Abstract
FICTIVE PROTAGONISTS IN THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY ACHIEVEMENT (CASE OF “TURFANDA MI YOKSA TURFA MI?”)
Tanzimat is a period when Turkish people were in intense search of identity. Because Ottoman state, which had been leader of the other states for many years, were then following Western World, which made great progress as a result of renaissance, geographical discoveries and reforms. Western World was hold up as an example for military and technological issues in order to catch up with the era. However, this process was not limited with military and technological matters, it also reflected to cultural areas. The most negative reflection of this westernization period, which had started officially with Tanzimat rescript, was on identity. In a time when western states were realizing nationalization movements since French revolution, that Ottoman, which then many citizens from different religions and nations, lost dominance on its people, and this became a great threat for the future of the state.
The intellectuals, who regarded literature as means of attaining people, expressed their determinations and solutions for the problems of the state through novel and theatrical works. They created role models who would extricate the state in fictive atmosphere of their works and presented the characters as a role model to the readers. One of these intellectuals is Mizan M. Murat Bey. The aim of this study is to determine what kind of character the fictive protagonists presented in the novel “Turfanda mı Yoksa Turfa mı?” to the society have and what kind of tasks they take in the process of transition from Ottoman to Turkish identity.
Keywords
Tanzimat Literature, Fiction, Identity Construction, Mizancı M. Murat, Turfanda mı Yoksa Turfa mı?
