metafor: öykü, şiir, yazı, galeri

The following article written by Çiğdem Ülker, a Turkish academic and literary critic illustrates the problems of ‘the other’ and ‘migration’ illustrated in by a Macedonian Turkish author, Suat Engüllü, in his short story:

Suat Engüllü, who joined among the Macedonian Turkish writers with his story book “Açıl Susam Açıl” (Open Sesame Open), was born in Skopje in 1950. He writes poems, stories, critics and essays. The past of his nation and the fate of Macedonian Turkish people are the themes in his field of interest. The writer, who immigrated to Turkey in 1989 and still lives in Istanbul, continues writing for magazines and newspapers in Skopje. The story titled “Open Sesame Open” who gave its name to the sole story book of Suat Engüllü occupies a special and distinguished posititon in Macedonian Turkish Literature both in style and context.

“Open Sesame Open” is a story in which a Macedonian Turkish story writer brings his own problem up indirectly, the reflection of being minority in his personality and reveals the problem pertaining to human beings plainly in his work.

Even the name of the story is to start to talk about a problem and is the answer to the question, at the same time.

“Açıl Susam Açıl” (Open Sesame Open) is a well known key word of a legend of eastern mythology. Here, the verb “opening” is in its dictionary meaning. Addressing to an abstract power, opening of the gate is asked. And the word “sesame” is a meaningless filling word in this rhyme. This story word which has became a cliché has changed form in Engüllü’s story and has been used as “susan” with a new meaning. The author says he did this change intentionally, and used the word “susan” knowing its various meanings such as he/she who can not speak, he/she who do not speak, he/she who is not allowed to speak (1). Even it is not told in the story, the reader now knows well who is “susan”.

“Susan” are the Turks living in Macedonia. They feel themselves as remained silent, forced to remain silent. The verb “open” here means “to talk”. As a result, the title of the book, “Open Sesame Open” is a sentence expressing a wish. This wish is a wish for a group of people who “remains silent” to “talk” now.

The hero of the story is Hayro. This name is not so strange for those who know Macedonia. Yakup Hayro is talented, productive and well known painter of Turkish origin. Although we do not know whether the person in the story is Hayro or not, the story aims to tell about the psychology of a fictitious hero named Hayro. In the identity of the hero of the story, the dilemma, questions and problems of a group of people is brought up. Hayro is a symbol of this group of people and the author tells much about Hayro and his psychological condition. Of these, what told about Hayro, that is what ascribed to Hayro, we think, are the feelings, thoughts and attitudes of a group of people. Remembering that the author is a member of Macedonian – Turkish minority, let us take a look at the sentences describing Hayro:

        It was not much apparent whether Hayro was asleep or not.
        Was it Hayro who was sleeping?
                                Was it Hayro who was made sleeping? (Engüllü 1987, 33-34).

The author finds the attitude of himself against his social situation and his level of consciousness insufficient. He makes us feel that he wishes Hayro is more resistant. Actually, the author describes his act of writing is also “ resisting” (1). The author says, the hero of the story, Hayro, is led by his feelings and this leads Hayro to a wrong way.

Hayro could think the way he should. Better to say, he could not differentiate thinking and feeling at all. He was finding himself in the ugly, demolishing sea of feelings when he wanted to think, which was very difficult to be rescued and was flocking around in his head before his thoughts.

I tell you. Not the thoughts but the feelings were driving Hayro’s actions. And when it is so, he was becoming wrong, and wrong forever.

Then, it was very difficult for him to realize many things. And the most important thing is that he can not realize what is necessary or not among what he has done. For instance, what was the use of returning to past, thinking about the past? Norhing, nothing, nothing. (Engüllü 1987: 37).

The pen of the author describes us a Hayro, who talks to himself always and is uneasy and worried in meaninglessness. The author who knows Hayro very well and about his identity, problems, depressions and psychological quality interrupts the story very frequently and recommend him some behaviour styles.

What you call pain is this for Hayro? This is nothing for him who has experienced the worst of the pains… What contracts spasmodically and demolishes him all around and becomes

more heavier was his inner pain. His inner pain. The pain created by not saying “stop” to the corruptions all around him, and the pain not to change and to tolerate what’s going on around.

And then, what about that indecision, that upsets many things… Each time he wants to do something, or tries to say something, that indecision was erecting like a barrier before him. Not for he is afraid, but he feels shy. (Engüllü 1987:24).

Suat Engüllü describes his hero as a lonely, shy, asociable, and an anxious person. He thinks everything “escapes from him”. Then we understand that, in fact, the real problem of Hayro comes from an inconsistency with the society he is living in and from not feeling himself as a member of that society. He pretends he is not aware of that, and hesitates between revolting or not.

He wanted to open his eyes part way. He was hesitating and was undecided again. He was a little scared. He was afraid to see how everything was escaping from him (Engüllü 1987:32).

In the other parts of the story, we read the thoughts of Hayro about an ant walking on his face. Feeling how “big” and “superiour” against this tiny ant, he feels uneasy, because he has felt many times how painful it has been to be humiliated, to be looked down on. And now he dismisses to appear “huge” even beside an ant. Feeling superiour or being superiour against the upsets Hayro. However, he realizes how the living and resisting instincts of the ant is powerful. This instinct is many times bigger than his relative bigness. And more powerful than his feeling superiour. Realizing this has been more important for someone who feels the same resistance and instinct.

Hayro was in a position to reluctantly feel superiour against a tiny creature on his temporal bones. This superiority, now seemed very unimportant, was making Hayro very uncomfortable.
If you want to know, it was the absence of that endless, conformable equality who ruined himself in that life who missed so much. Hayro was hating to be in that position of being superiour. It is simply because, as much as superiority increases, we can not end preventing freedom unless we stop any kind of superiority and provide equality (Engüllü 1987:43).

Hayro realizes another fact thinking about himself. This is his “escape” from the society, from himself and from his problem. Hayro wants to see every reason which prepares his escape with his two eyes, however, this is not easy. Even if he finds the reasons for his problem, it seems it is impossible to get rid of that. Reasons and results are mixed now. He falls deeper when he wants to discover the situation he is in. At this point, Suat Engüllü does something that we do not see the other authors do, and he names the problem, he uses the word “minority” for the first time in Macedonian Turkish story writing.

It was impossible to stop this escape which makes his being minority bigger, bigger, bigger (Engüllü 1987: 44).

This way, Suat Engüllü sees that at the base of the problem lies “being minority”, and defines Hayro’s problem as being a problem of human being, so he differentiates himself from the other storytellers.

Because, Hayro’s talking to himself, in fact, is to pour out minority’s problems and talking to himself. Hayro thinks it is necessary to have some personality characteristics he thinks he does not have. The characteristics are resisting, not bending, being cold – headed, not being afraid of and not being intimidated and having self assurance. The hero defines these feelings as follows in the story:

He should put his foot down. He should not bow his head, and he should know how to be cold – blooded. He should not think about the end, he should not fear and be intimidated and he should trust himself (Engüllü 1987:45).

Suat Engüllü’s story, “Açıl Susam Açıl” (=Open Sesame Open) reflects another facet of the problem which has been tried to be revealed in this study.

Suat Engüllü follows a different line other the other authors follow. The author, who is a member of the minority in Macedonia, puts his special position and his sensitivity resulted from that, and what he felt in his story. This sensitivity and reflection of what societal to human and vice versa, makes this story different than the others. The story is the artistic interpretation of a sensitivity that is real and has been lived.

The pain, distrustfulness and diffidence loaded on individuals have directly been told. This direct expression differentiates this story of Suat Engüllü from the others. The problem we hoped to reveal when we started this study is very clear in this story. The author tells the psychologic facts about living as minority in a country. He expresses what happens in a single man’s head. He also puts his determinations about his identity and the problems arising from these determinations, however, what has been told are the facet of the identity problems lived by a group of people that was reflected in a story.

The author, who belongs to a minority, puts his own live and tragedy on the main axis of the story and becomes succesfull to point out a humanity problem by a literature piece. The indirect behaviour in expression and the personality of the hero told in the story is a typical example of the problem we want to tell, that is an identity problem reflected in stories.

(1) An interwiev with Suat Engüllü, 12.2.1996
(Çiğdem Ülker translated into English by Aysu Erden)


	suat engüllü and resisting by writing : çiğdem ülker : 01052007
	The following article written by Çiğdem Ülker, a Turkish academic and literary critic illustrates the problems of ‘the other’ and ‘migration’ illustrated in by a Macedonian Turkish author, Suat Engüllü, in his short story: SUAT ENGÜLLÜ AND RESISTING BY WRITING Suat Engüllü, who joined among the Macedonian Turkish writers with his story book “Açıl Susam Açıl” (Open Sesame Open), was born in Skopje in 1950. He writes poems, stories, critics and essays. The past of his nation and the fate of Macedonian Turkish people are the themes in his field of interest. The writer, who immigrated to Turkey in 1989 and still lives in Istanbul, continues writing for magazines and newspapers in Skopje. The story titled “Open Sesame Open” who gave its name to the sole story book of Suat Engüllü occupies a special and distinguished posititon in Macedonian Turkish Literature both in style and context. “Open Sesame Open” is a story in which a Macedonian Turkish story writer brings his own problem up indirectly, the reflection of being minority in his personality and reveals the problem pertaining to human beings plainly in his work. Even the name of the story is to start to talk about a problem and is the answer to the question, at the same time. “Açıl Susam Açıl” (Open Sesame Open) is a well known key word of a legend of eastern mythology. Here, the verb “opening” is in its dictionary meaning. Addressing to an abstract power, opening of the gate is asked. And the word “sesame” is a meaningless filling word in this rhyme. This story word which has became a cliché has changed form in Engüllü’s story and has been used as “susan” with a new meaning. The author says he did this change intentionally, and used the word “susan” knowing its various meanings such as he/she who can not speak, he/she who do not speak, he/she who is not allowed to speak (1). Even it is not told in the story, the reader now knows well who is “susan”. “Susan” are the Turks living in Macedonia. They feel themselves as remained silent, forced to remain silent. The verb “open” here means “to talk”. As a result, the title of the book, “Open Sesame Open” is a sentence expressing a wish. This wish is a wish for a group of people who “remains silent” to “talk” now. The hero of the story is Hayro. This name is not so strange for those who know Macedonia. Yakup Hayro is talented, productive and well known painter of Turkish origin. Although we do not know whether the person in the story is Hayro or not, the story aims to tell about the psychology of a fictitious hero named Hayro. In the identity of the hero of the story, the dilemma, questions and problems of a group of people is brought up. Hayro is a symbol of this group of people and the author tells much about Hayro and his psychological condition. Of these, what told about Hayro, that is what ascribed to Hayro, we think, are the feelings, thoughts and attitudes of a group of people. Remembering that the author is a member of Macedonian – Turkish minority, let us take a look at the sentences describing Hayro: It was not much apparent whether Hayro was asleep or not. Was it Hayro who was sleeping? Was it Hayro who was made sleeping? (Engüllü 1987, 33-34). The author finds the attitude of himself against his social situation and his level of consciousness insufficient. He makes us feel that he wishes Hayro is more resistant. Actually, the author describes his act of writing is also “ resisting” (1). The author says, the hero of the story, Hayro, is led by his feelings and this leads Hayro to a wrong way. Hayro could think the way he should. Better to say, he could not differentiate thinking and feeling at all. He was finding himself in the ugly, demolishing sea of feelings when he wanted to think, which was very difficult to be rescued and was flocking around in his head before his thoughts. I tell you. Not the thoughts but the feelings were driving Hayro’s actions. And when it is so, he was becoming wrong, and wrong forever. Then, it was very difficult for him to realize many things. And the most important thing is that he can not realize what is necessary or not among what he has done. For instance, what was the use of returning to past, thinking about the past? Norhing, nothing, nothing. (Engüllü 1987: 37). The pen of the author describes us a Hayro, who talks to himself always and is uneasy and worried in meaninglessness. The author who knows Hayro very well and about his identity, problems, depressions and psychological quality interrupts the story very frequently and recommend him some behaviour styles. What you call pain is this for Hayro? This is nothing for him who has experienced the worst of the pains… What contracts spasmodically and demolishes him all around and becomes more heavier was his inner pain. His inner pain. The pain created by not saying “stop” to the corruptions all around him, and the pain not to change and to tolerate what’s going on around. (………..) And then, what about that indecision, that upsets many things… Each time he wants to do something, or tries to say something, that indecision was erecting like a barrier before him. Not for he is afraid, but he feels shy. (Engüllü 1987:24). Suat Engüllü describes his hero as a lonely, shy, asociable, and an anxious person. He thinks everything “escapes from him”. Then we understand that, in fact, the real problem of Hayro comes from an inconsistency with the society he is living in and from not feeling himself as a member of that society. He pretends he is not aware of that, and hesitates between revolting or not. He wanted to open his eyes part way. He was hesitating and was undecided again. He was a little scared. He was afraid to see how everything was escaping from him (Engüllü 1987:32). In the other parts of the story, we read the thoughts of Hayro about an ant walking on his face. Feeling how “big” and “superiour” against this tiny ant, he feels uneasy, because he has felt many times how painful it has been to be humiliated, to be looked down on. And now he dismisses to appear “huge” even beside an ant. Feeling superiour or being superiour against the upsets Hayro. However, he realizes how the living and resisting instincts of the ant is powerful. This instinct is many times bigger than his relative bigness. And more powerful than his feeling superiour. Realizing this has been more important for someone who feels the same resistance and instinct. Hayro was in a position to reluctantly feel superiour against a tiny creature on his temporal bones. This superiority, now seemed very unimportant, was making Hayro very uncomfortable. If you want to know, it was the absence of that endless, conformable equality who ruined himself in that life who missed so much. Hayro was hating to be in that position of being superiour. It is simply because, as much as superiority increases, we can not end preventing freedom unless we stop any kind of superiority and provide equality (Engüllü 1987:43). Hayro realizes another fact thinking about himself. This is his “escape” from the society, from himself and from his problem. Hayro wants to see every reason which prepares his escape with his two eyes, however, this is not easy. Even if he finds the reasons for his problem, it seems it is impossible to get rid of that. Reasons and results are mixed now. He falls deeper when he wants to discover the situation he is in. At this point, Suat Engüllü does something that we do not see the other authors do, and he names the problem, he uses the word “minority” for the first time in Macedonian Turkish story writing. It was impossible to stop this escape which makes his being minority bigger, bigger, bigger (Engüllü 1987: 44). This way, Suat Engüllü sees that at the base of the problem lies “being minority”, and defines Hayro’s problem as being a problem of human being, so he differentiates himself from the other storytellers. Because, Hayro’s talking to himself, in fact, is to pour out minority’s problems and talking to himself. Hayro thinks it is necessary to have some personality characteristics he thinks he does not have. The characteristics are resisting, not bending, being cold – headed, not being afraid of and not being intimidated and having self assurance. The hero defines these feelings as follows in the story: He should put his foot down. He should not bow his head, and he should know how to be cold – blooded. He should not think about the end, he should not fear and be intimidated and he should trust himself (Engüllü 1987:45). Suat Engüllü’s story, “Açıl Susam Açıl” (=Open Sesame Open) reflects another facet of the problem which has been tried to be revealed in this study. Suat Engüllü follows a different line other the other authors follow. The author, who is a member of the minority in Macedonia, puts his special position and his sensitivity resulted from that, and what he felt in his story. This sensitivity and reflection of what societal to human and vice versa, makes this story different than the others. The story is the artistic interpretation of a sensitivity that is real and has been lived. The pain, distrustfulness and diffidence loaded on individuals have directly been told. This direct expression differentiates this story of Suat Engüllü from the others. The problem we hoped to reveal when we started this study is very clear in this story. The author tells the psychologic facts about living as minority in a country. He expresses what happens in a single man’s head. He also puts his determinations about his identity and the problems arising from these determinations, however, what has been told are the facet of the identity problems lived by a group of people that was reflected in a story. The author, who belongs to a minority, puts his own live and tragedy on the main axis of the story and becomes succesfull to point out a humanity problem by a literature piece. The indirect behaviour in expression and the personality of the hero told in the story is a typical example of the problem we want to tell, that is an identity problem reflected in stories. (1) An interwiev with Suat Engüllü, 12.2.1996 (Çiğdem Ülker translated into English by Aysu Erden)