Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl”

Rana Sağıroğlu; Funda Civelekoglu

Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl”

Abstract

Ali Smith’s short story “The Hanging Girl” engages with death, grief, and sorrow by merging a surreal setting with reality and fantasy. The story serves as a symbolic representation of global suffering, centring on the individual traumas of Pauline and the mysterious girl she finds hanging from a lamppost, thereby highlighting the larger context of the world’s present condition. Pauline and other characters are exposed to images of war and death, which function as the constant bombardment of images desensitizing them, disrupting communication and intensifying their sense of isolation. By employing body horror, Smith directs the reader’s attention to the impact of media manipulation on individuals’ mental health and presents the body as a site of ambiguity. This paradox reflects the post-truth condition, wherein false narratives and emotional appeals override objective facts. The story critiques contemporary society, which perpetually undermines individual freedom, by challenging the concept of truth. This article argues that “The Hanging Girl” exemplifies the aesthetic manifestations of the grotesque and the uncanny, frequently intertwining with body horror and post-truth narratives to illustrate the disorientation of contemporary life experiences.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture, Globalisation and Culture

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Rana Sağıroğlu ^*
0000-0002-2153-1228
Türkiye

Funda Civelekoglu
0000-0002-9986-9843
Türkiye

Publication Date

January 26, 2026

Submission Date

July 28, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 5

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Sağıroğlu, R., & Civelekoglu, F. (2026). Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies, 5, 111-121. https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA

AMA

1.Sağıroğlu R, Civelekoglu F. Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl.” Overtones. 2026;(5):111-121. https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA

Chicago

Sağıroğlu, Rana, and Funda Civelekoglu. 2026. “Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s ‘The Hanging Girl’”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies, nos. 5: 111-21. https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA.

EndNote

Sağıroğlu R, Civelekoglu F (January 1, 2026) Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies 5 111–121.

IEEE

[1]R. Sağıroğlu and F. Civelekoglu, “Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s ‘The Hanging Girl’”, Overtones, no. 5, pp. 111–121, Jan. 2026, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA

ISNAD

Sağıroğlu, Rana - Civelekoglu, Funda. “Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s ‘The Hanging Girl’”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies. 5 (January 1, 2026): 111-121. https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA.

JAMA

1.Sağıroğlu R, Civelekoglu F. Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl”. Overtones. 2026;:111–121.

MLA

Sağıroğlu, Rana, and Funda Civelekoglu. “Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s ‘The Hanging Girl’”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies, no. 5, Jan. 2026, pp. 111-2, https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA.

Vancouver

1.Rana Sağıroğlu, Funda Civelekoglu. Post-Truth Sense of Body Horror in Ali Smith’s “The Hanging Girl”. Overtones [Internet]. 2026 Jan. 1;(5):111-2. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA74UD36WA