Gypsies in modern Turkish literature's narrative texts

Gypsies have spread to large geographies with ongoing migrations from the earliest known times to the last century and come across different nations. They have always been perceived by societies as "foreign, other, untouchable, outside". Although social identities are determined by ethnic origin, language or religion in different countries, the Gypsies have maintained their identity with their mostly closed social life and their own way of life and have established themselves through these differences - that is, through otherness. Especially in terms of religion, Gypsies, who seem to have adapted to the common beliefs of the society they entered into, exhibited a "free" attitude, essentially separate from any authority. Although there are some differences in the way they live among themselves due to their spread to a wide geography, their invaluable skills and their never-ending free spirit have created common denominators in their chosen occupations and nomadic lives. In the narratives about Gypsies, Gypsies living in nomadic life and isolated from society, encounter and communicate with people who are not from themselves. As the interaction increases, established prejudices within society begin to make themselves felt. It is possible to observe the traces of these attitudes in the language of the authors, the narrators in the works and the behavior of the characters. There are about thirty works in the novels and stories of the New Turkish Literature that directly deal with Gypsies. In the majority of these works, the prevailing viewpoints of our society towards the Gypsies are given in different doses, usually with their negative sides. Some have a positive attitude, while a few have a neutral impression on the reader. From "Çingene" written by Ahmet Mithat Efendi in 1886 to Berna Durmaz's short story book "Bir Fasit Daire" published in 2013, studying thirty works written in a period of approximately one hundred and thirty years will allow us to see the attitude towards Gypsies in Turkish literature and society from a holistic perspective. Keywords: Gypsies, New Turkish Literature, Other, Nomadism