Surviving the Oppression in the Time of the Troubles: Anna Burns’s Milkman

Öz

Anna Burns’s Milkman (2018) recounts the story of an eighteen-year-old woman, named the middle sister, who struggles to survive the communal oppression and physical and psychological violence at the time of the Troubles in the Northern Ireland in the 1970s. The novel revolves around the middle sister’s tumultuous relationship with her family, boyfriend, and neighbours, and her attempts to avoid the stalking and sexual harassment of a Republican paramilitary, named Milkman. Accused of being different due to her habit of reading-while-walking, the middle sister is perceived as a threat to the community and stigmatised by the people. Demonstrating the operation of the communal oppression from the eyes of a young woman, Milkmanalso portrays in the background the violent atmosphere of the Troubles and its trauma experienced by the individuals. While the middle sister strives to protect herself from the neighbours’ gossips and calumny, she also tries to avoid Milkman’s threats and abuse. The middle sister, who struggles to survive in such an environment prevailed by oppression and abuse, also witnesses the general sense of paranoia and fear instilled in people’s minds due to the constant threat that the political conflicts and violence pose on the society. Therefore, this article aims to examine how the novel displays the working of violence and oppression in this tense and dreary atmosphere, and discuss how oppression is performed in every social layer, from a small neighbourhood to the whole country, both physically and psychologically

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Anna Burns
• Milkman
• the Troubles
• oppression
• Irish novel

Troubles Dönemi’nde Baskıya Karşı Dayanmak: Anna Burns’un Milkman Adlı Eseri

Öz

Anna Burns’un Milkman (2018) adlı romanı, 1970li yıllarda Kuzey İrlanda’da Troubles dönemindeki toplumsal baskı ve fiziksel, psikolojik şiddete karşı dayanmak için mücadele eden middle sister isminde on sekiz yaşındaki bir kadının hikayesini anlatmaktadır. Roman, middle sister’in ailesi, erkek arkadaşı ve komşularıyla olan çalkantılı ilişkisi ve Milkman isimli Cumhuriyetçi bir milisin takiplerinden ve cinsel tacizlerinden kaçınma girişimleri üzerinden ilerlemektedir. Yürürken kitap okuma alışkanlığı yüzünden farklı olmakla suçlanan middle sister toplum için bir tehdit olarak algılanır ve insanlar tarafından kınanır. Toplumsal baskının işleyişini genç bir kadının gözünden anlatan Milkman ayrıca Troubles döneminin şiddet dolu ortamını ve bireyler tarafından deneyimlenen travmasını da arka planda resmetmektedir. Middle sister bir yandan komşuların hakkında yaptıkları dedikodulardan ve üzerine attıkları iftiralardan korumaya çalışırken bir yandan da Milkman’ın tehditlerinden ve tacizinden kaçınmak için uğraşır. Böylesi bir baskı ve taciz ortamında hayatta kalmak için çaba gösteren middle sister tüm bunların yanı sıra politik çatışmaların ve şiddetin toplum üzerinde kurduğu daimî tehdit yüzünden insanların zihinlerine işleyen yaygın paranoya ve korku hissine de tanık olur. Bu sebeple bu makale, romanın bu gergin ve kasvetli ortamda şiddet ve baskının işleyişini nasıl sergilediğini incelemeyi ve baskının küçük bir mahalleden bütün ülkeye kadar toplumun her katmanında fiziksel ve psikolojik olarak nasıl uygulandığını ele almayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Anna Burns
• Milkman
• Troubles
• baskı
• İrlanda romanı

Kaynakça

1. Burns, A. (2018, November 29). Anna Burns: The New Booker Prize Winner Who May Never Write Again. (A. Marshall, Interviewer). The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/books/anna-burns-interview-booker-prize-milkman-no-bones.html
2. ---. (2019, March 15). Interview with 2019 NBCC Fiction Winner Anna Burns. (A. Moraif, Interviewer). newschoolwriting.org. Retrieved from https://newschoolwriting.org/interview-with-2019-nbcc-fiction-finalist-anna-burns/
3. ---. (2018, October 17). ‘It’s nice to feel I’m solvent. That’s a huge gift’: Anna Burns on Her Life-changing Booker Win. (L. Allardice, Interviewer). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/17/anna-burns-booker-prize-winner-life-changing-interview ---. (2018). Milkman. London: Faber.
4. Charles, R. (2018, December 4). ‘Milkman’ – one of the most challenging books of the year – is also one of the most rewarding. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/milkman--one-of-the-most-challenging-books-of-the-year--is-also-one-of-the-most-rewarding/ 2018/12/04/c3be904c-f764-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html
5. Costello-Sullivan, K. (2018). Trauma and Recovery in the Twentieth-First-Century Irish Novel. Syracuse: Syracuse UP.
6. Coulter, C. (1999). Contemporary Northern Irish Society: An Introduction. London: Pluto.Devers, A.N. (2019, January 4). Anna Burns’ Booker-winning ‘Milkman’ isn’t a difficult read; it’s a triumph. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-anna-burns-milkman-review-20190104-story.html
7. Fay, M., M. Morrissey, and M. Smyth. (1999). Northern Ireland’s Troubles: The Human Costs. London: Pluto.Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. (A. Sheridan, Trans.). NY: Vintage Books.
8. Hayes, P. and J. Campbell. (2005). Bloody Sunday: Trauma, Pain and Politics. London: Pluto.

9. Kilroy, C. (2018, May 31). Milkman by Anne Burns review – creepy invention at heart of an original, funny novel. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/31/milkman-anna-burns-review-northern-ireland
10. Miller, L. (2018, December 10). A Novel About Coming of Age Amid the Troubles. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/a-novel-about-coming-of-age-amid-the-troubles
11. Quinn, A. (2018, December 4). Brutally Intelligent ‘Milkman’ Depicts Lives Cramped by Fear. npr.org. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/672956730/brutally-intelligent-milkman-depicts-lives-cramped-by-fear
12. Rose, P. (2001). Introduction. How the Troubles Came to Northern Ireland. NY: Palgrave.