Concept of Death in the Stories of Bahram Sadeghi

Year 2019, Volume: 19 Issue: 48, 107 - 136, 29.06.2019

Emine Zeytunlu

https://doi.org/10.32330/nusha.547523

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

References

• Âbidînî, H. M. (2002). İran Öykü ve Romanının Yüzyılı. (D. Örs, Çev.) Ankara: Nüsha Yayınları.
• Âslânî, M. R. (1384/2005). Behrâm-i Sâdıkî- Bâzmândehâ-yi Gârib-i Âşinâ. Tahran: İntişârât-i Nîlûfer.
• Çetişli, İ. (2012). Batı Edebiyatında Edebî Akımlar. Ankara: Akçağ Yayınları.
• Hukûkî, M. (1377/1998). Edebiyât-i İmrûz-i İrân. Tahran: Neşr-i Katre.
• Özkan, E. (2014). Behrâm-i Sâdıkî’nin Kısa Öykülerinin İçerik Açısından Tahlili. (Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi) Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi, Ankara.
• Sâdıkî, B. (1395/2016). Senger ve Kumkumehâ-yi Hâlî. Tahran: İntişârât-i Nîlûfer.
• Sepânlû, M. A. (1366/1987). Nivisendegân-i Pîşrov-i İrân Ez Meşrûte Tâ 1350. Tahran: İntişârât-i Nigâh.
• Yâhakkî, M. C. (1385/2006). Cûybâr-i Lâhzahâ-Edebiyât-i Muâsır-ı Fârsî. Tahran: Çâp-i Dîbâ.