fears originate in childhood and continue to influence behaviour long after the original experience has been forgotten.
Mahjan’s world is filled with symbols of fear. Darkness, narrow spaces, old buildings and black clothing all become sources of anxiety. Even certain people seem threatening to him. One such figure is Abu al Layl, a dark-skinned man whom village folklore associates with supernatural forces. Mahjan’s fear of him reflects how communities often transform ordinary individuals into symbols of collective anxiety.
Feeling powerless and overlooked by society, Mahjan eventually decides to create something that will inspire fear in others rather than in himself. His solution is Al Raw, a scarecrow unlike any other. The project begins with a name, for Mahjan believes that fear starts with imagination. He wants a figure so terrifying that birds, animals and even people will avoid it. Into this creation he pours all the fears, frustrations and humiliations he has carried since childhood.
The scarecrow gradually becomes more than an object. Mahjan carefully designs its appearance, giving it dark, hollow eyes and dressing it in the discarded clothes of the dead. Every detail is intended to create an overwhelming sense of dread. What he is really creating, however, is an idealised version of himself: powerful, fearless and respected. The scarecrow becomes what literary critics call an “objective correlative” — a physical object that embodies a character’s deepest emotions.
As the scarecrow takes shape, it begins to affect the entire village. People gather to see it. Some leave feeling uneasy; others become obsessed by its image. Children suffer nightmares. Stories and rumours spread. In a society already inclined towards superstition, the scarecrow acquires a life of its own. Mahjan, once ignored and ridiculed, suddenly becomes the centre of attention. For the first time, people speak to him with curiosity and even respect.
The relationship between Mahjan and his creation grows increasingly intense. The scarecrow protects his fields and becomes a source of prosperity. Crops flourish, and Mahjan begins to see it not as a lifeless object but as a living companion. He attributes emotions and intentions to it, eventually treating it with the devotion usually reserved for a beloved person.
At the same time, village authorities react differently. The local religious teacher and the village leader view the scarecrow as a dangerous presence. They associate misfortunes affecting the community with Mahjan’s creation and encourage others to see it as a source of evil. The novel reveals how fear can be manipulated by those in positions of authority. Rumours become accepted truths, and suspicion spreads more quickly than reason.
When the scarecrow begins to deteriorate, Mahjan cannot accept its decline. He becomes convinced that envy and hostile eyes have destroyed its spirit. In his mind, the scarecrow is no longer merely a collection of cloth and straw but a living being capable of suffering. Its collapse represents the collapse of his dreams, his newly acquired status and the identity he built around it.
The novel then moves into a darker psychological territory. Mahjan’s attachment to the scarecrow resembles grief following the loss of a loved one. He experiences shock, despair and withdrawal. What he mourns is not simply the scarecrow itself but everything it represented: dignity, power, recognition and escape from fear. His sense of loss becomes so overwhelming that it turns into rage.
Driven by this anger, Mahjan seeks revenge on the village that he believes destroyed his creation. Fire becomes the final expression of his pain. By burning the village fields and other scarecrows, he attempts to destroy the world that rejected him. Yet this act is also directed inward. The destruction reflects the collapse of the psychological refuge he had spent years constructing.
In the novel’s closing scenes, Mahjan achieves complete identification with the scarecrow. He binds himself to it and symbolically merges with it, erasing the boundary between creator and creation. The act represents the culmination of a long psychological journey. The fear that once dominated him has transformed into obsession, and the object he created to escape his anxieties ultimately consumes his identity.
More than a story about a scarecrow, Al Raw is a profound exploration of fear, loneliness and the human need for recognition. Al Qasmi shows how personal fears can grow into collective myths, how societies create monsters from their anxieties, and how individuals sometimes seek salvation in the very things that ultimately destroy them. Through Mahjan’s tragic journey, the novel offers a powerful meditation on the fragile line between fear and power, imagination and reality.
Dr Al Dughayshi is a critic and researcher whose work focuses on mythology in Arabic literature and poetry.
Adapted and translated by Badr al Dhafari
