Open AccessUn-Silencing the Past: A Juxtaposition of Personal and Political in Elif Shafak’s Novel, The Bastard of Istanbul
Author(s) -
Tajamul Islam
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
smart moves journal ijellh
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2582-4406
pISSN - 2582-3574
DOI - 10.24113/ijellh.v10i2.11257
Subject(s) - armenian , genocide , politics , censorship , state (computer science) , gender studies , sociology , media studies , political science , history , genealogy , law , ancient history , algorithm , computer science
This paper explores the thematic aspect of bastard and the alternative spaces present in the novel to show how Armenian genocide is addressed and unsilenced from the censorship of the State. The juxtaposition of the Armenian issue with the tribulations of ‘Kazanci’ family is argued as a metaphorical and personalised account of Armenian genocide. Such an engagement with the past has been made possible by bringing political and personal together in the form of a family in Istanbul and a family in America; one belonging to a Muslim majority and the other belonging to an Armenian religious minority.