Browsing by Author "Alkan, Halit"

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A Liberal Feminist Approach to Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh”
(2020) Alkan, Halit
Women’s problems are undoubtedly as old as human history. By giving legal rights and political and economic power to men only, the male-dominant society deprives women of the public sphere and makes them dependent on men. Marriage becomes the sole purpose of women because they are convinced that only by this way they can take place in society. Reproduction and the care of the home and family are the main duties of women in the patriarchal structure. Once women begin to demand legal rights and freedom, the basis of feminism emerges. Liberal feminism can be said to be based on equal opportunities in education, women’s access to public sphere and economic equality. Liberal feminist approach defines the equality and freedom of women with men in legal, family and social life. When liberal feminist approach is applied to Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh”, it allows researchers to analyse the gender roles in the context of the patriarchal ideology of separate spheres. Norma Jean is an obedient housewife who accepts her duty of reproduction and care of the home and family in private sphere whereas her husband Leroy Moffitt is the breadwinner as a truck driver in the public sphere. However, Norma Jean takes a body-building class, enrols in a composition class at night school, writes a paper about music and becomes the breadwinner. According to liberal feminist approach, Norma Jean’s taking place in the public sphere is a manifestation of her claim of independence resulting in the breakdown of her marriage.
A Liberal Feminist Analysis of George Bernard Shaw’s "Mrs Warren’s Profession"
(2021) Alkan, Halit
The patriarchal society gives legal rights, economic power, and proper education only to men so that women are financially dependent on men for a living. When women demand freedom and legal rights, the basis of feminism appears. This study applies liberal feminist approach to George Bernard Shaw’s "Mrs. Warren’s Profession" (1893) to analyse the gender roles in terms of patriarchal ideology of separate spheres. Not receiving proper education to acquire a profession in the patriarchal society, the main character, Mrs. Kitty Warren, becomes a prostitute and then a brothel mistress to gain economic power in a public sphere. She is conventional at heart, like women in a private sphere because she wants her young daughter, Vivie, not to work in the public sphere but to marry the rich, middle-aged Crofts, who is her business-partner of brothels. Being grown up in boarding schools, Vivie Warren, representing the ‘New Woman’ type, shakes hands with men, smokes cigarettes, has knowledge of mathematics, graduates from Cambridge, and has the physical strength and intelligence to work in the public sphere. Therefore, she refuses her mother’s money and marriage proposals. This study asserts that women and men have no innate difference in terms of mental capacity, but women face prejudices imposed by the patriarchal society. Women are not allowed to take the same education as men to acquire a profession in the public sphere, and by this way, they are imprisoned in the private sphere.
The New Woman through Structuralism in Sarah Grand’s "The Heavenly Twins"
(2022) Alkan, Halit
Structuralism is an approach that seeks to decode the encoded whole consisting of a system to explore a textual work’s deep structure from the surface structure. This study tries to analyse the ‘New Woman’ in Sarah Grand’s “The Heavenly Twins” (1893) according to the structuralist approach. This novel is analysed synchronically. In terms of syntagmatic relation while Evadne Frayling marries George Colquhoun, Angelica Hamilton-Wells marries Mr. Kilroy. As for paradigmatic relation, homology of relationship is seen between two couples since there are unhappy marriages not only between Evadne and Colquhoun, but also between Angelica and Mr. Kilroy. In terms of syntagmatic relation while Angelica surrenders herself sexually to her husband after the death of her friend Tenor, Evadne surrenders herself sexually to her second husband after the death of her first husband Colquhoun. Syphilis and disguise in the novel’s surface structure are closed signs. However, in the deep structure these signs turn to be explicit signs as follows: When the signifier is syphilis, the signified is reprobate and death; when the signifier is disguise, the signified is freedom. In terms of the novel’s deep structure, the harmony performs on binary oppositions between Evadne and Angelica as follows: ignorant/educated, imprisoned/free, ill/healthy. Although the novel is over, the melody goes on since Evadne and Angelica can get only the role of a wife and a mother in patriarchal society. As for the novel’s deep meaning, women and men have no innate difference for mental capacity, but women face prejudices by patriarchal society because the male-dominant society does not provide women to take the same education as men.
Thomas Campion’ın Yüzü Bir Gül Bahçesi’ne Biçembilimsel Bir Yaklaşım
(2023) Alkan, Halit
Edebi eserler, yazarların dilin birimlerini belirli bir biçimde kullanmalarıyla ortaya çıkar. Biçem, bir dildeki tüm olasılıklardan dilsel özelliklerin seçilmesi olarak görülür. Biçembilim, bir okuyucunun bir metni okurken onu nasıl anladığını açıklığa kavuşturmak için okuyucuların edebi bir metnin diliyle etkileşimini yaratmaya çalışır. Bu çalışma, Thomas Campion’ın Yüzü Bir Gül Bahçesi adlı şiirinde anlam üretmek amacıyla biçembilim etkiler oluşturmak için temel dilbilimsel özellikleri nasıl manipüle ettiğini inceler. Analiz, sözcüksel, anlamsal, dilbilgisel (sözdizimsel), grafolojik ve fonolojik (ses örüntüsü) düzeyleri içerir. Bu, şiir bağlamının açıklığa kavuşmasına yardım eder. Biçembilim analizi, şiirin çok dikkatli bir şekilde oluşturulduğunu gösterir. Şiirdeki üç kıta dilbilgisi açısından birbirine paraleldir ve yüzü, her türlü lezzetli meyvenin yetiştiği cennet bahçesine benzetilen bir kadının güzelliğini konu alır. Güzel bir kadının dudaklarını anlatan nakarat, şiirin bütünlüğünü sağlar. Grafolojik sapma, şiirde aşkı/tutkuyu ve masumiyeti/saflığı temsil eden “Güller” ve “beyaz Zambaklar” gibi önemli sözcükleri ön plana çıkarmak için büyük bir harf sistemini gösterir. Fonetik paralellik, ünsüz yinelemesi ve ünlü yinelemesi açısından paralel anlam sistemini pekiştirir. Şiir, bahçede yetişen çiçek ve meyvelerin tasvirini daha canlı kılmak için daha çok teşbih ve mecazlara dayanır. Bununla kadının fiziksel özellikleri tasvir edilir. Kiraz ismi, kutsal sıfatı ile birlikte kullanılarak kadının dudaklarına hiç kimsenin dokunmadığını veya öpmediğini tasvir eder. Her kıtanın sonunda tekrarlanan aynı mısra, bu güzel kadının, daha da değerli olma amacıyla tamamen olgunlaştığını söylemediği sürece ulaşılamaz olduğunu ön plana çıkarır. Burada kadın güzelliği, Elizabeth dönemi güzelliğinin ideallerine işaret eder: beyaz ten, al yanaklar ve kırmızı dudaklar. Bu çalışma, Campion’ın edebi bir eserin ayrılmaz bir parçası olan dili nasıl manipüle edebildiğini gösterir. Campion, mesajını okuyuculara iletmek için dizgesel bir dil kullanımı yoluyla değişiklikler meydana getirir. Bu çalışma, araştırmacıların Campion’ın çalışmalarında biçembilim araçlarını nasıl kullandığını anlamalarına yardımcı olabilir.
A Liberal Feminist Analysis of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”
(IKSAD Publishing House, 2022) Alkan, Halit
While men are given legal rights and economic power by the patriarchal society, women are subordinated to men and confined to the private sphere. Feminism appears when women demand freedom. This study deals with Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” (1894) in terms of patriarchal ideology. As a housewife Louise Mallard who is imprisoned in private sphere is forced to repress her feelings for the sake of her husband. Mrs. Mallard experiences the frustration of marriage which restricts freedom and causes her heart trouble. After receiving the news about her husband Brently’s death in the train accident while traveling in the public sphere, Mrs. Mallard is paralyzed and goes to her room in grief. When Mrs. Mallard looks at the open window and notices the open square in front of her house, she realizes her freedom. In order to relish her personal life, Mrs. Mallard wants to free herself from the patriarchal oppression. Mrs. Mallard wants to enable herself to deal with public sphere through her freedom. Seeing her husband alive, she dies of heart disease. Her heart is physically weak and has emotionally no room for anyone else. The removal of that intense joy of freedom leads to her death. Mrs. Mallard dies in her house where she has always sacrificed for her family.
A Structuralist Approach to Harold Pinter’s "The Dumb Waiter"
(2022) Alkan, Halit
Structuralism is an approach that seeks to decode the encoded whole consisting of a system to explore a textual work’s deep structure from the surface structure. This study analyses Harold Pinter’s “The Dumb Waiter” (1960) according to the structuralist approach. The harmony of the play’s deep structure performs on binary opposition between Ben and Gus who repeat mechanical behaviours and conversations since they are imprisoned for a while in a narrow space. Concrete mechanical elements such as the lavatory and the dumb waiter also repeat the same activities. Although the play is over, the melody continues since Ben and Gus are given no role other than being hitmen and victims. As for the deep meaning, individuals who appear as a functional part of the mechanism show the possibility that the oppressive mechanism may become inoperable as a result of questioning the mechanism.
The Discourse of 'Othering' in Hanif Kureishi's “The Buddha of Suburbia”
(IKSAD Publishing House, 2020) Alkan, Halit
In order to sell overproduction, find new markets and buy larger amounts of raw materials at cheapest price, most developed European countries occupied territories especially in areas with no political and economic structures from the 16th century to the 20th century. In addition to Western colonialism, Western people take the so called ‘civilizing mission’ on as a duty because they believe in superiority of their civilization. Therefore, the Western ideology has produced arbitrary boundaries between itself and ‘other’, and referred to ‘other’s land as the ‘Orient’ and ‘the land of barbarians’. During postcolonial period, many communities from the former colonial regions have migrated to Britain. The discourse of ‘othering’ has been maintained by the host British society for centuries. In this context, Hanif Kureishi’s "The Buddha of Suburbia" (1990) allows readers to analyse the discourse of ‘othering’ in terms of gender, class, culture, and race. The novel concerns the quest of both an Indian Haroon who is married to a British woman and his adolescent son Karim to find ethnic, cultural and gender identity in British society. Haroon and his friend Anwar, representing first-generation immigrants in the multicultural British society, are not only silenced by the ruling British society, which see them as intruders and dependents, but also considered by representatives of the ruling group as exotic, suspicious, and the ‘other’. Although Haroon’s son, Karim, imitates the host culture, he cannot escape being considered as the ‘other’ because of his race, colour, class and culture. Although Anwar’s daughter, Jamila, struggles between her main culture and the host culture in a multicultural society, and represents the role of a contemporary woman who questions the patriarchal understanding is also considered as the ‘other’. There are racial lines, with the white Europeans on one side, and everyone else on the other.
The Concept of War in "The Red Badge of Courage" and "A Farewell to Arms"
(2022) Alkan, Halit
The American Civil War and bloody First World War resulted in the deaths of ten million people, twenty millions disabled people, and destruction of the values such as freedom, democracy and equality. The two wars caused important changes in the world of arts and ideas, created their own literature, and as a result, many writers produced war literature. Among the modernist authors who wrote novels about war are Stephen Crane and Ernest Hemingway, who are the subjects of this study. Wars enabled the concepts of patriotism, nationalism, and heroism to prevail in the war novel genre. Stephen Crane’s "The Red Badge of Courage" (1895) and Ernest Hemingway’s "A Farewell to Arms" (1929) are studied in terms of human nature, realism, and romanticism. Crane describes a young soldier Henry Fleming’s psychological development, and the harsh atmosphere of war. In the novel, thesis-antithesis is shown such as idealism-instinction, romanticism-realism, and cowardice-courage. Hemingway maps the psychological complexity of Frederic Henry who does not know the violence in wars and serves voluntarily in the ambulance corps of the Italian army. Hemingway suggests that war is the dark side of a world that refuses to preserve true love. Crane and Hemingway deal with human nature, romanticism, and realism. Although the characters are volunteers for war due to abstract values of courage and heroism, they cannot bear the harsh reality of war when they experience it. This study demonstrates the effects of the brutal and harsh atmosphere of war on human beings.
A Stylistic Analysis of “A Painful Case”
(Liberty Academic Publisher, 2023) Alkan, Halit
The style of an author is provided by effective matching between his/her thoughts and selection of linguistic items. Stylistic analyses involve both the study of style and the study of how effects and meanings are produced by a literary text. Stylistics, therefore, relates linguistic facts (linguistic descriptions) to meaning (interpretation) to show evidence for an interpretation of a text. This study analyses James Joyce’s "A Painful Case" in the aspect of stylistic features. The short story is about a platonic affair between a married woman and an isolated man, the breaking off of the affair, and its aftermath. The analysis of the short story begins with a general interpretation. Its significant stylistic features are pointed out in terms of lexis, grammar, figures of speech, cohesion and context. The short story’s title foreshows the cause of the inner conflict of the main character and deals with the theme of isolation. The opening paragraph of the short story consists only of declarative sentences. Joyce uses simple past tense in order to confirm compatibility with the figural narrative situation he used. In terms of the syllable-length of words, the selected passage contains mostly two-syllable words. Lexical repetitions direct one’s attention to the negative feeling such as loneliness. The passage bases upon implicit connections of meaning which are strengthened by repeat of words from the same semantic field. The use of free indirect speech and a detailed description about the room reveals the main character’s state of soul. The domain is indoor surroundings, and the tenor is formal. The 3rd person narrator takes the reader beyond the usual aspects of life through epiphany. Mr Duffy feels remorse about Mrs Sinico’s death and realizes that his pursuit of control and order has caused only to his loneliness. Emotional paralysis of Mr Duffy compels him into a lifelong loneliness. This study shows how the formal stylistic features are used as the basis for inferring the short story’s meaning and effect.
Time in Spenser’s "Amoretti and Epithalamion", and Shakespeare’s "Sonnet"
(2021) Alkan, Halit
The sonnet which is originated in Italy is a highly structured poetic form. It flourishes in the Elizabethan period in order to write love sonnets about a beloved and idealized lady. This study focuses on the theme of time in both Edmund Spenser’s "Amoretti and Epithalamion", and William Shakespeare’s "Sonnets". Spenser’s Amoretti, which covers New Year’s Day celebrations, reflects on Spenser’s past forty-one years of life. In "Epithalamion", Spenser records the hours of the day from pre-dawn to wedding night, including the passage of a year in 365 long lines which also correspond to days in a year. Its content moves from the excitement of youth to the anxieties of the middle age, beginning with high hopes for a happy day and ending with record of the speaker’s legacy for future generations. Spenser tries to prevent the passage of time by freezing it in his verses. Shakespeare’s "Sonnets" begins with the narrator’s begging the fair lord to find a woman who will bear his child so that his beauty can be assured for posterity. The poet complains about the ravages of time and its harmful effects on the beauty of the fair lord, and tries to fight the inevitable by forcing the fair lord to convey his perfection to a child. The poet defines time as a dimension of suffering, and asks the fair lord to leave him. In conclusion, time is described as unmanageable power of unforeseen changes and chances as well as a non-personal ominous determinant.
A Structuralist Approach to Women’s Position in George Moore’s "Esther Waters"
(2020) Alkan, Halit
Structuralism defines the relationship between the part and the whole. This study aims to analyse George Moore’s "Esther Waters" (1894) in terms of structuralist approach. The surface structure of the novel focuses on Esther raising her son alone. In terms of syntagmatic relation, Esther has an extramarital sexual intercourse with William, raises her son alone, but finally marries William. In terms of paradigmatic relation, there is homology of relationship between Esher and William who are orphans and start work at early ages. Education and motherhood become explicit signs in the deep structure: While the signifier is education, the signified is profession; and while the signifier is motherhood, the signified is self-sacrifice. As for the deep structure, its harmony operates on binary opposition between ‘being as a subject’ and ‘being as an object’. As a ‘being as a subject’, Esther makes a choice by having an extramarital sexual intercourse, takes its action by giving birth to her son, and takes its responsibility by struggling for her son. Its melody operates on the fixed cycle of getting married. The novel ends but its melody continues because women will continue to be deprived of education and professions that will provide financial freedom. As for the deep meaning, there is no innate difference between men and women in terms of mental capacity, but there are prejudices imposed by the male-dominated society on women who are left with no choice but to marry and have only the role of a wife and mother in society.
Othering and Cultural Identity in Hanif Kureishi’s “The Black Album”
(Livre De Lyon, 2021) Alkan, Halit
During the colonial period from the 16th century to the 20th century, the Western ideology has created arbitrary boundaries between itself and ‘other’, and labelled ‘other’s land as both the ‘orient’ and ‘the land of barbarians’. Many communities from the former colonial regions have migrated to England during post-colonial period. Nevertheless, the host British society has maintained the discourse of ‘othering’. In this context, Hanif Kureishi’s "The Black Album" (1995) allows readers to analyse the discourse of ‘othering’ in terms of religion, race and culture to establish one’s identity. The novel concerns the quest of Shahid who is torn between a sense of belonging by becoming a member of a fundamentalist group, and liberalism by having an affair with a white postmodernist instructor Deedee Osgood in British society. Leader Riaz and Chad are otherized by portraying binary opposition of different, savage, and fundamentalist because they burn a novel that is considered to be blasphemous and they attach significance to an aubergine. Although Shahid and his elder brother Chili imitate the host culture, they cannot escape being considered as the ‘other’ because of their colour, race, class and culture. Although a Muslim girl Tahira struggles between the host culture and her main culture in a multicultural society, and represents a contemporary woman’s role is also considered as the ‘other’ because of her clothes and religious faith. Shahid’s uncle Asif, representing first-generation immigrants in the multicultural British society, is not only silenced by the ruling British society, which see him as an intruder and dependent, but also considered by representations of the ruling group as suspicious, and the ‘other’. There are racial lines, with the white Europeans on one side, and everyone else on the other. Hanif Kureishi criticizes racism, fundamentalism, Marxism and even liberalism because everybody can become hypocritical to bring forward their thoughts and live on principles they favour. Kureishi does not prefer one side to the other side.
Charlotte Brontë’s "Shirley" A Dialectic Solution: Capitalist and feminist problematic
(LAP LAMBERT Acadmic Publishing, 2022) Alkan, Halit
This book tries to find answers to the questions such as how Charlotte Brontë evaluated capitalism and feminism in her novel, "Shirley" (1849), whether she dealt with them in accordance to the characteristics of the 19th century Victorian Era or not, on which parameters she criticized capitalism and why she turned to feminism. As for the method the novel, Shirley is resolved on the basis of Marx’s dialectic approach consisting of thesis, antithesis and synthesis.
George Moore’un Esther Waters Eserinde Kadının Konumuna Yapısalcı Bir Yaklaşım
(2020) Alkan, Halit
Yapısalcılık, parça ve bütün arasındaki ilişkiyi tanımlar. Bu çalışma, George Moore’un Esther Waters (1894) eserini yapısalcı yaklaşım açısından incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Romanın yüzeysel yapısı, oğlunu tek başına büyüten Esther’e odaklanır. Dizimsel bağıntı açısından Esther, William ile evlilik dışı bir cinsel ilişki yaşar, oğlunu tek başına büyütür, ancak sonunda William ile evlenir. Dizisel bağıntı açısından, yetim olan ve erken yaşta çalışmaya başlayan Esher ve William arasında eşyapılılık bir ilişki vardır. Eğitim ve annelik, derin yapıda açık göstergeler haline gelir: Gösteren eğitimken gösterilen meslektir ve gösteren annelikken, gösterilen fedakarlıktır. Derin yapı açısından, romanın uyumu ‘özne olarak varlık’ ve ‘nesne olarak varlık’ arasındaki ikili karşıtlık üzerine kuruludur. ‘Özne olarak varlık’ olan Esther, bir seçim yapıp evlilik dışı bir cinsel ilişki yaşar, gerekli adımı atıp oğlunu doğurur ve sorumluluk üstlenip oğlu için mücadele eder. Romanın ezgisi, evlenme hakkında kısır bir döngü üzerine kuruludur. Roman biter ama ezgisi devam eder çünkü kadınlar maddi özgürlük sağlayacak eğitimden ve mesleklerden mahrum bırakılmaya devam edecek. Derin anlama gelince, zihinsel kapasite açısından kadınlar ve erkekler arasında doğuştan gelen bir fark yoktur ancak erkek egemen toplum tarafından kadınlara dayatılan önyargılar vardır ve kadınlara toplumda eş ve anne rolünü sahiplenerek evlenmekten başka bir seçenek sunulmamaktadır.
The Id, Ego and Superego in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"
(2023) Alkan, Halit
Dealing with human nature, literature is considered to be intertwined with the science of psychology. Psychoanalysis is a method of descending to the unconscious sources of desires, instincts and thoughts and bringing conflicts to the consciousness. Sigmund Freud previously divides the human personality into two systems as unconscious and conscious; however, he then reaches the distinction between ‘id’, ‘ego’ and ‘superego’. While the id works in accordance with instincts, the superego pays regard to morality, but the ego tries to equalize these requests with the reality of the outside world under appropriate conditions. This study aims to analyze the psychological attitudes underlying the behaviors of the characters in William Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" through the Freudian concepts of id, ego and superego. Shakespeare changes spaces from society (reality) to nature (dream) in order to arrive at comedy. The Athenians Theseus and Hippolyta are doubled with their fairy counterparts Oberon and Titania, and this doubling offers that the forest in the play is the dreamscape of Athens in which suppressed personalities can emerge. There is reality in daytime and Theseus and Egeus are controlled by the superego in the society. Here, the male-dominant world causes unhappiness to Lysander and Hermia through oppression. There is dream in night-time and the characters are surrounded by the id in the forest. Here, the male-dominant world causes happiness through wish-fulfilment. There is a struggle within all the lovers between the patriarchal superego and the primitive id. The use of psychoanalytic theory in drama is put forward to help readers appreciate this literary text from a different aspect.
An Existentialist Approach to Jean-Paul Sartre’s "No Exit"
(Mardin Artuklu Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2020) Alkan, Halit
Existentialism that began to be active in the 20th century is the approach to define the human being not only as the thinking being but also as the acting and feeling human individual. This study aims to analyse Jean-Paul Sartre’s "No Exit" (1944) in terms of existentialist approach, namely human’s existence of freedom which depends on the on-going relationships between the aspects of ‘being as a subject’ and ‘being as an object’. The play No Exit depicts the afterlife in which Joseph Garcin, Ines Serrano and Estelle Rigault are brought to the same room in hell. The ‘being as a subject’ of the three characters is judged by people on the earth and is reduced to the state of ‘being as an object’ which gets the unchangeable state by the judgment of others. Joseph will be remembered as a coward and Estelle as a pretty blonde who is the murderer of her child and crazy about money and males while nobody will remember Inez at all. They become the prisoners of each other in hell where the time is stable and where they are completely deprived of the freedom of existence of ‘being as a subject’ because they no longer have the opportunity to act and to change the thoughts about themselves. This imprisonment fixes them in the state of ‘being as an object’. The victim changes every time and there are two tortures against it. Therefore, they are both the torturers and the victims: Hell is other people.
Spenser’ın Amoretti and Epithalamion Ve Shakespeare’in Sonnets Eserlerinde Zaman
(2021) Alkan, Halit
İtalya’da ortaya çıkan kısa ve yüksek düzeyde yapılandırılmış şiirsel bir biçim olan sone, Elizabeth döneminde sevilen, idealize edilmiş bir bayana aşk soneleri yazmak için gelişir. Bu çalışma, Edmund Spenser’ın Amoretti ve Epithalamion ve William Shakespeare’in Sonnets eserlerinde zaman temasını ele alır. Spenser Amoretti eserinde son kırk bir yıllık yaşamını yansıtan yılbaşı kutlamalarını ele alır. Spenser Epithalamion eserinde şafaktan düğün gecesine kadar günün saatlerini, bir yıldaki günlere karşılık gelen 365 uzun satırlarda bir yılın geçişini kapsayan bir kayıt tutar. İçeriği, gençliğin heyecanından orta yaş endişelerine doğru ilerler, mutlu bir gün için büyük umutlarla başlayıp konuşmacının gelecek nesillere bıraktığı mirasın kaydıyla biter. Spenser mısralarında zaman akışını dondurarak engellemeye çalışır. Shakespeare Sonnets eserinde, anlatıcının, güzelliğinin gelecek nesiller için güvence altına alınabilmesi amacıyla güzel efendiye çocuğunu doğuracak bir kadın bulması için yalvarmasıyla başlar. Şair, zamanın tahribatından ve güzel efendinin güzelliği üzerindeki zararlı etkilerinden şikayet eder ve güzel efendiyi mükemmelliğini bir çocuğa aktarmaya zorlayarak bu kaçınılmaz sonuçla savaşmaya çalışır. Şair, zamanı, ıstırabın bir boyutu olarak tanımlar ve güzel efendiden kendisini terk etmesini ister. Sonuç olarak zaman, hem öngörülemeyen değişim ve fırsatların başa çıkılamayan bir gücü hem de kişisel olmayan kaygı verici bir etken olarak tanımlanır.
A Liberal Feminist Approach to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s "The Yellow Wallpaper"
(2021) Alkan, Halit
Patriarchal society gives legal rights and economic power to men only so that women are subject to men and imprisoned in private sphere. When women who are given only the role of a wife and mother begin to demand freedom and legal rights, the basis of feminism appears. This study applies liberal feminist approach to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) in order to analyse the gender roles in terms of patriarchal ideology of separate spheres. After giving birth to a baby, the narrator is diagnosed with hysteria by her husband John who is a physician. She is also prescribed a ‘rest cure’ for three months in the attic of an isolated house. The ‘rest cure’ causes her obsession with the yellow wallpaper and slowly drives her mad due to the limitation of thinking and of raising the consciousness of female in private sphere. To be imprisoned in a room may have enormous risks of disappointment, madness, and suicide. In order to limit a woman’s participation in the intellectual and public sphere, masculine science of nineteenth century’s patriarchal society converts ‘an angel in the house’ into ‘the madwoman in the attic’ under the name of ‘rest cure’. Gilman suggests that a woman can only free herself if her financial conditions are radically changed through finally installing a dialectical movement between private sphere and public sphere.
Personification and Didactic Approach: "The Romance of the Rose"
(2021) Alkan, Halit
Love for God is the first love, but in reality first love is sensual love, and in this way Nature tries to maintain the continuation of the species. The theme of love, the main doctrine of Christianity, has an important place in medieval poems. This study examines "The Romance of the Rose" in terms of the personification tradition and didactic approach. The aforementioned work is the most original and lyrical work of European courtly literature written by two separate poets mentioned below in 1230 and 1280. In order to explain the art of love, Guillaume de Lorris portrays in an imaginary narrative the eternal love of the hero who tries to reunite his lover embodied in a rare rose in the middle of a rose garden. Jean de Meun adds a continuation section and an ending to the poem with the addendum of 17723 lines. In the aforementioned work, while de Lorris gives the person in love the stages of seeing, speaking, touching and kissing, and the work ends with the complaints of the lover, de Meun gives the last stage of sensual intercourse. It is completely unique to Medieval Age in terms of its external form, and the personification of feelings and love situations has been taken to the extreme. Without these personifications, the mind would not be able to understand the movements of the soul, and they are used as a scientific psychology terminology. In this work, love remains, in theory, courtiers and nobles. Courtly love is deceptive because the woman has power and control while the man is obedient. However, once the rose has been acquired, the game will be over. What gives this work its soul is the brutal underestimation of women’s weakness in de Meun, and its origin lies in this transcendental character of being sensual.
An Existentialist Approach to William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
(2021) Alkan, Halit
Existentialism is the approach to define the human being not only as the thinking being but also as the acting and feeling human individual. In terms of Jean-Paul Sartre’s conception of freedom, one must let go of the past, make a choice, act on it, and then take its responsibility. This study aims to analyse William Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" in terms of existentialist approach, namely human’s existence of freedom which depends on the on-going relationships between the aspects of ‘being as a subject’ and ‘being as an object’. The play depicts the love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet who are the children of hostile families. At the beginning of the play, Romeo and Juliet are considered ‘being as an object’ because they accept an age-old blood feud between their families into which they are born. As an uninvited guest at a Capulet party, Romeo falls instantly in love with Juliet. After they learn to be the children of hostile families, they let go of the past and make free-choices by continuing to love each other, decide to marry and keep it in secret, so they become ‘being as a subject’. Then Romeo acts on his decision and attempts to halt a fight leading to the death of Juliet’s cousin for which Romeo is banished. In order not to marry her father’s choice of bridegroom, Juliet acts on her decision and fakes her own death to be reunited with Romeo. The message of her plot about the fake death fails to reach Romeo. Believing Juliet dead, Romeo takes the responsibility of his decision and drinks poison in her tomb. Juliet who wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her takes the responsibility of her decision and kills herself.