Turkey and Turkish literature shone brighter on the literary map with Orhan Pamuk, 2006 Nobel Laureate. Any literary piece penned in Turkey is the intermix of Ottoman, European, Islamic and Turkish culture. While we find themes of isolation, identity, political upheavals and such others; one of the most prominent subjects to be written about is the East-West dichotomy. The dichotomy challenges the biases and the perceived East-West difference rather than the geographical boundaries that separate the two worlds. This clash of civilizations has been an interesting piece of study at an international level often studied in conjunction with the concepts of hybridity and diaspora in literature.
Elif Shafak besides being a novelist is a political scientist and activist. The hyphenation of being Turkish-British in origin was a result of a trial she faced in 2006. Accused of insulting the essence of Turkishness in ‘The Bastard of Istanbul’ which dealt with the Armenian Genocide; it led to her emigration to the United Kingdom. Having a PhD in Political Science, her works are mostly set against the political turmoil that makes up the 21st century. Her insightful creation of cultural images cutting across these upsetting settings are remarkable in highlighting the dynamic nature of images. Cultural images are based on contexts, which are fluid in nature. It evolves with time as the power relation changes. Media and literary works play a key role in disseminating the stereotypes and cliches. Imagologists like Joep Leerssen and Manfred Beller believe that cultural images in literary pieces are the opposite of ephemeral and tend to linger longer. The reason is that literary works, even though, written in the previous century or before that are more often than not evoked to compare and contrast the literary present.
A parallel is drawn between the East and the West with Asya and Armanoush in The Bastard of Istanbul. Similarly, the backdrop of a small village in Euphrates is contrasted with the bustling London in Honor. Moreover, in The Daughters of Eve, Istanbul is loud while Oxford is serene. In the literary texts, images are fixed. Once the writer’s judgements are pronounced, and if the political climate is favourable to irrigate the seeds of stereotypes, the judgement prevails and is reinforced by a series of attacks in the form of assassination or bombings as seen in recent times. Shafak, through her novels, has challenged the Westerners' view of the Other and at best has appealed to stop regarding the two cultures as oil and water that fail to intermix. According to her, Muslim nations are not homogenous in nature. It is far from stagnant. To muzzle these discriminatory voices, one can at best learn from the Other.
Besides the role of literary pieces in shaping the thought, nation and cultural narration surrounding it too leave an indelible mark in the minds of the masses. Furthermore, the self is created against the backdrop of others. The writers, such as Shafak in creating awareness about the stereotypes intertwine the occident view of the Orient too.