Özet
THE THEMATIC STRUCTURE IN THE NOVEL ENTITLED “ODALARDA” (IN THE ROOMS) BY ERDAL ÖZ
From the moment an individual begins to consciously perceive their existence, they also experience the sense of selfhood. This situation is in a close relationship with the concept of intellect and wilful attitude. The adversities which manifest in the construction of Self also adversely influence an individual when they display wilful attitudes. Currently existing in a modern age when individualisation problems become concrete and increase, humanity cannot escape facing an existential crisis as a result of such deadlocks. An individual who experiences this existential crisis also encounters a series of difficulties in satisfying the need of belonging, love and being embraced.
Publishing his novel Odalarda (In the Rooms) in the beginning of the 1960s, when modernism was observed concretely in Turkey, Erdal Öz made an ironic criticism against the uniforming influence of modernism on humans through an unnamed hero that he created. As this unnamed protagonist is depraved of a family, this adversely influences his Self.
Experiencing an existential crisis as a result of this situation, the protagonist becomes estranged from himself and his environment and becomes vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation. Supposing that he can actualise himself by the sexuality impulse, which is rooted in the creational codes of humans, the protagonist is gradually desensitised as a result of his delusions and doomed to depression.
The current study assesses the themes of estrangement, existential depression, social criticism, exploitation and sexuality that we encounter in the novel Odalarda, which also alludes to the fragmentation on the spatial plane.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Turkish literature in the republican period, modernism, Erdal Öz, Odalarda, existential crisis, depr