JULIAN BARNES’IN THE NOISE OF TIME ROMANINDA DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH ARACILIĞIYLA VAROLUŞSAL VE ETİK YANSIMALAR

Abstract

Julian Barnes’in The Noise of Time (2016) adlı romanı, Sovyet besteci Dmitri Şostakoviç’in yaşamını yaşamkurgusu türünün hibrit bir yaşam anlatısı formu aracılığıyla yeniden kurgular. Roman, Şostakoviç’in baskı altında hayatta kalırken sanatını icra etmenin ne hissettirebileceğine dair duygusal ve psikolojik boşlukları doldurur. Bu hibrit form, Şostakoviç’i hem sanatsal katkılarıyla anarken hem de kişisel bütünlüğü ile devlet kontrolü arasında sıkışmış bir birey olarak insani yönleriyle ortaya koyar. Anlatı, bestecinin Sovyetler Birliği’nin “halk için sanat” anlayışına erken dönemdeki karşıtlığını ve buna karşın “sanat için sanat” inancını dramatize ederek, estetik özgürlük ile ideolojik uyum arasındaki gerilimi görünür kılar. Sartre’ın “angaje edebiyat” kavramı ve Michael Lackey’in yaşamkurgusu kuramının kültürel işlevi üzerine yapılan tartışmalardan hareketle, bu çalışma Barnes’in Şostakoviç’in yaşamını nasıl felsefi ve etik bir sorgulamaya dönüştürdüğünü ortaya koyar. Tarihsel gerçeklerle hayal gücünü birleştirerek, Barnes baskı altında sanatsal hayatta kalışı dramatize eden ve okurları kendi ahlaki ve varoluşsal seçimlerini düşünmeye davet eden bir anlatı inşa eder. Bu bağlamda, romanda hayatta kalış, Şostakoviç’in yaşamkurgusal benliği aracılığıyla bir varoluşçuluk performansı olarak tasvir edilir; bu benlik, özgürlük, sorumluluk, özgünlük, kötü niyet ve kaygı gibi Sartreci temaları keşfetmek için bir araç işlevi görür. Sonuç olarak, The Noise of Time sanatı bir varoluş ve hayatta kalma aracı olarak yeniden kurgular; etik farkındalığı artıran ve kısıtlamalar altında özgürlük ile özgünlüğü yeniden tanımlayan dönüştürücü bir okuma deneyimi sunar.

Keywords

• yaşamkurgusu
• Jean-Paul Sartre
• angaje edebiyat
• felsefi farkındalık
• yaşam anlatısı

EXISTENTIAL AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS BY THE AGENCY OF DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH IN JULIAN BARNES’S THE NOISE OF TIME

Abstract

Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time (2016) reimagines the life of Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich through the hybrid life narrative genre of biofiction. The novel fills the emotional and psychological gaps of what it might have felt like for Shostakovich to survive under tyranny while continuing to perform his art. As a hybrid form of life narrative, it both commemorates Shostakovich for his artistic contributions and humanizes him as an individual caught between personal integrity and state control. The narrative dramatizes the composer’s early opposition to the Soviet notion of “art for the people” in contrast to his belief in “art for art’s sake,” revealing the tension between aesthetic freedom and ideological conformity. Drawing on Sartre’s concept of “engaged writing” and Michael Lackey’s theory of biofiction as cultural work, the study shows how Barnes transforms Shostakovich’s life into a philosophical and ethical inquiry. By employing imagination alongside historical fact, Barnes constructs a narrative that dramatizes artistic survival under oppression while inviting readers to reflect on their own moral and existential choices. Accordingly, this article argues that survival in the novel is portrayed as a performance of existentialism through the biofictional self of Shostakovich, who becomes a vehicle for exploring Sartrean themes of freedom, responsibility, authenticity, bad faith, and anguish. Ultimately, The Noise of Time reimagines art as a means of existence and survival, offering a transformative reading experience that raises ethical awareness and redefines freedom and authenticity under constraint.

Keywords

• biofiction
• Jean-Paul Sartre
• engaged-writing
• philosophical awareness
• life-narrative

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