The other in 12 March novels

The self-identification and recognition of man, a social being, depends on his discovery of the other. The self positions itself according to the other. Since the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution etc. modernization processes have accelerated the separation of the geographies from the sociocultural point of view of the nations. In particular, the pursuit of raw materials and markets by liberal and capitalist economies has resulted in the identification of Eastern and Western cultures with respect to others. This situation, which began to appear in the form of East-West segregation, then spread to more micro areas by expanding and differentiating. The phenomenon of intercontinental marginalization/ marginalization extends to neighborhoods and even inter-street marginalization/ marginalization. It is inevitable that the Ottoman Empire, which started to modernize with Tanzimat from these sociological and ideological economic developments in the world, will not be affected. After the industrial developments, the Ottomans realized that they were left behind in the face of the West, which established political superiority in its favor, also made some initiatives to keep up with this change. Following the Tanzimat, the Edict of Reform, Legislation and the Republic, is the picture of Turkish society turning the direction of the hike towards the West. However, the desire to transition from one civilization to another brings with it social fractures and therefore conflicts. Especially after the Republic, gaps begin to form between the early modernizing social masses and the relatively conservative mass. On the other hand, the search for socialism, communism, fascism liberalism, etc., for social or economic-based ideology, further accelerates this separation. The coups of 27 May, 12 March and 12 September, which have taken place in Turkish political history and interrupted democracy, can also be evaluated within this framework. During the 12 March Memorandum, the violent conflict environment caused by ideologically motivated student and labour movements was also reflected in literary works. The novels of March 12, which are classified as political novels, are important in terms of making sense of the lighting and otherities of the period. The novels that deal with the period reflect the political environment, the relationship between state and individual, the right-left conflict with a realistic point of view. The othernesses fuelled by ideological opposites causes street clashes to turn into anarchy. Revolutionary novelists carry the idea of the othernesses to which revolutionary forces are subjected, the idea that the state is on the side of the right-wing ideology, into their works. Howewer, right-wing novelists defend the idea that the revolutionary struggle is trying to destroy the state by acting under the guidance of external forces. In our study, the causes and consequences of otherness in the novels of March 12 were tried to be examined in terms of ideological, economic, cultural and religious otherities. Keywords: The Other, Memorandum of March 12th, Revolution, Communism, Orientalism, Right-Left Conflict.