The structure, theme and narration in the novels of the author who influenced by existentialism in the post 1950 era Turkish literature

Turkish literature has encountered some changes especially in thefields of novel and story after 1950. There are a numerous reasons for thesechanges which started after the 1940?s. One of these reasons isexistentialism which is a philosophy movement which started to influenceTurkish literature after the 1950?s. Existentialism is a movement which hashad a significant effect on world literature with its questioning of man andproblems related to man by considering the existence of the individual in theworld and placing the individual in the centre. As a matter of fact, numerousproposals and ideas related to this movement have entered Turkish literaturethrough the scripts of representatives of this philosophy. It can be observedthat some Turkish authors have read scripts related to Existentialism after1950 and as a natural result of the political and social developments of theperiod they discussed certain problems related to this movement.The novels of Yusuf Atılgan, Ferit Edgü, Demir Özlü, Vüs?at O. Benerand Tezer Özlü have been discussed and the structure, theme and featuresthey have displayed in their expression has been attempted to be determinedin this study. In relation to nearly all the discussed authors it has beenobserved that elements related to traditional novel have changed and thereare new perceptions in both the theme and expression. It can be observedthat the subject matter authors have been influenced by some ideasbelonging to existentialist philosophy especially in the problems and conceptsdiscussed in the theme. Themes and concepts such as individualization,existence, rebelling against social values, alienation, loneliness, depression,gloom, death, suicide and selection have been discussed in the novels of thementioned authors from an individualist point of view. There have beenfrequent references to existentialist ideas and authors in the discussion ofthese themes and concepts and sometimes some of there ideas have actedas points of departure for the novels.It can be observed that the writers who have produced works after theyear 1950 and mentioned above have been influenced by the works ofexistentialist philosophers such as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, SörenKierkegaard, Fredrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger and the authorsDostoyevsky and Kafka. The approach of these authors and philosopherstowards life and man and the forms they used to present their ideas has beenespecially influential in this period.Another feature of the novels of the authors discussed in this study isthe different tendencies they have displayed in the structure and expression.The rebuffing of the network of events into the background, installation ofdifferent meanings to elements related to time and space in the novel, thefocus of the narrator or perspective in the novel towards an individualisticexpression or point of view and the attempt at using different techniques arethe most significant features of this new style of expression. These featuresdisplayed by the structure and expression of the novels is directly linked tothe familiarization of modernist literature examples as much as it is linkedwith the fact that the novels have an autobiographic character. It should alsobe noted that the ?new novel? understanding which was especially influentialin France was influential in the structural change of the novel.This study which has discussed Turkish literature after 1950 byfocusing on five authors intends to display the relationship betweenphilosophy and literature and to question the influence a philosophicalmovement has on literature. In accordance with the mentioned objectives thenovels of the authors have been studied under the titles structure, theme andexpression and the results arising from this study have been summarized inthe conclusion section. The aim of this study is not to classify the authors as?existentialist authors? but rather to present the philosophical influenceswhich emerge in the discussion of man and life in their literary scripts. As it isstated in the conclusion section of the study, Existentialism has beeninfluential in Turkish literature for a certain period and has changed theperspective of authors towards life and man. This change in content andperspective has leaded the way for the appearance of new styles ofexpression and a new language of expression.Key words: Existentialisme, Turkish Novel