Theses supervised by Doç. Dr. Aydın Görmez
11 theses · Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversity
Motherhood and maternal bonds in Toni Morrison's novels
Motherhood is defined as a set of feelings and behaviours that are unfolded with the start of pregnancy and the birth of a child. The maternal bond between mothers and children is significant in all cultures since they are connected together physically and emotionally. However, the story of black mothers was quite different because they experienced slavery in the past making them inferior to other races. Under the system of slavery, African American mothers still face difficult and diverse challenges. The hardest being their inability to practice their roles as biological caregivers. In some extreme cases black mothers even thought to kill her own children to save them from the threats of slavery. This study explores the conflict between the white and black communities and the victimization of the black people by the prevalent ideology of marginalization and suppression. It examines the concept of motherhood and the impact of slavery in the life of black mothers through a special attention on Toni Morrison's three novels The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Beloved. In each single novel, Morrison presents a unique picture of motherhood as a term bound by slavery. In the study, feminist readings of the texts as well as textual and contextual approaches are employed to study the relationships between the mothers and daughters as depicted in the selected novels. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the complexity of the life of black women and the impact on motherhood and family interaction of poverty, subjugation and oppression.
Graham Greene'nin eserlerinde ahlak, kefaret ve tinsellik
The main purpose of this study is to explain morality, redemption, and spirituality in four books of Graham Greene and to introduce the author and his writings. Greene is a famous modern novelist, playwright, and journalist. He gave English literature a spiritual dimension. He has many novels, short stories, essays, and letters. The critics label him as a Catholic writer. In this study, four novels are chosen relevant to the topic: The Heart of the Matter (1948), The Power and the Glory (1940), The End of the Affair (1951), and Brighton Rock (1938). Greene mostly focuses on the spiritual parts of humanity in relation to Catholic principles. He tries to reestablish the process of Salvation throughout his writings, and he opposes the ideology of Secularism. Greene's writings oppose Secularism because he believed that Secularists destroyed the power of the church. He has shown morality in his works and focused so much on evil and goodness. Greene states that the reason behind this type of writing is a Western lifestyle and the regime that has made them live as oblivious, meaning that the ethic to them is not significant. Greene believes that the materialism of modern society has controlled faith in God and community values. The modern society has lost its values, morality and the taste of life. This thesis tries to show why Greene concentrates on redemption and why his protagonists are mainly religious characters. Moreover, such questions as why the characters commit suicide or die in the last scene are sought to be answered. To explain this argument more some verses from the Bible have taken in order to demonstrate Greene's thoughts.
Discrimination in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Richard Wright's Native Son
In spite of differences in gender, skin colour, religion, nationality, tribe, and race, simply being human with a soul and flesh is regarded as a common feature for all humanity. Equality is one of the fundamental rights desired by and based on human nature, which is why everyone wishes to be treated equally. Since African Americans in the United States of America are oppressed and enslaved, their rights are violated because of their blackness, shedding light upon such concepts as equality is necessary. Blacks from the most cultured among whom are authors, writers, novelists, poets, and playwrights to the most uncultured farmers intend to break chains upon them which is called discrimination based on their race. So as to verify and embody the idea, shedding light on the works of two black novelists is a need. Richard Wright as a prominent novelist in Native Son and Ralph Ellison as a remarkable author in Invisible Man illustrates the concept of discrimination in a very unique but excellent way. Both novelists in their masterpiece works describe their protagonists as oppressed by white discriminators in which they tried hard to prove themselves and indicate the ability of the blacks. The society, system, and authority put obstacles in their way as hindrances. For instance, the jurisprudence which is set to treat people equally charged Wright's protagonist out of his race not even giving the right to defend himself. Ellison's protagonist hopes to make progress in New York, but he is not allowed and what is more, his world is destroyed. The present study tries to reveal the fact that what both writers were trying to do was nothing but to see blacks as equal. To this end, they attempted their best capacity to gain it. VIII Key Words: Native Son, Invisible Man, Discrimination, African-American, Jim Crow Laws.
Tradition versus modernity in Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues and The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian
This study aims to analyse and compare the American Indian traditional and modern vision of living culture, identity and space entities as shown in Sherman Alexie's novels. The study begins with a brief overview of the Native American history from the 15th century till the 20th century. In addition, this study aims to define the concepts of tradition and modernity and to analyse the impact of modern culture on the Native American tradition. To this end, the study gives a general account of Native American history from the 15th to the 20th century. Native Americans regard modernity as the outcome of changes in language, religion, customs, education, lifestyle as well as (cultural) identity. However, in some cases, modernity has not been accepted by many Indians, especially those who think that traditional culture is more valuable than modern culture. These changes signify a transitional period in the history of Native American culture. This study also introduces a prominent and outstanding contemporary Native American author, Sherman Alexie, as the voice of Native Americans. In his works, Alexie portrays the conditions of Indians inside and outside the reservation, together with their traditions. Moreover, the clash between tradition and modernity is highlighted and analysed in Alexie's novels Reservation Blues (1997) and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007). Overall, the main aim of this study is to reveal Sherman Alexie's viewpoint of the Native American community in the American mainstream society. Keywords: Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues, the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Tie Indian, Native Americans, Tradition, Modernity.
William Faulkner ve Yusuf Atılgan'ın eserlerinde modernist unsurların incelenmesi
This thesis aims to analyze the modernist elements in the works of William Faulkner and Yusuf Atılgan. It takes as the subject matters William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury and Yusuf Atılgan's The Loiterer and MotherLand Hotel. Modernism is a period that affects every aspect of life, specifically literature. Traditional or established elements in novels and stories have gained a radical momentum with modernism and are frequently portrayed in the works of modernist writers. Yusuf Atılgan and William Faulkner, two important names of Turkish and American literature, are among those who reflect this change abundantly in their works. Especially in their novels, real and dream are given together, and concepts such as consciousness / subconscious invented by Sigmund Freud and his student Carl Jung and inner speech are employed extensively in the characters. The concept of time is no longer directed outward but inward. In addition, as a content component, it is inevitable that the characters often experience loneliness, alienation and attempt to commit suicide, but there are similarities and differences in terms of leitmotif, time and narrative point of view. In our study, we aim to explore the modernist elements in terms of form and technique in Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Caddy in The Sound and the Fury; The Loiterer's C. and Zebercet in Motherland Hotel.
Postcolonial issues and literature: Najib Al-Kilani as an example
ABSTRACT What is post-colonialism theory? What is the basis, and methodology of this theory? Who are the important pioneers? What values does this have theoretically and in the application? Moreover, what are the main points of argumentation? Colonialism has been argued to be further beneficial to highlight the politics of disparity and differences among human beings and their widespread cultures, but how? A considerable number of studies on colonial readings in the past years mention to one of the most controversial literary theories and criticisms which carry a comprehensive concept from politics to economy to all other aspects of life, and is a critical approach aims to dismantle the colonial discourse and trying to review the history of colonized countries literature, by different methodologies, in the views of the colonized. There is a bit odd coincidence on the timing: academic attention in colonialism ascended when great powers had already missed their worldwide validity and trust. Previously when colonialism was a purpose of mobilization, researchers and the elite were most fascinated by the freedom activities and the likelihood of modernization and advancement of the societies, but nowadays they are not so optimistic about that. That is seen in the novels and writings of some important authors. Najib Al-Kilani as an effective Arab-African writer, in respect of presenting the subject of colonialism in the studies depending on literary art, but not based on the Western world views, was one of the pioneers in Arab African literature medium, and he could reveal the great effects for western colonialism movement in the societies that have been colonized. This study sheds light on his contributions in the pathways of contemporary Arabic literature, focusing on two of his famous novels Turkistan Nights and Napoleon in Al-Azhar which represent his prominent writing style and reflect post-colonial literature in the Arab world. Keywords: Post-colonialism, Colonialism, Orientalism, Novel, Najib Al-Kilani, Oppression, Freedom, Culture.
The Pantomime adlı tiyatro eserinde postkolonyalizmin etkileri ve sömürgeciliğin ideal adam ütopyası
Postkolonyalizm, dünya varolduğundan beri ikililik olgusu üzerinden medeniyetler çatışmasına dönüşen bir kavram olmuştur. Bu kavram sözde uygar ve medeni Batı dünyasının egzotik ve gizemli Doğu medeniyetini kendi idealleri ve doğruları etrafında yeniden şekillendirme, oryantalist bakış açısıyla sömürmesinden başka bir şey değildir. Keza bunu zaman zaman savaşlar ve yıkıcı işgallerle yapmaktan kaçınmayan Batı, zaman içerisinde yöntem değiştirerek edebiyat, kültür, sanat, siyaset gibi farklı alanlarda ürettiği politikalarla bunu başarma arzusundadır. Bu tezin içeriğinde, postkolonyal yaklaşım detaylı bir şekilde ele alınarak bu yaklaşım farklı açılardan tanımlanmaya çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca bu yaklaşımın tiyatro eserlerine olan yansıması üzerinde durulmuştur. Ancak tiyatronun spesifik, kapsamlı ve daha çok seyirci odaklı belli bir kitleye hitap ettiği göz önüne alınarak, Türk edebiyatından farklı örnekler üzerinden de inceleme yapılmıştır. Edebiyatta özellikle tiyatro alanında postkolonyalizmin nüfuz ettiği karakterlerin ruh hali ve yine bazı edebi eserlerde oryantalist bakış açısıyla ele alınan olaylar ve kişiler üzerinde de durulmuştur. Tezin oluşturulma ve hazırlanma aşamalarında yazarın iç dünyasına ışık tutulmaya çalışılmıştır. Tezdeki söz konusu eser The Pantomime Karayip kökenli yazar Derek Walcott tarafından kaleme alınmıştır. Derek Walcott'ın The Pantomime adlı eserinin tezde bulunma amacı postkolonyalizmin etkisini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Bu eser ile birlikte karşılaştırması yapılan ve incelenen diğer eserlerde gerek olaylar gerek karakterler üzerinden bu teori incelenmiştir. Türk orta oyunu Hacivat-Karagöz ve Peyami Safa tarafından kaleme alınan ünlü Türk Romanı Fatih-Harbiye 'den de örneklendirmeler yapılmıştır.
The criticism of Gerald Vizenor on native American identity
The purpose of this study was to examine the criticism of Gerald Vizenor on Native American identity during the colonial period of North American history. Vizenor, in his works, showed the Native American Indians identities, and he used many terms to discuss their Indian-ness. For instance, the term "survivance" was used to criticize that they stayed in a place without knowing anything from the changing of the world in the modern period because that term displayed their stances between "survival" and "resistance." Thus, he confirmed that they have assimilated into the current lives of the modernity. The author also, used a tricky method in his works as a mockery to make critics about them. However, Native Americans were well on their way to being mainstreamed by colonial historians. Whereas, the postmodern critical approach to the literal restructuring of Native American identity in the period of renewal that followed Native America has begun to redesign a new field of assessment. Nontraditional, non-anthropological, poststructuralist critiques continued to explore the relationship between traditional and contemporary experience. ―Survivance‖, a term coined by Native American writer and literary critic Gerald Vizenor, was used to express this situation. In addition, Vizenor's reflection on the survival and resistance of Native Americans as they face the challenges of the world while trying to promote their indigenous identity is reflected in their works. However, Vizenor's postindian identity negotiation is controversial and seems to be far from getting the approval of other critics. Keywords: Gerald Vizenor, Native Americans, Oral Literature, Tribalism, Oral Tradition, Colonialism
An analysis of foe and the white castle novels within postmodern context
Techniques such as intertextuality, metafiction, parody, and pastiche, frequently used in postmodern literature, are creating wide studying areas for readers, writers, and critics. Especially with the metafiction and intertextuality techniques, postmodern authors keep the reader alive by adding dynamism and difference to their works. In this context, Orhan Pamuk's The White Castle novel and J. M. Coetzee's Foe novel contain many postmodern elements. Orhan Pamuk presents examples of metafiction, such as making a novel character write a preface to another novel or changing narrators in his novel The White Castle. In addition, Pamuk, who deals with a historical subject in the novel, exemplifies the intertextuality technique by combining reality and fiction, using historical places, old sources, and characters. On the other hand, Coetzee in his novel Foe rewrites Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe by mocking it, and he chooses the protagonist of the novel as a woman on the contrary of the writing philosophy of the period, and adds Cruso as an old and passive character of the novel. The relationship between Susan, the narrator of the novel, and Foe (known as a writer in the novel), who will write the story of Cruso, constitutes an important example for the metafiction technique. At the same time, it has been a work worth examining in the context of intertextuality by referring to many works. In this study, it is aimed to analyse the two novels mentioned in the context of postmodern elements; metafiction and intertextuality.
Feminist bildungsroman in Audre Lorde's Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson
Literature is an effective cultural and historical document employed as a means for the expression of human experiences. This fact has been uniquely the case of the ethnic communities largely growing within the American society including African and Mexican communities for whom literature becomes a major tool for self-preservation as well as self-expression. Women of colour in American society are discriminated against in terms of poverty, gender and race. Therefore, novelists of different ethnic backgrounds have allowed women of colour, who are disregarded for their class and race, to have their histories read and their voices heard. African American literature kept its survival for long periods while Mexican American literature began to realize itself when Mexico lost the northern territory to the United States of America following the Mexican War in the late 1940s. Both communities either became American citizens or went to some other places outside the USA. These immigrants remained disremembered and their African or Chicano culture had been neglected. Additionally, they experienced discrimination, loss of identity and freedom, racism as well as sexism. In their writings, some woman writers illustrated issues related to such concepts. Audre Lord, Sandra Cisneros and Toni Cade Bambara are among the best examples of writers of mixed ethno-cultural backgrounds to demonstrate the hardships of their lives in their novels. Audre Lorde's Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson offer the chance to discover indeterminacy in Feminism where it converges with Bildungsroman, which is the focal point of this thesis.
A new historical approach to female figures in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls
This thesis studies Caryl Churchill's Top Girls with respect to new historicism and the subordinate nature of female characters. The play deals with historical woman figures and feminism, and discusses different subjects ranging from female subjection to the motivations of working females, the relationships of these females with their children, the rights of sexual preference for women in inter-racial relationships, and the perceptions of society in connection with these issues. This dissertation also examines how Churchill uses epic theatre as a method for offering a voice to her feminist interests involving sexual and class constraint, submission, enslavement, and inequality in her play Top Girls, regarding feminist politics and socialism. Through the play, Churchill raises doubt about the customary sexual roles and duties forced on females by the male-commanded principles. Initially, this thesis deals with a short historical background beginning from Victorian period and the issues like political, literary and social ones. This study is also characterized by women rights. In addition, using new historical approach as a fundamental scheme makes this study take a look at historical, political and social writings. The paper uncovers how perceived insurrection in women is often a catalyst for change, even though not always a positive one. It recommends that these women are unconventional in the way they perceive and conduct their lives and are not easily troubled by the observations society has of them.