![]() ![]() To summarize, “The Voice” is more of a story of places than individuals. This is the same challenge faced by all immigrants, no matter where they are immigrating from. To express himself, he must learn a new language, which will inevitably change his identity because a new language entails not only new vocabulary, but also a change in culture, tradition, history, and the entire individual core. Moreover, his language is no longer effective. He is no longer safe his existence, identity, and values are all under threat. In contrast, when he goes to Ankara (the capital city of Turkey), the strength he used to draw from his natural surroundings and all his past experiences is lost, along with his own mystery. Despite facing many challenges in life, he is at peace and feels safe because in that place his existence, identity, and values are protected. With regard to place, Ali from Sivas first appears near a mountain pass in Barsakdere (a rural area in Anatolia) under the moonlight, perfectly integrated within that environment. Homeless Ali from Sivas who frequently expresses himself and his sadness through singing represents Sabahattin Ali, the author, who also lived in endless exile, striving to express himself and his own sadness through writing. Similarly, his name, Ali from Sivas, is not an arbitrary choice. In the story, voice has a double meaning representing both the protagonist’s real voice and the expression of his sadness. His perpetual homelessness leads to an underlying sadness that finds expression and voice throughout the story, especially in the verses of a ballad he sings. He continually migrates, living a life in endless exile. Ali from Sivas, the story’s main protagonist, is homeless and has no roots tying him to any one place. Yet none of his other stories deal with this topic as comprehensively as “The Voice.” In Ali’s view, the more compatible an individual is with their surroundings (i.e., place), the more secure and adjusted their existence is. He sees place as the protective shelter and foundation of individual existence or fate. In many of his stories, Ali deals with the relationship between the place and the individual. “The Voice” was written eighty-five years ago and, although the incompatibility it describes has since narrowed, it still exists, emphasizing the story’s relevance and how illuminating it is even today. The author’s concern is clearly not unique to Turkey and, indeed, applies to other geographies as well. It describes an encounter between two educated urbanites and a village troubadour (ashik, in Turkish), through which the author highlights the incompatibility of the aesthetic ideals of the educated and more sophisticated elite living in Turkish cities and those of Turkish villagers in rural Anatolia. Sabahattin Ali’s short story, “The Voice,” is representative of the author’s thematic concerns. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |