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

Year 2020, Volume: 30 Issue: 2, 289 - 305, 23.12.2020

Fahriye Danacı

https://doi.org/10.26650/LITERA2020-0065

Abstract

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

Keywords

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

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

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Anna Burns, Milkman, Troubles, baskı, İrlanda romanı

References

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