On the Theme of Nostalgia in Paolo Bacigalupi’s Post-Apocalyptic Novel The Windup Girl

Year 2019, Vol 18 IDEA Special Issue, 81 - 91, 31.12.2019

Murat Kabak

https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.598515

Cited By: 1

Abstract

After the massive
outbreaks of violence and catastrophes at the dawn of the twentieth century,
experiences of dislocation and dissonance, as well as their reflection in the
human psyche, nostalgia, captivated the interest of various disciplines from
literary studies to politics. Although viewed through various lenses, nostalgia
as a state of a wistful affection for the past still permeates the present
discourses. These studies on nostalgia overlap with a rising trend in the
Western literary canon, the surge of derivative forms of utopia. Building on
the contemporary interdisciplinary approaches on nostalgia and dystopian
tradition, this paper investigates the individual’s position in a dystopian
setting with an emphasis on the experience of nostalgia in Paolo Bacigalupi’s
novel The Windup Girl (2009). This
article aims to investigate the role of nostalgia in a post-apocalyptic
dystopian setting with a focus on various experiences of nostalgia. I argue
that Bacigalupi’s novel is a nuanced exploration of the experience of nostalgia
and a meditation on the connection between nostalgia and utopianism, due to its
engagement with both individual and collective experiences of nostalgia.

Keywords

Dystopian tradition, nostalgia, Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl

Paolo Bacigalupi’nin Post-Apokaliptik Romanı Kurma Kız’da Nostalji Teması Üzerine

Abstract

Yirminci yüzyılın şafağında
meydana gelen şiddet ve devasa yıkımların ardından insanların aidiyet ve ahenk
hissiyatındaki çöküşün insan ruhuna işlediği nostalji duygusu, edebiyat
çalışmalarından siyasete kadar çeşitli disiplinlerin ilgisini çekmiştir. Birçok
farklı açıdan bakılmış olsa da nostalji, günümüz söylemlerinde hâlâ geçmişe yönelik
hüzünlü bir özlem durumu olarak geçmektedir. Nostalji üzerine yapılan bu
çalışmalar, Batı edebiyatı külliyatında gitgide genişleyen bir akım hâline
gelmiş ve ütopya türevlerinden oluşan bir dalga yaratmıştır. Nostalji ve
distopyacı gelenekteki disiplinlerarası çağdaş yaklaşımları temel alan bu
makalenin amacı, Paolo Bacigalupi’nin romanı The Windup Girl’deki (2009) nostalji deneyiminin üzerinde durarak
bireyin post-apokaliptik distopyacı bir ortamdaki yerini araştırmaktır.
Bacigalupi’nin romanının, nostalji deneyiminin ayrıntılı bir keşfi olduğunu ve
nostalji deneyimini hem bireysel hem de kolektif olarak ele almasından dolayı
nostalji ve ütopyacılık arasındaki bağlantı üzerine bir tefekkür olduğunu ileri
sürmekteyim.

Keywords

Distopyacı gelenek, Kurma Kız, nostalji, Paolo Bacigalupi

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