Tutunamayanlar'da "oyun" kavramı

Abstract

Oğuz Atay, who is considered one of the pioneers of modern Turkish literature, utilized the notion of “play” quite frequently in his works. Several of his characters consider playing to be a manner of living, putting “play” in contradistinction to reality, and comically terming each and every one of their actions “play”. This is especially true in Atay’s first novel, Tutunamayanlar, which will be the subject of this study. Previously, critical arguments concerning Oğuz Atay’s writing have viewed his characters as “intellectuals” and posited this concept as the main point of reference for nearly all of the elements of Atay’s texts. In this study, we will analyze the concept of “play”, which has a special importance in Atay’s texts, and will focus particularly on Tutunamayanlar. Through a consideration of the meanings given to the word “play” in this novel, we will show how the existential anxieties of the character Selim Işık lead to his suicide. Next, we will discuss the appropriateness of the term homo ludens for the “disconnected” subject of the novel’s title, which is used in reference to both Selim Işık and Turgut Özben. Through certain gaps in the theory of Johan Huizinga, we will show the parallel that exists between the “spoilsport” subject and the “disconnected” subject. In the appendix, we will additionally show the parallel that exists between the story of Turgut Özben and the concept of Geist, which was created by G.W.F. Hegel in his conceptualization of history and which has been the point of reference for some of the messages that we will have pointed out in the novel.