Irony in the novels of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar during the modernization process of Turkey

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar is a multi-faceted writer who has observed the problems of his society and has been able to evaluate these problems from various perspectives. Tanpinar is busy with the problems of both the Turkish people and the Turkish society in which he is involved. "Modernization" comes at the beginning of these problems. The West occurs its own modernity with developments in the West as from the fifteenth century. This situation obliges the Ottoman state to try to adapt to the developments in the West. Individuals, who were among the dualities during the transition from Ottoman period to Republican period, formed the modernization society. Turkish society, stuck between "old" and "new", pursues various searches as a result of the "innovation" problem brought by modernization. The crises, decadences and dilemmas that Turkey experienced during the modernization process are the issues that Tanpinar focuses on. In this respect, Tanpinar reflects not only his society, but also his paradox with his works. Misunderstood modernisation reveals a tragic situation in Turkey over individuals who have remained between the East and the West. Tanpinar, in his works, tries to construct this tragedy by using an ironic method. The problem of modernization in Tanpinar novels is conveyed to the reader through "irony". Irony can be read as a way of criticism or Tanpinar's way of expressing himself. On the other hand, there are traces of irony in Tanpinar's life. It can be said that the ironic temperament met in his letters and works is integrated with Tanpinar's character. The scope of this thesis is the irony that manifests itself in the novels of Tanpinar during the modernization process of Turkey. This study aims to determine Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar's position in the modernization process by providing an overview of Turkey's modernization process and to examine the reflections of the modernization irony in the novels of Tanpinar. Keywords: Tanpinar, Modernization, Irony.