Censorship by Social Pressure on “the Other” on the Loiterer
CENSORSHIP BY SOCIAL PRESSURE ON “THE OTHER” ON THE LOITERER
Gamze Önem
TR 111, Rhetoric and Composition for Translators
January 14, 2013
The Loiterer (Aylak Adam), Yusuf Atılgan (1959) is a literature book with its philosophical layers and socio-cultural aspects. The book praises especially the critical thinker and the one who is able to come over the social pressure. Rather, it criticizes “those who accept familiar tastes without questioning”. Its main character C., events taking place around him and Guy Montag with his adventures are quite alike. For the way Montag thinks and behaves is should be forbidden in his world, the similarities between the two would put The Loiterer among the forbidden books in the world of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1951).
What is the reason for this book to be banned in the future of Ray Bradbury’s? As the main concern of the censorship is “the dangerous knowledge”, the book must have this knowledge, which could lead people to be out of the mechanisms of social control of the time. The best way to show this is to describe the relations between two novels after giving a brief summary of The Loiterer.
In the novel The Loiterer, C. is a man who spends his time going to movies, reading books and visiting art galleries instead of working in a “regular job”. He is opposed to everything. Besides, he hates “the easiness of the habitual acts” and the routine. The book tells the story of the search of a true love, which is free of role-playing. It also shows his obsessions coming from his early memories by describing how his personal choices in life are affected by the childhood experiences.
C. cannot complete his socialization because of his father. He is not able to appropriate his father’s values, like authority and wealth, due to the moral conflicts, which can be explained by the Oedipus complex. This makes him isolated from the society and deprived of “being like others”. Although it can be
Gamze Önem
TR 111, Rhetoric and Composition for Translators
January 14, 2013
The Loiterer (Aylak Adam), Yusuf Atılgan (1959) is a literature book with its philosophical layers and socio-cultural aspects. The book praises especially the critical thinker and the one who is able to come over the social pressure. Rather, it criticizes “those who accept familiar tastes without questioning”. Its main character C., events taking place around him and Guy Montag with his adventures are quite alike. For the way Montag thinks and behaves is should be forbidden in his world, the similarities between the two would put The Loiterer among the forbidden books in the world of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1951).
What is the reason for this book to be banned in the future of Ray Bradbury’s? As the main concern of the censorship is “the dangerous knowledge”, the book must have this knowledge, which could lead people to be out of the mechanisms of social control of the time. The best way to show this is to describe the relations between two novels after giving a brief summary of The Loiterer.
In the novel The Loiterer, C. is a man who spends his time going to movies, reading books and visiting art galleries instead of working in a “regular job”. He is opposed to everything. Besides, he hates “the easiness of the habitual acts” and the routine. The book tells the story of the search of a true love, which is free of role-playing. It also shows his obsessions coming from his early memories by describing how his personal choices in life are affected by the childhood experiences.
C. cannot complete his socialization because of his father. He is not able to appropriate his father’s values, like authority and wealth, due to the moral conflicts, which can be explained by the Oedipus complex. This makes him isolated from the society and deprived of “being like others”. Although it can be
References: Atılgan, Yusuf. 2011. Aylak Adam. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları Bradbury, Ray. 2012. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks