The child in the novels by Orhan Kemal and by Yaşar Kemal

After the 17th century, the definition of childhood could be isolated from the adult world. Many children entered in a work environment in which harsh conditions are dominated with the industrial development in the 18th and 19th centuries and were first included in the scope of social policy in terms of working conditions. In this dissertation the novels by Orhan Kemal and Yaşar Kemal, who have a social realist approach, were examined by using a hermeneutical research method to obtain findings about child labour and juvenile delinquency. The dissertation focuses on both the period in which the novels were written and the period covered by the novels in their own plot. Over the same periods, a comparison was made between the conclusions gathered from examining the novels and from the laws and regulations implemented in Turkey for combating child labour and juvenile delinquency. It is shown that the post-World War II period and the mechanization of production have an impact on child participation in working life and that not all children working have legal protection in terms of working conditions. The dissertation includes totally six novels of the writers mentioned above. Four of them focus primarily on children. In the novels studied children are portrayed as ones giving up struggle for life because of being humbled, poverty and changing moral values of the society or because of social pressure. Child is in the adult world and has dreams like adults do. In the novels it is pointed out that the reasons behind child labour and juvenile delinquency are similar. The findings of the comparison between social realities and the realities portrayed in the novels shows the importance of using literature as a source for research.