Research Article

The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed

Number: 4 September 26, 2025
TR EN

The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed

Abstract

As one of the aspects of ecocriticism, zoopoetics focuses on the existence of non-human animals in literary works. The term expresses how animals or rather non-human animals are able to create their own poetry through systematic vocalization, therefore creating their own art. It is a term Jacques Derrida coined in his essay ‘‘The Animal Therefore I Am”. Although Derrida focuses on poetry as a genre, the term will be applied to two Turkish novels: İnce Memed by Yaşar Kemal and Gölgesizler by Hasan Ali Toptaş. As the human characters in literary works have their own personality and are therefore able to create discourse with their monologues or dialogues, non-human animals also create their own discourse. In İnce Memed, as the English translation [Memed, My Hawk] suggests, the hawk is the central animal and therefore displays a certain discourse of power. The non-human animals in Gölgesizler bear, horse, and dove are also notorious for their power but are able to create a discourse of cruelty as well, among many different aspects. Consequently, non-human animals also are the focus of attention of literature from the view of zoopoetics. The main aim of this study is to state that animals are not only meant to be interpreted as symbols of concepts; on the contrary, they present their own autonomy.

Keywords

References

  1. Akyol, Ö. (2020). The Sounds of Horseshoe a Zoopoetic Reading of Yılkı Atı by Abbas Sayar. SEFAD, (43), 183-194.
  2. Ayık, A. (2010). Hasan Ali Toptaş’ın Gölgesizler Romanında Postmodern Kurgu. Yeni Türk Edebiyatı Araştırmaları, 2 (4), 67-77.
  3. Bergthaller, H. (27 April 2013). What is Ecocriticism?. https://www.easlce.eu/about-us/what-is-ecocriticism/
  4. Derrida, J. (2002). Trans. David Willis. “The Animal That Therefore I Am.” Critical Inquiry, 28 (2), 369-418.
  5. Derrida, J. (2003). And Say the Animal Responded? in Zoontologies: The Question of the Animal (Ed. Wolfe, C.), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  6. Derrida, J. (2008). The Animal That Therefor I Am. Fordham University Press.
  7. Driscoll, K., & Hoffmann, E. (2018). What is Zoopoetics? Texts, Bodies, Entanglement. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
  8. Guerlac, S. (2012) Derrida and His Cat: The Most Important Question. Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, 16 (5), 695-702.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Literary Theory

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

September 26, 2025

Submission Date

May 12, 2025

Acceptance Date

September 2, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Number: 4

APA
Deniz, S. (2025). The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies, 4, 34-41. https://doi.org/10.62425/melius.1697656
AMA
1.Deniz S. The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies. 2025;(4):34-41. doi:10.62425/melius.1697656
Chicago
Deniz, Suzan. 2025. “The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed”. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies, nos. 4: 34-41. https://doi.org/10.62425/melius.1697656.
EndNote
Deniz S (September 1, 2025) The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies 4 34–41.
IEEE
[1]S. Deniz, “The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed”, Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies, no. 4, pp. 34–41, Sept. 2025, doi: 10.62425/melius.1697656.
ISNAD
Deniz, Suzan. “The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed”. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies. 4 (September 1, 2025): 34-41. https://doi.org/10.62425/melius.1697656.
JAMA
1.Deniz S. The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies. 2025;:34–41.
MLA
Deniz, Suzan. “The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed”. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies, no. 4, Sept. 2025, pp. 34-41, doi:10.62425/melius.1697656.
Vancouver
1.Suzan Deniz. The Discourse Created by the Animal in Gölgesizler and İnce Memed. Melius: Journal of Narrative and Language Studies. 2025 Sep. 1;(4):34-41. doi:10.62425/melius.1697656

Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License

30675