Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Leila Ebrahimkhani ¹
• Reza Chehreghani ²
• Mahdi Fayyaz ³

¹ PhD student in Mystical Literature, Imam Khomeini International University

² Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Imam Khomeini International University

Abstract

Carl Hovland's communication theory, which is of particular importance in communication sciences and social psychology due to its function in guiding public opinion, is used to analyze the process of message acceptance and audience attitude change. This theory is based on four elements: sender, receiver, message, and message context. Changing the character's attitude is a key element in fiction that contributes to the dynamics of characters, the complexity of the story, and the presentation of attractive patterns. The present study, using Hovland's approach and the descriptive-analytical method, examines the process of attitude change in the characters of the two stories, The Parrot and the Merchant and The Parrot and the Grocer from Rumi's Masnavi, in three stages of stimulation, perception, and message acceptance. In the first story, the results show that the parrot and then the merchant are persuaded and change their attitude under the influence of the multidimensional messages of the story; such as accepting voluntary death to escape from the bondage of the body and avoiding arrogance, etc. Rumi's communication and persuasive strategy in the story of the grocer and the parrot also changes the attitude of the parrot and, consequently, the audience regarding haste in comparison and judgment. The consequence of remembering the new attitude, according to Hovland's theory, will be a change and correction of the audience's behavior and its generalization in society.

Keywords

• Spiritual Masnawi
• Carl Howland's theory
• Attitude Change Theory
• Parrot and Merchant
• Grocer and Parrot