Microsoft Word 1 Arif thesis cover final doc

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 
12 
Güntekin (b. Istanbul 1889-d. London1956) and Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (b. 
Cairo 1889-d. Istanbul 1974). 
All three were prolific writers with very distinct literary characters. As Kurtuluş 
Edebiyatçılar, though, they all made similar thematic and linguistic choices which 
consolidated the passage of the novel to Modern Turkish Literature as the prevailing 
literary genre. In the case of Halide Edip and Yakup Kadri there was also shared 
personal experience. In terms of language the Kurtuluş Edebiyatçılar were consistent 
in the use of a simpler language that was closer to the vernacular. In terms of subject 
matter apart from the war Anatolia became the area which is projected not only as 
the place of action for the plot but also as the core of the Motherland with Ankara as 
its heart. Thus, there is a steady shift from Istanbul to the provinces in Turkish 
Literature. Istanbul representing the past, the occupation, the humiliation and the 
collaborating government is also a point of contrast in almost all the works. It is the 
occupation of Istanbul and the humiliation of the Turkish nation which followed that 
produced the main justification of this war. Furthermore, female characters as 
opposed to male ones become the principal characters of the novels of that period. A 
new role for women outside the traditional boundaries of the house is promoted as is 
the value of secular education (a number of heroines are teachers); children, 
consequently, also assume a significant role in the narratives. The negative role of 
religion as practiced by the common ignorant folk is also consistently stressed. Other 
social realities such as army desertion, a big problem of the Ottoman army, in 
contrast with the organised and high spirited army of the Nationalist cause are also 
represented in the writings of this period. The people of Anatolia, the peasants, are 

---