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Makale Özeti:
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Abstract: Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk’s novel Snow
(2002), which local scholars argue that it takes its name from
‘karsu’ (snow-water), takes place in Kars3, a city located on the
north-eastern border of Turkey. As a borderline city, it stands as
the nexus of distinguished civilisations, such as that of Armenians,
Russians, and Ottomans; and bears the traces of several ethnic,
cultural, and political characteristics of diverse identities. Snow
represents modernist Turkey’s political, cultural, and religious
turmoil experienced in the late twentieth century. The novel
depicts the city of Kars as a witness to deep-seated conflicting
political views and social values. The concepts of secularism,
nationalism, and the Islamic Revival, including experiences of
poverty that have been felt, unemployment, and suicide are all
inscribed within the plot of this provocative novel. Hence, depicted
concepts and felt experiences stir up much controversy among
critics who explore Pamuk’s intention to understand the reasons
why he might have thematised such problematic issues. However,
Pamuk’s elaboration of a political issue in Snow seems to have
been misconceived through political standpoints minimizing his
artistic ability to solely a political gaze. In this respect, I will
explore and discuss Pamuk’s Snow as a polyphonic novel inviting
its readers to contemplate both the question of ‘the other’ and the
dangers of radicalism rather than as a novel supporting a certain
political group.
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