Friday, February 12, 2010

On the title of Orhan Pamuk's New Life

Orhan Pamuk's novel New Life is really admirable for many things of which is the choice of the title. The title reveals many things about the novel. It is a new life promised by a book that changes the lives of the readers. Every one who has read the book feels lonely, unable to continue his life. S/he starts to embark on journeys to see the angel. Death gradually becomes the pathway to this new life. Ossman and Genan witness death on their seats while travelling between countries. The title starts to look ironic for instead of angels, they encounter death, plots by Dr.Fine who tries to rid the society of this book.
Actually, meeting Dr. Fine is turning point in the novel for Ossman finds out the read author of this book and that Mohammad/Nahit is the son of Dr. Fine. He gets this feeling that his companion in this long journey has deceived him. He has been a victim to a scheme made up by Mohammad and his girlfriend Genan. The New Life is no longer a life of innocence for there is deception and disappointment. Ossman is disappointed at the fact that Dr. Fine's agents have discovered that Genan has spent a night with Mohammad. Ossman loves her and he has tried to approach her but she turns him down claiming that se has been never touched by a man.
Dr. Fine is truly connected to the title for he reveals an important theme in the novel. He believes that the enemies of Turkey exert their best to dominate the society with their Western, especially American, values and manufactures. He presides over a secret organization that tries to resist this Western invasion. From his viewpoint, this new life promised by the book is alien to the Turkish society and it has to be fought. Therefore, he hires agents to kill Refaky, the author of the book and his son without knowing that. In fact, one of the basic themes in the novel is the influence of the Western hegemony over the Turkish society and hos Turks deal with that.
Ossman, the first-person narrator, is different because he undergoes a journey to uncover all about the book, its readers and its origins. He finds Mohammad/Nahit in another town and kills him to win Genan. Besides, he is envious of the peace Mohammad enjoys in copying the book and leading a calm life. He meets every one reported by Dr.Fine's agents to have read/been reading the book. After his return to Dr. Fine's home, he finds that Genan has left him.
He continues his life persisting on identifying the origins of this book. He reads Refaky's references to the book, i.e the poetry of Ibn Arabi and many other things. He notes the similar ideas in these references and in the book. Refaky, who has been the friend of his father, is not that original writer. He has written the book to enjoys himself using his success as a writer to the children's stories. The irony in the title is intensified as the main ideas of the book are stolen and the writer was not that serious about his ideas.
The facts continue to be unfolded. Ossman goes back behind the sweets named New Life and again we are back to the theme of this opposition between the Turkish native values, manufactures and the Western ones on his meeting Thorya, the manufacturer of these sweets.
Pamuk, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006, does not propagate a clash between the Turkish Self and the American Other. He is objective in portraying the influence of the West and the reaction of the Turks. What lies behind the dogmatic rejection of American Other is a sincere call to pay attention to the Turkish identity and to take care of the past as Turks are proceeding to the future. I think this is the true New Life readers and audience have to seek.