Concept of Death in the Stories of Bahram Sadeghi

Abstract

Bahram Sadeghi appears as an important individual in the development process of modern Iran storytelling that started in 19^th century and continued its development in the 20^th century. Sadeghi who was born in Nejefabad, connected to Esfahan in 1936, had started to write poems with the nick name ‘Sahba Miqdari’ when he was yet a high school student. In 1955, Sadeghi starts Tehran University School of Medicine and his stories had started to be published in the famous literature magazines of the era since then and receive a great appreciation. Sadeghi whose creative period covers the years 1956-1972 and who is basically accepted as the writer of that decade, create unforgettable works that placed him at frontlines of Iran storytellers despite this short period. First one of those is the novel called “Malakoot” (The Invisible World) that he wrote when he was 25 years old and brought him his actual fame. Some place this work also in the category of novella. His other work is the story book “Sangar o Qomqomaha-ye Khali” (The Trench and The Empty Canteens) that consist of 30 stories. Other than these two, the author has dispersed poems, unfinished stories and several stage plays. Sadeghi who died in 1984 when he was just 48 years old, had left staggering and deep impacts on both the era he lived in and the authors who came after him with the stories he wrote in his short life. Bahram Sadeghi works on the concept of death skillfully over the characters who had abandoned all hope from life and see death as the only sanctuary in his stories. Sometimes with his ironic narration that leans towards black humor and sometimes with all its pain and reality he handles the fear of death. He consolidates his narration with themes like anxiety, escape, suicide, losing identity and amok. In this study how Sadeghi handles the concept of death with the genuine narrative reality he established on the visible reality shall be discussed.

Structured Abstract

Bahram Sadeghi appears as an important individual in the development process of modern Iran storytelling that started in 19^th century and continued its development in the 20^th century. Sadeghi who was born in Nejefabad, connected to Esfahan in 1936, grows via being kneaded with literature due to the benefit of Shahnameh and Masnavi read frequently in his home starting from his childhood. He starts to write poems with the nick name Sahba Miqdari during his high school years. He wins the Tehran university school of medicine. The stories of Sadeghi who start Tehran University in 1955, start to be published in important literature magazines of the era and receive great appreciation. Also he participates in literary activities as members of some of these magazines. The foundations of the friendships that shall go on for long years with important names of Iranian literature like Golshiri, Modarresi, Huquqi, Saedi are laid in these years. While his medicinal education continues, he also performs his military service in Khuzestan region and after he graduates from school of medicine he starts to work as a physician in a clinic in Karaj region in Tehran.

Bahram Sadeghi’s artistic creativity period covers the years 1956-1972 and he is basically accepted as the writer of that decade. He creates staggering and effective works that placed him at frontlines of Iran storytellers despite this short period. He left behind the novel named “Malakoot”and the story book named “The Trench and The Empty Canteens”. Other than these, the he has dispersed poems, unfinished stories and several stage plays. Sadeghi has reached his actual fame with his work called “Malakoot” he wrote when he was 25 years old. Some place this work also in the category of novella. The reputation of this work has reached out of Iran. It has been published in France under the title “Le pays du Non-ù” and also it was adapted to a movie in Iran.

Bahram Sadeghi successfully describes the despair, defeat, poverty and desperation of ordinary people, the highbrows without a cause, workers and officers who run amuck within the turmoil of life, delusional, drug addict people. While doing so, he does not pursue a concern for giving any political or social messages. The only message he tries to give in his stories is the vanity of life and that the only reality is death. Sadeghi, while working on the concept of death in his stories, sometimes takes on an ironic attitude that leans towards black humor and sometimes presents a narration reflecting all the pain and reality of death. The only sanctuary for the characters in his stories is death and they cannot find any way out. Yet sometimes death is a rebirth for them. Also he consolidates his narration with themes like anxiety, escape, suicide, losing identity and amok.  Even though he writes stories that take on gloomy subjects that seem to be hard to read, the language he uses do not tire the reader and it is clear and understandable. He uses the method of stream of consciousness and symbolic narration masterfully. Most of the time he embeds himself into the mind of the character in the story and becomes one with him/her. On the other hand, it is apparent that he is influenced by the surrealism of Sadeq Hedayat, founder of the modern Iranian storytelling. It is possible to see the influence of Sadeq Hedayat in his work called “Malakoot” as well as in his stories.

In our study, over the stories we have translated and examined, we tried to present the way Sadeghi handles the concept of death with the passages we have quoted from the stories and we saw that Sadeghi have narrated the concept of that in a genuine narrative reality he created over the visible reality. He used language in such a skillful way that he rendered his stories seemed to be hard to read and where he handled gloomy subjects, readable and understandable. In the fictional worlds he designed in his stories, he gives place to characters so intriguing that it is not possible to see them in any other story. The reader faces, in his narrative mirror, the fact that death is the inevitable end. 

Keywords

• Bahram Sadeghi,Malakoot,The Trench and The Empty Canteens,Persian storytelling,concept of death

BEHRÂM-İ SÂDIKÎ’NİN ÖYKÜLERİNDE ÖLÜM KAVRAMI

Abstract

Behrâm-i Sâdıkî, 19. yüzyılda başlayan ve 20. yüzyılda gelişimini sürdüren modern İran öykücülüğünde önemli bir şahsiyet olarak karşımıza çıkar. 1936 yılında İsfahan’a bağlı Necefabad’da dünyaya gelen Sâdıkî henüz lise öğrencisiyken ‘Sahbâ Mikdârî’ takma adıyla şiirler yazar. 1955 yılında Tahran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi’ne başlayan Sâdıkî’nin öyküleri o yıldan itibaren dönemin ünlü edebiyat dergilerinde yayımlanır ve bu öyküler büyük beğeni toplar. Sanatsal yaratıcılık dönemi 1956-1972 yılları arasını kapsayan ve temelde bu on yılın yazarı olarak kabul edilen Sâdıkî, bu kısa süreye rağmen kendisini İranlı öykücülerin ön saflarına yerleştiren eserlere imza atar. Bunlardan ilki 25 yaşındayken yazdığı ve onu üne kavuşturan “Melekût” (Ruhlar Âlemi) adlı romanıdır. Bazı eleştirmenler bu eseri uzun öykü (novella) kategorisine koyar. Diğer eseri 30 öyküden oluşan “Siper ve Boş Mataralar” adlı kitabıdır. Bu ikisinden başka yazarın dağınık halde şiirleri, tamamlanmamış öyküleri ve birkaç tane de piyesi bulunmaktadır. 1984 yılında henüz 48 yaşındayken hayata veda eden Sâdıkî kısa yaşamı boyunca yazdığı öykülerle hem yaşadığı dönemde hem de kendinden sonra gelen yazarlar üzerinde sarsıcı ve derin etkiler bırakmıştır. Behrâm-i Sâdıkî, yaşamdan ümidini kesmiş ve kendilerine tek sığınak olarak ölümü gören karakterler üzerinden ölüm kavramını öykülerinde ustalıkla işler. Yazınlarında bazen kara mizaha yaklaşan ironik anlatımıyla bazen tüm acısı ve gerçekliğiyle ölüm korkusunun üzerine gider. Kuruntu, kaçış, intihar, kimliksizleşme ve cinnet geçirme gibi temalarla anlatımını güçlendirir. Çalışmada, Sâdıkî’nin anlatı süzgecinden geçen gerçeklik ile var olan gerçekliğin karşılaştırılması yapılarak, ölüm kavramını ele alışı incelenecektir.

Keywords

• Behrâm-i Sâdıkî,Melekût,Siper ve Boş Mataralar,İran öykücülüğü,ölüm kavramı

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