Abstract
A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor is an essay and a narrative, illustrated with
photographs, which explores the personal story of a country doctor as well as
the story of society and humanity. The text discusses the issues of healing and
illness, concentrating on the social and human aspects of these concepts. It
explores the idea of healing primarily as a social construct. It is observed
that the figure of the healer is handled through the examples of the doctor, as
well as the master mariner and the storyteller with regard to humanism and
social responsibility. Thus, “healing” is a metaphor in Berger’s view which
signifies empathizing and human responsibility. Storytelling is a central
concept in Berger’s outlook as Berger believes the storyteller is a healer as
s/he rescues the reader from absurdity while the healer/doctor is a storyteller
who records the story of his patients, the community. The aim of this article
is to investigate the ideas of healing and the figure of the healer in A Fortunate Man, mainly in social and human
terms. It is revealed that the value of a healer and the value of society are
measured socially.
Keywords
References
- Berger, J. and J. Mohr. (2016). A fortunate man: The story of a country doctor. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd.
- Berger, J. and S. Sontag. (1983). To tell a story. https://photographytheoryintopractice.wordpress.com/2017/02/15/john-berger-and-susan-sontag-telling-stories/
- Francis, G. (2016). Introduction. In A fortunate man: The story of a country doctor. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd.
- Hudson, M. (2000). The clerk of the foresters records: John Berger, the dead, and the writing of history. Rethinking History. 4:3 .pp. 261–279. ISSN 1364-2529 print/ISSN 1470-1154 online © 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals.
- Kaye, H. J. (1983). Historical consciousness and storytelling: John Berger’s fiction. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal. Vol. 16. No. 4. pp. 43-57. Retrieved 09 November 2018 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/24777713.
- Sartre, J. P. (2007). Existentialism is a humanism. Carol Macomber. (Trans.). New Haven and London: Yale UP.
- Sartre. (2000). Nausea. (Trans.). Robert Baldick. London: Penguin Books.
- Sontag, S. (1978). Illness as metaphor. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.
- Woolf,V.(2014).On being ill.https://thenewcriterion1926.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/woolf-on-being-ill.pdf
Abstract
A
Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor (Talihli Bir Adam: Bir Taşra Doktorunun
Öyküsü) taşradaki bir pratisyen
doktorun kişisel öyküsünün yanı sıra toplum ve insanlığın öyküsünü irdeleyen,
fotoğraflarla bütünlenen bir makale ve anlatıdır. Metinde iyileş(tir)me ve
hastalık konuları, bu kavramların toplumsal ve insani yönlerine yoğunlaşarak
tartışılır. İyileş(tir)me düşüncesi metinde ağırlıklı olarak toplumsal bir
kurgu olarak irdelenir. İyileştirici/sağaltıcı figürünün metinde doktor
örneğinin yanı sıra uzman kaptan ve öykü anlatıcısı figürleriyle hümanizma ve
toplumsal sorumluluk açısından ele alındığı görülür. Bu nedenle, Berger’in
bakış açısına göre “iyileştirme” empati kurma ve insani sorumluluk anlamına
gelen bir metafordur. Öykü anlatımı Berger’in düşünce sisteminde merkezi bir
yere sahiptir; öyle ki Berger doktorun hastalarının ve toplumun öyküsünü
kaydettiği gibi hikayecilerin de okuru anlamsızlıktan kurtardığına inanır. Bu
makalenin amacı Talihli Bir Adam’da
iyileş(tir)me düşüncesini ve iyileştirici/sağaltıcı figürünü esas olarak
toplumsal ve insani açılardan incelemektir. İyileştiricinin değerinin toplumun
değeri gibi toplumsal olarak ölçüldüğü ortaya konulur.
References
- Berger, J. and J. Mohr. (2016). A fortunate man: The story of a country doctor. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd.
- Berger, J. and S. Sontag. (1983). To tell a story. https://photographytheoryintopractice.wordpress.com/2017/02/15/john-berger-and-susan-sontag-telling-stories/
- Francis, G. (2016). Introduction. In A fortunate man: The story of a country doctor. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd.
- Hudson, M. (2000). The clerk of the foresters records: John Berger, the dead, and the writing of history. Rethinking History. 4:3 .pp. 261–279. ISSN 1364-2529 print/ISSN 1470-1154 online © 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals.
- Kaye, H. J. (1983). Historical consciousness and storytelling: John Berger’s fiction. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal. Vol. 16. No. 4. pp. 43-57. Retrieved 09 November 2018 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/24777713.
- Sartre, J. P. (2007). Existentialism is a humanism. Carol Macomber. (Trans.). New Haven and London: Yale UP.
- Sartre. (2000). Nausea. (Trans.). Robert Baldick. London: Penguin Books.
- Sontag, S. (1978). Illness as metaphor. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.
- Woolf,V.(2014).On being ill.https://thenewcriterion1926.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/woolf-on-being-ill.pdf
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Creative Arts and Writing |
| Journal Section | English Language and Literature |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | January 27, 2020 |
| Submission Date | June 17, 2019 |
| Acceptance Date | January 23, 2020 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2020 |