Research On Orhan Pamuk In The Visual Threshold Of Eastern And Western Civilization

As a writer of Turkey where exists the most intense collision and blending of East-West civilization,Orhan Pamuk mainly described this kind of mixed culture in his autobiographical works and several novels,not only express the sympathy to the culture of Turkey,but also attach importance to the complex of the Istanbul traditional culture—“Huzun”.It is rooted in Turkish people,so that they lost their ability to self-identity in the context of the mixed East-West civilization.In the process of exploring the individual and the identity of the characters in his novels,Pamuk painted a picture of the traditional history of Istanbul under the mixed culture of the Eastern and Western civilization,showing the situation of the urban division and the lost nation in the Turkish society.In the era of globalization,he always consider about the importance of achieving modernization in Turkey.Pamuk advocated that Turkey should form the combination of Eastern and Western civilization,the process not only depend on the glorious history of Turkey,the unique geographical location and religious differences and other external factors,but also relative to the family background and education as well as other internal factors of Pamuk.This cultural concept has laid a solid foundation for the creation career of Pamuk,Istanbul: Memories and the City was his autobiography,in the book,Pamuk interprets and analysis the origion,secular layer and the reality of the “Huzun” as detailed as possible,describes the “Huzun” complex of Turkish people under the impact of the western modernized tide.Pamuk combined the views and understanding of the souls of Istanbul with Western writers and travelers as well as Turkish native writers,strengthen the sorrow of the Turkish people in the process of looking back to the past and memorizing the glorious relics.Turkey was full of conflicts,chaos,contradiction,murders and ethereal love under the circumstance of mixed Eastern and Western civilization.From the perspective of Cultural Hybridity of Homi Bhabha,the messy situation of the Turkish society was pretty clear to the readers from the the conflict and murder in My Name Is Red,the contradiction between Serra Khat and Fatima in Silent House and the analysis of Carl as the innocent victim in Snow.As the reflection of Turkish society in the mixed civilization,love was doomed to an imperfect ending as the forever existing complex of “Huzun”,from Kemal and Füsun in The Museum of Innocence: A Novel,the ethereal love between the couple of Malufute and Sa Mika in A Strangeness in My Mind.Under the glorious history of Ottoman,the reality of the disappearance of traditional culture and the invasion of Western modernized thoughts,most Turkish people suffered a kind of identity anxiety,they were at a crossroad of the eastern culture versus western culture,the traditional culture versus modern culture,the Turkish people had a strong desire to pursue the true self in the other.From the perspective of “the Mirror Stage Theory” of Lacan to analysis the three novels that are all involved in the same theme of seeking,the life pursuer—Osman in The New Life,the identity exchange between “me” and Hoggar in The White Castle and the behavior of Ghalip choose to be himself in The Black Book,we may safely draw a conclusion at the unremitting efforts and exploration of their both non-East and West cultural identity of the Turkish people.Pamuk has provided a unique and inclusive development approach for the future of the entire Turkish nation with a combination of local culture and Western culture through these works.Pamuk was not afraid to challenge the authority to reveal that writers must have the sense of historical responsibility and dare to expose the dark side in the history of their own country,even in the complex social and political environment of Turkey.As a writer in the mixed state of Eastern and Western civilization,Pamuk attempt to find the most appropriate balance between the Eastern and Western civilizations in Turkey,on the basis of the contradictions and conflicts of the Turkish society and the confusion of their self-identity.Pamuk insists on writing endlessly,not only comfort the spirit of the Islamic people,but also increase the influence of the Turkish culture and make the culture alive.He opposed the development of a single cultural state,against copy the culture of the other countries blindly,from his perspective,Turkey should first insists its own unique traditional culture,then absorbs the advanced Western culture and ideas,learn to be inclusive to creat mutual benefit,finally work a successfully modernization way to new life.The concept of culture that embodied in the works of Pamuk fit with the development strategy of the future Turkey and the development of the diversified world,share the same path with the times in the context of the development of globalization.