Genç edebiyatın gençleri: Geç dönem Osmanlı romanında gençlik, gelecek ve idealler

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of five texts which are thought of as examples of late Ottoman novels and which focus on the change and transformation from early Ottoman novels to novels of the late period. Into the novels which the narrative of European snobbery gave its place to the narratives of future depending on the crisis period that Empire was going through, the idealist youth is at the core of narratives.. The “youth,” united under the question of what they will face in future, are in an instrumental position in the discussion of the extent of appropriate Westernization. The first part of this thesis, in the chapters titled “From the Apprehension of Fatherlessness to the Apprehension of Deficiency in Certain Generation”, “From the Act of Reading to the Act of Writing” and “From the Miserable Man to the Respected One" identifies changes in Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's novels written between 1890 and 1911; Bir Ölünün Defteri (1890), Mai ve Siyah (1897), Nesl-i Ahîr (1909), Mehmed Murad’s Turfanda mı Yoksa Turfa mı? (1890) and Ali Kemal’s Fetret (1911). One of the important changes examined in the second part of the thesis is the involvement of adults and fathers in terms of representation. These characters are used as instruments to express idealism in the work of late period Ottoman intellectuals. In the third part, population growth of the appropriate characters is confirmed in the novels which the European snob type lost its appearance. In the analysis, the use of these positive characters separate two parts as either “reformist” and “idealist” in the discussion of extent of appropriate westernization. Because this thesis defends the position that the undefined future narrative forms a common aspect among these novels, the fourth chapter focuses on the differentiation, diversification and disappearance of the place; so it is revealed that narratives end up with the loss of the places in parallel with dystopia.