Technique and Ideology in the Novel Tek Kanatlı Bir Kuş

Abstract

Yaşar Kemal’s novella Tek Kanatlı Bir Kuş (“A Bird with One Wing”), published in 2013, stands out for its technical and thematic richness. The novel, the writing process of which dates back to the 1970s and was written by the author to describe “fear,” contains a covert progression with ideological references under the surface while it deals with the theme of fear on the surface. As a matter of fact, the apparent theme of fear hides a harsh criticism of the government. The technique used in the novel Tek Kanatlı Bir Kuş is in harmony with the ideology in the novel; that is, the form and the content complement each other. In this sense, the way of representing speech and thought, figural narrative situation, covert progression, etc. are directly related to the point of view in the novel; that is, to the ideology. This study examines the novel Tek Kanatlı Bir Kuş primarily in terms of narrative situation, free indirect discourse, dialogue, and the function of repetitions, and then it reveals the covert progression that contains the ideological dimension of the text.