Abstract: This contribution sheds light on the literary representation of the migrant body as a metaphor and a physical reality, studying its evolution in the Arabic novel between two distinct periods: that embodied by the story of Saleh, and that of present-day Arab migration. Although issues like identity and alterity are still current, the Arabic migration novel exposes them differently based on whether the mobility of the migrant body is vertical (North/South) or horizontal (South/South) and trans-Arabian.
