EDUCATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF HISTORICAL NOVELS

“IHTIYAR SAVAŞÇI” (THE OLD WARRIOR) BY CENGIZ DAĞCI AND “SULTANMURAD” BY CENGIZ AYTMATOV

Abstract

In its most general sense, a nation is a group of people who live on the same territory and share a common culture and history. In order for people living on a certain territory with defined borders to be called a nation, they must share the same historical memory and a common culture and frame of mind. Several elements that play an active role in the formation of nations are also elements that contribute to the formation of national identities. While personal identity reveals the characteristics of an individual, national identity or cultural identity emerges as a set of characteristics formed by a nation's perceptions, way of thinking, lifestyle, value judgments and rules. Literature is one of the most important cultural elements that establish a society. The artist is both influenced by society and he/she gives it direction. Cultural values are generally conveyed to future generations through novels with historical context; therefore, literary works make colossal contribution to the formation of national identity. In this context, it is seen that especialy novels with historical context serve an important didactic function and should be considered as a complementary element for history courses offered at schools. Novels with historical content tell the stories of people who lived in the past in a fluent style and in detail, through historical events, which is essential in terms of cultural transfer and history teaching. Students prefer learning from a succesfully written historical novel in a more vivid and comprehensive manner instead of learning from a textbook with a dry and insipid narrative. “İhtiyar Savaşçı” by Cengiz Dağcı and “Sultanmurad” by Cengiz Aytmatov, which constitute the subject of the study, are among the most important literary works of the Turkish world which display how negativey people are affected by wars. The works, which were examined using the document analysis technique in accordance with the qualitative approach, provided very important data, especially in terms of cultural transfer. In both novels, written in an extremely striking style, the authors conveyed the common cultural values ​​of the Turkish world to the readers, while at the same time underlining the painful events experienced in the Turkestan geography as a result of the brutal policies implemented by the Soviet Union during the Second World War, and pioneered the raising of awareness for some historical facts among the youth.