Vol. 1, Issue 3, Part A (2019)

This research paper analyses how Muhammad Hanif in his novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, deconstructs the social myths about General Zia and history in Pakistan. People believe that Zia was a savior, a hero in the history of Pakistan. This paper studies that Mohammad Hanif, in his best-selling work, exposes General Zia as an exploiter, an opportunist, and a deceiver. This article investigates how Mohammad Hanif breaks up the fabricated beliefs of people about the history of Pakistan. It is significant because it exposes the special trick of myth to present fabrication and a set of values as if it were a natural condition of the world. The purpose of the study is to find how A Case of Exploding Mangoes unmasks General Zia’s machinations to inculcate ideologies in the minds of people. The novel exposes that General Zia was behind the fabrication of Myths about justice, Islamization, morality, protection, and integrity. In order to analyze the text, the researcher applies Roland Barthes’s concepts of myth or ideology in his essay, Myth Today. Barthes argues that myth helps to naturalize a particular world view. He further reveals myth is based on context and by changing context the effects of myth can be changed. The findings of this research suggest that the historical beliefs of people about Zia are myths, and myth doesn’t occur naturally.