This paper seeks to present a conception of the sea and its effective role in the
contemporary Syrian short story through a study of the works of a number of short story
tellers who travelled at sea in search for mysteries of life to gain an unders
tanding of the
universe and explore the suffering of coastal residents. This conception is manifested in the
short story writings by Abul Kader Rabe'a, Muhsen Yousef, Muhammad Smeer Jua'ra and
others.
The sea in the short story represents human concerns and the interdependent
relationship between man and the sea. Each writer in his own way moves as a result of
suffering from the private concerns to the national concerns. This is the center of Muhsen
Yousef's stories through a heroic resistance and bitter struggles with the powers of evil
aliened with internal powers that have attempted to control the nation's coasts. The Arab
resistant triumphs over the powers of evil in a heroic epic and forces the powers to
withdraw in defeat.