The Novels of Orhan Pamuk A Study in Major Themes

Abstract

Born on 7 June 1952, Orhan Pamuk is the well-known contemporary newlineTurkish novelist. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious international newlineawards including the Nobel Prize for literature in 2006, first ever to any newlineTurkish writer. Pamuk was grown up in a wealthy but declining bourgeois newlineIstanbul family. At the early age, he dreamt to become an artist but later he newlinechose writing as his career. He belongs to a secular westernized Muslim family newlinewhich makes a significant impact on his writing. He depicts the real picture of newlinehuman society with the perfect Turkish backdrop and setting of his novels. The newlinehistorical Istanbul city and the Turkish society play a vital role in his novels. newlineBut his novels appeal to the universal readers because of his realistic technique newlineof writing and treatment of universal themes. The New York Times honors the newlinenovelist by referring to him as A new star has risen in the east-Orhan Pamuk . newlineTo study Orhan Pamuk s novels, one must understand the brief history newlineof Turky and its literature. Turkey is a transcontinental country divided into newlineAsia and Europe; however its 97 % part comes in Asia. The country has a rich newlineand one of the oldest civilizations of the world. In the first millennium, newlineChristianity dominated the Anatolian people. With the introduction of Islam as newlinetheir main faith in the second millennium, the country witnessed historical newlineempires- Seljuk and Ottoman. The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest newlinerules in the world by a single dynasty who reigned for more than six hundred newlineyears. Pamuk s two novels: The White Castle and My Name is Red are set in newlinethe Ottoman Turkey. Under the charismatic and revolutionary leadership of newlineAtaturk Kemal Pasha, Turkey was declared independent secular Republic in newline1923. After the declaration of the republic, the country witnessed drastic newlinechanges in its social, cultural, religious and political fields. Orhan Pamuk newlinedepicts the picture of Turkish society in the second half of the 20th century. As newlinefar as Turkish literature is concerned, the country has the rich he