Department of English Language and Literature

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11905/1228

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 51

A FOUCAULDIAN READING OF POWER POLITICS IN ANIMAL FARM AND LORD OF THE FLIES
(2020-11-14) SALEH, Mohammed; TEKİN, Kuğu; ARAS, Gökçen; ALPAKIN MARTINEZ CARO, Dürrin
This thesis explores the relations of power and politics as represented in George Orwell’s Animal Farm and in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies with reference to the philosophy of Michel Foucault. In both novels, power is an evident source of gaining political advantage over the others. Both Napoleon and Jack rely on “repressive power” to be superior. They either suppress or destroy all the entities in their distinct communities who resist against the hierarchical order. They create a totalitarian system that treats its subjects as puppets. Both Napoleon and Jack rule their communities through fear, and that fear is made up of death threats. On the other hand, Foucault describes another superior form of power, named “normalized power,” which suggests that in order to be assertive, one does not have to use power. This form of power puts certain groups under countless rules and laws and implants them into the group members’ minds as early as childhood. Individuals accept to obey these rules and laws willingly without judging or questioning them. Thus, a superior form of power is created. This power is governed by different systems that enforce these laws on those who are beneath it. The police, who directly enforce those laws, or teachers who indirectly enforce them by teaching these laws might be given as examples. Normalized power offers a more balanced system that ensures those who are subject to it will not revolt. The two novels that are selected to study in this thesis indicate that the systems that use repression alone are imbalanced and likely to end up in revolt. Both novels convey the reactions of those who are subject to the cruel treatment of power-holders. Indeed, both Orwell and Golding emphasize the fact that by using either normalized or repressive power, the system manages to keep the ruled ones under strict control.
THE CONTEMPORARY REPRESENTATIONS OF MYTHS: HOMER’S THE ODYSSEY IN MARGARET ATWOOD’S THE PENELOPIAD, THE MYTH OF ATLAS AND HERACLES IN JEANETTE WINTERSON’S WEIGHT AND OVID’S METAMORPHOSIS IN ALI SMITH’S GIRL MEETS BOY
(2021-11-10) ADIGÜZEL, Leyla; TEKİN, Kuğu
The fact that a well-known Scottish publishing house, Canongate, launched a series of myths in 2005 with the aim of having one hundred myths rewritten by 2038 has indicated that long-established tradition of interest in the ancient myths has turned into a trend in contemporary literature. To this end, having commissioned many authors of different nationalities to rewrite the myths of various cultures, the publishing house has also included Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson and Ali Smith in the project. From this point forth, the objective of the dissertation is to examine the three novels respectively The Penelopiad, Weight, and Girl Meets Boy published within the scope of the aforementioned project with reference to the archetypal criticism; and explore the methods employed by the authors in the process of retelling the canonical myths. In this context, the dissertation has revealed that employing various literary techniques such as parody, carnival, and pastiche the three authors dislodge the traditional archetype notion in their new versions. The study also draws attention to the fact that the writers embrace Bakhtin's account of polyphony in their hybrid works where the male-dominated discourse has been replaced by the female discourse. Accordingly, the three authors who provoke the reader through tricks and word plays assume the trickster artist role by breaking the rules and telling the ancient myths from a different point of view that challenges the epic traditions. The dissertation, thus, concludes that the ancient myths, being brought back to the agenda after hundreds of thousands years are reshaped in the trickster authors' hands through various strategies; and transformed into new hybrid texts that can be evaluated from various perspectives.
DEMYSTIFYING THE IMAGE OF A FIERCE CITY IN PETER ACKROYD’S LONDON: THE BIOGRAPHY AND DAN LENO AND THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM
(2021-11-09) BAYRAK, Zeynep Gülten; TEKİN, Kuğu
The city of London is a significant element in most of Peter Ackroyd’s works. He often combines his works with the theme of violence and crime in London and observes the negative effects of the city on the characters. The thesis specifically examines respectively the relationship between violence and London’s socio-cultural constructions from Ackroyd’s perspective. By analysing London: The Biography and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem, whether it is fictional or non-fictional, London has always been represented as a violent living being in Ackroyd’s works. In his works, London is not described as a setting, it is always regarded as a fierce and corrupt landscape in constant progress by affecting its habitants and their interactions in history and even in the present. To this end, in the first chapter, crime fiction is analyzed by investigating the improvements in the genre, and also Londoners’ interest in fictional violence is examined in terms of London’s violent and dark character. In addition, the representation of the city in literature, its images, and the experiences of its dwellers are identified. Also, the literary career of Peter Ackroyd, his writing style called “English tradition” and his perspective are investigated. In this chapter, Ackroyd’s London is portrayed as a violent living being and his works reveal the dark and fierce nature of the city. The second chapter is dedicated to explain the theoretical background of violence by benefiting from some theorists’ theory of violence and their opinions. In addition, the representation of violence in literature and its significance as a literary device that contains brutality is identified. The third chapter explores the representation of violence in Ackroyd’s London: The Biography and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem. Also, London as a fierce city, and Londoners who are shaped by the fierceness and brutality of the city is analyzed. In the conclusion part, it is concluded that London is represented as an irrational and fierce city in both of Ackroyd’s works. Ackroyd's two works, as in most of his works reveal the negative effects of the city on Londoners and the relationship between the barbarity of Londoners and London’s cruel nature.
DIASPORIC IDENTITIES OF IMMIGRANTS IN ANDREA LEVY’S SMALL ISLAND AND NADEEM ASLAM’S MAPS FOR LOST LOVERS
(2021-11-03) ÇALIŞ, Sıla; ARAS, Gökçen
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the impact of migration on the construction of identity and belonging with reference to Andrea Levy’s Small Island (2004) and Nadeem Aslam’s Maps for Lost Lovers (2004) through the analysis of Caribbean and Asian characters in a diaspora context. After the years following the Second World War, there was a large-scale immigration movement of people from ex colonies to Britain who, having served in the war effort or having been raised under the illusions of British colonial education. The underlying idea behind the mindset of immigrants was arriving at the “mother country”; a country that was welcoming them; a country idealised in the colonial imagination as a land of dream. As the members of a diasporic community begin to live in an “imaginary homeland” away from their country of origin, they encounter cultural, physical and psychological displacement in the host country, as a consequence of which they suffer the pangs of alienation and the pangs of lost home. In addition to the problematic relationship with a new land, they feel caught between the indigenous customs of their homeland and those of the motherland. They, thus try to find meaning for themselves in the values of a foreign culture in a diaspora space. Therefore, this thesis examines the literary representations of black and Asian immigrants who strive for asserting a sense of identity as well as securing a sense of belonging in Britain. The study deals with how diasporic identity and belonging are not pre-given or fixed but rather, are something always in constant processes of re/definition, re/construction and change.
THE EXPRESSION OF TRUTH THROUGHOUT HISTORY IN JULIAN BARNES’ FLAUBERT’S PARROT, A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 10 ½ CHAPTERS AND THE SENSE OF AN ENDING
(2021-11-03) DEMİRTÜRK, Mehtap; TEKİN, Kuğu
The aim of this dissertation is to present the expression of truth throughout history with the help of Julian Barnes’s works which include personal, biographical and official histories by blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Barnes is one of the remarkable postmodern writers and he problematizes the expression of truth in the three branches of history by discussing them through a postmodern perspective and its way to question the past. In this study, Barnes’s Flaubert’s Parrot has been explored as a work of biographical history; his A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters has been discussed as a work of official history; and finally The Sense of an Ending has been analysed as a work of personal history. Hence, the dissertation aims to show how truth in history or the past is unreliable, questionable and subjective by analysing three sub-genres of history. Barnes has an ironic attitude to history as a branch. In his three novels, he questions the validity and objectivity of history/the past. By giving examples of three branches of history, he claims that there is not a concrete evidence about what happened in the past even though the person experienced it individually, written in historical books or there is a religious belief behind it. To point out the characteristics of biographical, personal and official histories, in this dissertation it has been pointed out how postmodernism problematizes them and how Julian Barnes uses Hutcheon’s arguments on historiographic metafiction and parody as tools of postmodernism when he narrates history/the past.
THE CHANGING NATURE OF FEMALE BILDUNGSROMAN: GEORGE ELIOT’S THE MILL ON THE FLOSS AND MARGARET DRABBLE’S THE WATERFALL
(2021-11-03) KARADAYI, Özlem Merve; ELBİR, Nüket Belgin
The novel genre was divided into subgenres in the 19th century after its rising in the 18th century. One of these subgenres is novel of development. These novels usually centers a male protagonist in the Victorian period and tell his development from childhood to adulthood, conflicts and maturity process. As the female writers became influential in the literary world of the period, the female novel of development began to be popular. Not only male but also female protagonists’ stories started to take attention. Its choice of heroine, theme and plot made this genre unusual. Women writers shaped and developed their literary tradition and their female Bildungsroman were the examples of this tradition which became an inspiration for the 20th-century women writers. With social and economic changes of the period, new subgenres appeared in the 20th century. Particularly in the 1960s, female Bildungsroman began to be regarded as a subgenre. These novels in which women writers tell their experiences have continued the tradition of 19th-century women’s writing and updated versions. This thesis will explore the change of female Bildungsroman in a hundred years by comparing George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss and Margaret Drabble’s The Waterfall. The parallels and differences between the two heroines, Maggie Tulliver and Jane Gray, show the transformation of the women’s writing. Drabble’s admiration for Eliot and the inspiration she derived from her have been effective in Drabble’s fiction. The similarity between the two heroines has shown that psychological and social conflicts that women have as human beings may remain the same through the years. An important point in terms of the two heroines is their struggle and experince rather than the ending. All these experience and struggles bind Eliot and Drabble beyond space and time.
REPRESENTATION OF MIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN SAM SELVON’S THE LONELY LONDONERS (1956), TAYEB SALIH’S SEASON OF MIGRATION TO THE NORTH (1966), AND HANIF KUREISHI’S THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA (1990)
(2020-11-02) TAKVA, Serdar; ARAS, Gökçen
This dissertation aims at reflecting how migrants are otherized, alienated and finally, forced to have fragmented identities, who are neither Western nor Eastern. The study discusses migrant experience in Sam Selvon’s, Tayeb Salih’s and Hanif Kureishi’s postcolonial novels in the light of postcolonial theory mainly, Fanonian perspective. European imperialism, as a systematic idea for exploiting other nations, emerged almost in the fifteenth century through colonial interests. European Powers, claiming that they would civilize the others, enslaved non-western communities, prospered accordingly, and dominated the worldwide economy. Among the imperial powers, Great Britain has been the most influential in the history of imperialism. The colonial activities of Britain began in the Elizabethan period, peaked in the nineteenth century and continued till the second part of the twentieth century. It has subjugated lots of nations from Caribbeans, Africa and Asia and played a prominent role in their economies, politics and cultures. As a result of losing its hegemonic idea in the aftermath of the Second World War, the communities from ex-colonies have started to immigrate to Britain, mainly to London to have better jobs and education because of the political and economic upheavals in their countries. Such migratory flows described as the “colonization in reverse” have changed the sociocultural structure of Britain and it has swiftly turned into a multiracial country. While migrants hope to be accepted by the motherland, western ideological perception of the other has not changed so the commonwealth has been exposed to othering policies after the mass emigration in the postcolonial epoch.
THE POSITION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN UTOPIAN SOCIETY: THOMAS MORE’S UTOPIA, FRANCIS BACON’S NEW ATLANTIS AND TOMMASO CAMPANELLA’S THE CITY OF THE SUN
(2021-10-18) YILMAZ, Çağla; ARAS, Gökşen
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the position of the individual in utopian society in Thomas More’s Utopia, Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis and Tommaso Campanella’s The City of the Sun. The selected utopias share many common features, but the primary values that the described utopian society focuses on are different in each utopia. More concentrates on the prior problems of his own society in his Utopia, the work that brought the word “utopia” to literature, and solves them in the society he portrayed in his work. In this context, More predominantly aims to achieve the equality of rights and opportunities in his utopia. On the other hand, as another remarkable utopian work in English literature, New Atlantis is a scientific utopia. Bacon in his utopia, unlike More, does not focus on the reconstruction of political and social organisations. Instead, he describes a society based on scientific studies and technological inventions. As a contemporary of Bacon, Tommaso Campanella indicates the main principle of the society he described in The City of the Sun, one of the most influential works of Italian utopian literature. Namely, in the society of the City of the Sun, social benefits should always outweigh individual benefits since this is the only way of achieving a happy society. Consequently, each utopia writer prioritises different values and ideals in the societies they described and shapes the social order in their utopias around these values and ideals. Nevertheless, all of them, for protecting their prior values, push individualism and individual freedom, other equally important values, into background. Individuals in these societies lose their differences, diversities and individual freedom under the dominance of their social roles and duties. All the unique values of the individuals disappear and individuals become identical parts of society by losing their individual identities.
SECONDARY WORLD FANTASIES: A STUDY OF ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (1865) BY LEWIS CARROLL AND THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW (1955) BY C.S. LEWIS
(2021-10-07) YILMAZ, Elif; ELBİR, Nüket Belgin
The aim of this thesis is to analyze the fantasy lands in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and C.S. Lewis’s the Magician’s Nephew in relation to concepts of reality and possibility of the primary world order, through and exploration of how the notion of “reality” is formed and manifested in the fantasy lands portrayed in these texts and how categorization of a text with fantasy elements depends on the formation of reality. The theoretical chapter presents a survey of the development of the criticism on literary fantasy in the twentieth-century through an exploration of some major texts which explains the characteristics of fantasy literature and the relationship of fantasy and reality by J.R.R Tolkien, Tzevetan Todorov, Eric S. Rabkin and Rosemary Jackson. In the analytical chapters the significance of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and the Magician’s Nephew as texts with fantasy elements to the literary fantasy is explored and the portrayal of fantastic within these texts is analyzed in the lights of the critical views discussed in the analytical chapter. It is concluded that fantasy is an expression of unconscious desires of individuals and societies which are portrayed through reversal or manifestation, yet not every text with fantasy elements can be categorized as a work of fantasy literature since such works need to portray an acceptance of fantasy and suspension of disbelief, therefore while C.S. Lewis work can be analyzed as a work of fantasy genre, the same cannot be stated for Lewis Carroll’s work which is a story of a dream with fantasy elements in it.
LIVES ON THE ROAD: HUMAN SECURITY AND MIGRATION IN MOHSIN HAMID’S EXIT WEST (2017) AND KAMILA SHAMSIE’S BURNT SHADOWS (2009)
(2021-09-07) ÖZFINDIK KOTİK, Yasemen; TEKİN, Kuğu
This study aims to explain how human security and migration are reflected in Exit West (2017) and Burnt Shadows using the theoretical frameworks of human security paradigm, postcolonial literary criticism and globalization (2009). Two research questions: “How are the concepts of human security and migration portrayed in Exit West and Burnt Shadows?” and “Are there any similarities and differences in the depiction of human security and migration in Exit West and Burnt Shadows?” are asked in the thesis and both of the novels are analysed according to the seven dimensions of human security. Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West problematizes international migration and human security by focusing on the journey of migration of a young couple living in an unnamed country in South Asia. Migration is the only solution of the young couple to maintain their security, but ironically, in this journey they have to deal with more issues of human security. Likewise, Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows also problematizes international migration and human security by focusing on a series of historical events such as the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, the separation of Pakistan and India, the Afghan War and 9/11 attacks. In Exit West, Nadia and Saeed migrate to the West by passing through magic doors; and in the countries they arrive they are exposed to security threats and discrimination. In Burnt Shadows, in addition to their functional use of symbols and metaphors of identity, animals are used to refer to human security. It is concluded that human security concerns of the characters in both novels lead to a transformation in their lives. Both novels foreground the experiences and the basic human needs of the individuals and Exist West and Burnt Shadows present a similarity in their portrayal of human security.
THE USE OF HISTORY AND FANTASY IN JEANETTE WINTERSON’S THE PASSION AND SEXING THE CHERRY
(2011-04-26) USMAN, Gökçen; BATUM MENTEŞE, Oya
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Jeanette Winterson’s The Passion and Sexing the Cherry in terms of the uses of history and fantasy which will lead to a discussion of historiographic metafiction and magic realism within the framework of postmodern literature. This study demonstrates that the writer uses these postmodern ways of writing as means of subverting traditional patriarchal value structures. In the introduction chapter, information concerning socio-cultural and historical background of postmodernism, postmodern literature which includes postmodern literary techniques of historiographic metafiction and magic realism, the concepts of sex, gender, and gender roles and the literary biography and works of Jeanette Winterson has been given in great detail. Throughout the analysis in the body chapter, the aim was to prove with evidences from the texts that through the characters in both novels, Winterson blurs the line between femininity and masculinity; thus, subverts traditional gender roles which are assigned by patriarchy. Furthermore, through the settings and characters which are both historical and fantastic and by using unusual elements, Winterson transgresses the boundaries of fact and fantasy and rejects traditions, laws, institutions, norms, beliefs, and traditional rules which are established by the patriarchal society. As a result, by providing alternative realities and histories, she gives voice to women who are the silenced group in the society; thus stands against patriarchal domination and oppression over women.
THE CONCEPT OF THE UNCANNY IN BRITISH GOTHIC LITERATURE: HORACE WALPOLE’S THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO, CHARLES ROBERT MATURIN’S MELMOTH THE WANDERER
(2011-05-26) PAÇCI, H. Tüzün; CANLI, Gülsen
The main goal of this thesis is to examine how the Gothic novel has been developed and transformed in the 18th and 19th centuries and how the concept of the uncanny is used through a textual analysis of Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto(1764), as the origin of the genre, and Charles Robert Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), as a psychological Gothic; in the light of Sigmund Freud’s essay The Uncanny (1919) as well as showing the function of the Gothic novel as a means of psychsocial therapy. Concerning its own devices, such as its psychological, and complex aspects that surrounds the readers, Gothic novel is regarded as a paradoxical genre which is primarily established in the desire to entertain as well as to terrify its readers. In this respect, it can be perceived as oxymoronic; conjoining two extreme sensations ‘fear’ and ‘desire of being quivered with utmost delight’. At that point, the crucial thing for Gothic novelists is to set the reader’s imagination free, and to divert it towards the exotic, mysterious, and unknowable worlds. In The Castle of Otranto, by creating a phantasy world, Walpole both entertains his reader and at the same time makes him observe the problems of the society. In Melmoth the Wanderer, Maturin reflects human psychology by examining man’s nature and also criticizes the principles and institutions of society. Thus, throughout these works, Walpole and Maturin make the reader satisfy his desire for curiosity for delightful dread and at the same time enable him view his society as a means of psychosocial therapy. On the other hand, it is also conspicious that both works appeal to the mind of the reader in terms of feelings of fear, terror, horror, the uncanny and the sublime.
THE CONCEPT OF HUMOUR IN GRAHAM GREENE’S A GUN FOR SALE AND TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT
(2011-07-26) GÖKÇEK, Çiğdem; CANLI, Gülsen
Humour and laughter are the most natural expressions of human beings and inseparable elements of social interaction in life. Since social interplay between people has a multidimensional quality, humour and laughter find expression in various forms. Due to the dimensionality of experience, humour and laughter have been discussed within the frames of different perspectives and many theories of humour and laughter have been developed over time. Among these theories, superiority, relief and incongruity theories of humour are the major ones. Although humour as a whole denies explanation in terms of any single perspective, all these theories underline the most striking function of humour as a way of adaptation to life. In this thesis, Graham Greene’s concept of humour in his two novels A Gun for Sale and Travels with My Aunt is studied in the light of major humour theories which are examined within the framework of Susanne Langer’s theory The Comic Rhythm which is based on the adaptive power of humour. According to Langer’s theory, human beings, like every living thing in nature, are also motivated by the impulse of survival and they interact with each other. Due to this interaction, they are confronted with different circumstances and they gain new experiences. These experiences arouse some feelings such as confusion, anger, fear, or embarrassment and they lead to either mental, physical or emotional loss of balance. Since preservation of vital balance is the essential aim of life, the life energy motivate human beings to gain their balance back. Adaptation of human beings to the new circumstances and to their environment is realized in this process of losing and recovering of the balance through which the rhythm of life is formed. Humour and laughter which derive their power from the life force reflect the rhythm of life. Accordingly, Greene depicts the concept of humour as the rising up of this life energy and emphasizes the renewing power of this energy on the feelings and thoughts of human beings and their perception of the world. He reveals the concept of humour as an attempt of human beings to reconstruct their balance which is often shaken by their confrontation with the world.
THE IRONY OF IDEALISM IN SHAKESPEARE’S PROBLEM COMEDIES
(2012-03-25) GÜVEN, Samet; DOĞAN ADANUR, Evrim
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze some ideal concepts such as love, justice, war, law and honesty by taking the term “irony” into consideration in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, All’s Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure. Based upon these analyses, it has been asserted that Shakespeare criticized the values that his society has ironically through these plays. Based upon the views of critics, some information about “problem plays” has been given in the introduction part. In Troilus and Cressida, it has been explained how the themes of war and love are juxtaposed. All’s Well That Ends Well is the second play of the thesis and it has been asserted that themes of love and honesty have been reflected ironically. The last play to be dealt with is Measure for Measure. In this play, it has been emphasized that there may occur disorders in the society if the laws are not applied properly. As a consequence, Shakespeare’s manipulations of the related values and his way of employing “idealism” ironically in the plays lies in the basis of this study.
THE USE OF BAKHTINIAN CARNIVALESQUE IN ANGELA CARTER’S NIGHTS AT THE CIRCUS AND WISE CHILDREN
(2012-07-25) İNAL, Merih; BATUM MENTEŞE, Oya
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus and Wise Children in terms of Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the carnivalesque. This study demonstrates that the writer mentioned above uses the carnivalesque as means of subverting traditional patriarchal value structures. In the introduction chapter, information concerning the literary biography and works of Angela Carter is given. The techniques Carter used such as fantasy, parody and magic realism are analyzed after a brief explanation of post-modernism. Furthermore, in this chapter Mikhail Bakhtin’s literary biography and its effects on the developments of his theories will be investigated. The theories of heteroglossia, dialogism and chronotope will be explained and this will be followed by a detailed discussion on the concept of the carnivalesque and its two key notions grotesque realism and carnival laughter. In the body chapters, the novels mentioned above will be analyzed in terms of grotesque realism and carnival laughter aiming to show that Carter subverts and deconstructs patriarchal culture in order to construct a new order in which women will become liberated. In the conclusion chapter, it is argued that the new world order which Carter constructed in the novels will last only temporarily—just like carnivals—after which patriarchy will be the dominant ideology again .
THE DRAMATIC ASPECTS OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S JULIUS CAESAR, HAMLET AND MACBETH
(2013-09-14) TİRYAKİ, Zeynep; DOĞAN ADANUR, Evrim
This thesis is an attempt to explore the dramatic aspects of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s tragedies of Julius Caesar, Hamlet and Macbeth. It is determined that the Supernatural elements dramatically play an important role to depict the fictional and structural functions of the plays, and it is observed that the Supernatural contributes to characterization and plot development. This thesis consists of an introduction, three main chapters and a conclusion. In the introduction, under the headings of ‘Classic’ and ‘Shakespearean’ the definition and the feature of tragedy is analyzed and its usages and the functions are examined through a histrionic journey from antiquity to the Renaissance. In this thesis, the first main chapter argued that the Supernatural considerably assist characterization in Julius Caesar. The second main chapter explored Hamlet structurally, and expressed the Supernatural’s effect on stressing the theme. The final chapter also discussed the contribution of the Supernatural in relation to the dramatization of the hero and the plot development. In the conclusion part, based upon the parallelism between plays, it is determined that the Supernatural is handled in the same structural level and serves principally to heighten the dramatic effect.
THE EFFECTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AS REFLECTED IN CHARLOTTE BRONTË’S SHIRLEY, CHARLES DICKENS’ HARD TIMES AND ELIZABETH GASKELL’S NORTH AND SOUTH
(2014-09-07) BALKAYA, Mehmet Akif; GÜLTEKİN, Lerzan
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse education, poverty, conditions in factories, child labour, the position of women, marriage and social unrest in the age of industrialization in England as reflected in Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley (1849), Charles Dickens’ Hard Times (1854) and Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1855). Industrial Revolution is the transitional period between 1760 and 1840, a transition from handmade production to new manufacturing processes. Industrialization mainly started with cloth and cotton manufactory in many countries, particularly in England. The invention of the steam engine by James Watt gave way to mechanization and railways. Most part of the labour force was constituted by women and children who were working under hard conditions with little wages. The factory owners desired to be more and more rich by exploiting the women and children. Long hours of working were paid with minimum wages. It was the time when the country stopped making items on small scale, and started mass production, which would prove to be cheaper in the long run due to mechanization. The invention of new machines and the establishment of new factories paved the way for the industrialization era. In these novels, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens criticized how the factory workers were exploited, how women were repressed by the patriarchal system and the condition of England during the age of industrialization. This thesis consists of an introduction, three main chapters and a conclusion. In the introductory chapter the social and historical context of “The Industrial Revolution” has been explored. In Chapter I, Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley (1849), based on the “Luddite Riots of 1811- 15”, the causes and effects of the riots of the workers and the situation of the mill owner together with the themes of social unrest because of mechanization in factories, and the woman question in that age has been analysed. Also it is examined that the novel focuses not only on the industrial unrest but also on marriage concept in the Victorian Era. In Chapter II, Charles Dickens’ Hard Times (1854) is analysed, and it has been asserted that the disorder of the society is caused with the fact that people in factory towns are regarded as the products of the industrial age and automatons of that time and education; and the bleak factories even led the children to be educated as if the machines were programmed. In Chapter III, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1855) is analysed, and it has been emphasized that the contrast between the north and south (of England) was reflected together with the themes of love, education and class struggles and strikes causing violence. In the Conclusion, it is deduced that in these novels, the industrial revolution and its social aftermath make the society turn upside down. The fear of violence, as reflected in these novels and as witnessed in the history of England in the Luddite Riots (1811-15), Preston Lock-outs (1853-4), and the Chartist Movement (1839-1850s) put the novelists into indecisive, and conflicting feelings towards the rioting workers as reflected through the characters Moses, Barraclough, Slackbridge, Higgins and others. When analysing the works of these Victorian novelists, it can be said that Dickens is more pessimistic than Gaskell and Brontë with the portrayal of the outcomes of industrialization. Because of the tragic end of the Gradgrinds, and the death of the manufacturer without having chance to reconcile with the workers, the novel portrays a pessimistic end for the ruling class characters. Although the tragic end of the ruling-class-characters in Hard Times portrays a gloomy atmosphere, there still seems to be hope for reconciliation.
THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY FORMATION IN EXPATRIATES: BUCHI EMECHETA’S KEHINDE, ZADIE SMITH’S WHITE TEETH AND YASMIN CROWTHER’S THE SAFFRON KITCHEN
(2014-11-06) SAFAEİ, Ladan Amir; CANLI, Gülsen
This study aims to investigate the process of identity formation in expatriates. It is an attempt to prove that the process of identity building in immigrants is a dual process which is formed epigenetically and in accordance with the strategies of acculturation. In this dissertation, it is argued that individuals form their personal and social identities through Erik Erikson’s theory of Epigenesis of Identity in Life Cycle (1963, 1968) either in their homelands or under the influence of their parental ethnic culture. However, in a totally new setting in the host country, due to the cultural and social crises that they encounter, the social side of their identity undergoes various changes. These diversions in the process of social identity development of expatriates is examined in line with John W. Berry’s (1997, 2005) acculturative stress as well as Paul Pedersen’s (1995) reformulation of Adler’s concept of culture shock. Thus, immigrants’ identity keeps its flux nature in all aspects of their life cycle as an outcome of which they are likely to shape their personal as well as social identities. This study is composed of five chapters. In the first chapter, the focus is on the conceptions and theories that play crucial roles in the process of identity development of migrants. The following three chapters are an illustration of the validity of the theories and principles in the fictional characters in three novels chosen: chronologically Buchi Emecheta’s Kehinde, Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, and Yasmin Crowther’s The Saffron Kitchen. The last chapter concludes how immigrants go through a psychosocial process of identity development and in what ways they develop their personal and social identities.
NEDEN YAZI YAZAMIYORUZ !
(Bilim ve Teknoloji, 2015-08-04) ERTON, İsmail
İnsanoğlu eski çağlardan beri duygu ve düşüncelerini, yaşadıklarını yazmak ve gelecek nesillere aktarmak için türlü yöntemler geliştirmişlerdir. Kimileri taşlara ve tabletlere, kimileri duvarlara, resimlerle, sembollerle ve en nihayet alfabe ile kendilerini ifade edebilmişlerdir. Ancak bu evrim henüz dünyada, bilhassa gelişmekte olan ülkelerin bireyleri tarafından tamamlanabilmiş değildir. Ülkemizdeki durum da farklı değildir. Türkiye’de insanlar cep telefonlarının iş ve sosyal hayatta son 20 yıldır aktif olarak kullanılması ile birlikte çok konuşan ama az dinleyen, az okuyan ve yazan bir toplum haline gelmiştir. Her ne kadar okullarda, üniversitelerde kompozisyon, araştırma teknikleri gibi dersler verilse de, en iyi üniversiteden mezun olan bir birey bile basit bir dilekçeyi yazamayabilmektedir! Peki, o zaman burada sorun sadece o bireyin bu eğitimi almaması mıdır? Tabi ki hayır! Ülkemizde eğitim ve başarı bir öğrencinin temel bilimlerden yani, matematik, fizik, kimya ve biyoloji gibi derslerden aldığı başarı ile ölçülmektedir. Temel bilimler hiç şüphe yok ki uygulamalı bilimlerin altyapısını oluşturur, bilgi ve bilimin üretiminde de temel taştır. Ancak, bir bireyi ‘insan’ yapan değerler sadece temel bilimleri çok iyi kavramakla bitmiyor. Bir bireyin üretebilmesi için birtakım becerilerini de geliştirebilmesi ve bunu duygu ve düşüncelerini çok daha iyi ifade edebileceği platformlara aktarabilmesi gerekmektedir. Bunun belki de en iyi yolu ‘yazmaktır’. Francis Bacon’un da dediği gibi, “Okumak bir insanı doldurur, konuşmak onu hazırlar, yazmak ise olgunlaştırır”. Bir bireyin yazabilmesi için aslında bir insanı insan yapan ve onu olgunlaştıran üç beceriyi yorulmaksızın ve yılmaksızın geliştirebilmesi için çaba sarfetmesi gerekmektedir.
A CULTURAL MATERIALIST READING OF TOM STOPPARD’S POLITICAL DRAMA: PROFESSIONAL FOUL, CAHOOT’S MACBETH, ROCK’N’ROLL
(2015-01-31) GÜLPINAR, Gülay; CANLI, Gülsen
This study puts forward that Czech born British playwright Tom Stoppard wrote his three political plays titled Professional Foul, Cahoot’s Macbeth and Rock’n’Roll sharing most of the cultural materialist sensitivities. Besides this main discussion, it analyzes the plays in question from a cultural materialist perspective. Mainly Alan Sinfield’s ideas are employed to explain the mentioned theory. When it is taken into account that Stoppard displays the history of Czechoslovakia through censored cultural practices like theatre, music and academic works, the theory cultural materialism which suggests that all the cultural practices are political has been found appropriate for the study of the plays. In Rock’n’Roll, rock music, which has always been regarded as the voice of dissidence both in the capitalist and the communist systems, becomes the symbol of dissidence because it is imported from Western cultures to Czechoslovakia, a country behind the iron curtain. In Cahoot’s Macbeth, when Shakespeare’s character Macbeth’s personal history in which he evolves from being an honourable lord into a tyrant is taken as a metaphor for the history of the socialist totalitarian system in Czechoslovakia, playing Macbeth becomes a strong criticism towards the dominant ideology and power. As for Professional Foul, when the central character Hollar’s dissertation, which has the power of introducing “truths” to society through scientific evidences, is censored, Hollar struggles to publish his text outside Czechoslovakia and as a matter of fact, his struggle becomes an act of dissidence as he rejects the impositions of the system. This study suggests that Stoppard wrote the plays in question with a cultural materialist approach because he displays the power-struggle between the totalitarian system and the dissident individuals through cultural practices. Cultural materialism which is among the new historicist theories analyzes the works of the past and emphasizes their importance in the circulation of the ideology and discourses of the contemporary world. Another point of emphasis for the cultural materialists is the notion of dissidence. Upon this basis, Stoppard’s criticism towards the Czechoslovakian government of 1970s through a Shakespearean text written in the seventeenth century has been suggested as one of the evidences for Stoppard’s cultural materialist approach and his dissident attitude towards the dominant ideology. Another evidence for Stoppard’s mentioned attitude and approach is his criticism of capitalism through a totalitarian system that collapsed long ago in Rock’n’Roll. In Professional Foul, the fact that dissidents can change the system through subverting the official discourses and forming reverse discourses indicates Stoppard’s optimism. This optimism is also a common denominator between Stoppard’s playwriting and cultural materialism.

Browse

Recent Submissions