An eco-critical approach to Necati Cumali's novels

This study aims to analyze the novels of Necati Cumalı, a prominent figure in post-Republican Turkish literature, through an ecocritical perspective. Gaining increased academic attention in recent years, ecocriticism provides an interdisciplinary literary approach that explores how nature and environmental themes are represented and constructed in literary texts. In this context, six novels by Cumalı – Zeliş, Yağmurlar ve Topraklar, Acı Tütün, Viran Dağlar, Aşk da Gezer, and Uç Minik Serçem – are examined to uncover how human-nature-society interactions, environmental awareness, ecological sensitivity, and rural life are depicted across his literary universe. The study extends beyond the well-known "Tobacco Trilogy" – Zeliş, Yağmurlar ve Topraklar, and Acı Tütün – and includes the lesser-studied yet environmentally rich novels Viran Dağlar, Aşk da Gezer, and Uç Minik Serçem. These works reveal central environmental motifs such as drought, land ownership, agricultural labor, urban alienation, ecological injustice, and the traces of nature in childhood memory. Each novel is examined both individually and in a comparative thematic framework, focusing on nature description, environmental tension, cultural ecology, intervention in nature, and the woman-nature connection. The results show that in Cumalı's literary vision, nature is not portrayed as a passive pastoral image but as an active agent embedded within ethical, economic, and social struggles. Nature is intricately woven into personal psychology, class structures, and collective memory. His portrayal of rural life reveals a unique ecological consciousness, which blends local realism with broader environmental critique. This study contributes to the growing field of ecocritical studies in Turkish literature, while offering a re-evaluation of Cumalı's literary identity through the lens of environmental ethics. Findings demonstrate that Cumalı's work consistently engages with themes such as ecological responsibility, harmony with nature, and the mnemonic power of place. As such, the author stands as a pioneer in Turkey's native environmental literature tradition, offering both literary depth and ecological insight.