UNFULFILLED GENDER RELATIONS IN THE SUN ALSO RISES AND THIS SIDE OF PARADISE - GÜNEŞ DE DOĞAR VE CENNETİN BU YANI ADLI ESERLERDEKİ TAMAMLANMAMIŞ CİNSİYET İLİŞKİLERİ

UNFULFILLED GENDER RELATIONS IN THE SUN ALSO RISES AND THIS SIDE OF PARADISE * Cengiz KARAGÖZ Abstract: Modernism influenced nearly every aspect of life in the first decades of the 20th century. One of the main issues which were formed by the modernist tendencies was gender relations and roles. Because modernism meant a kind of abandonment of the traditional beliefs and social values for many intellectuals, familiar male and female attitudes began to shift considerably to the new and unusual directions due to the changing conditions from the social, economical and psychological aspects. These radical changes which were also felt in the modern literary works caused such authors as Hemingway and Fitzgerald to reflect male characters as those possessing some feminine characteristics. This study aims to prove the idea that main characters, who are male, in The Sun Also Rises (1926) by Hemingway and This Side of Paradise (1921) by Fitzgerald, display the new and unfamiliar male characteristics which are generally believed to be reflected by the traditional female characters. While Jake in The Sun Also Rises (1926) has some problems in his love affair with Brett because of war wound on his male organ, Amory in This Side of Paradise (1921) cannot bring any desired happiness to his love relations which he lives with four girls at different times. In spite of their distinctive life experiences and problems, both characters basically draw attention to shaky and ambiguous masculinity in the modern period. Key Words: Masculinity, Gender Relations, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Modern Man, Unfamiliar Roles, Jake, Amory Güneş de Doğar ve Cennetin Bu Yanı Adlı Eserlerdeki Tamamlanmamış Cinsiyet İlişkileri Özet: Modernizm 20. yüzyılın ilk yıllarında neredeyse hayatın her açısını etkiledi. Modern eğilimler tarafından şekillenen temel meselelerden birisi de cinsiyet ilişkileri ve rolleriydi. Birçok entelektüel için modernizm bir bakıma geleneksel inançların ve sosyal değerlerin terk edilişi anlamına geldiği için erkek ve kadın davranışları sosyal, ekonomik ve psikolojik açılardan değişen koşullar nedeniyle önemli ölçüde yeni ve sıra dışı yönlere doğru değişmeye * Namık Kemal Üniversitesi, Yabancı Diller Yüsekokulu, Tekirdağ. -110- CÜ Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Aralık 2014, Cilt: 38, Sayı: 2, Cengiz KARAGÖZ başladı. Modern edebi eserlerde de hissedilen bu değişiklerin Hemingway ve Fitzgerald gibi yazarların, erkek karakterleri bazı kadınsı özelliklere sahip olan kişiler olarak yansıtmalarına sebep oldu. Bu çalışma Hemingway tarafından yazılan Güneş De Doğar (1926) ve Fitzgerald tarafından yazılan Cennetin Bu Yanı (1921) adlı eserlerdeki erkek olan ana karakterlerin genellikle geleneksel kadın karakterler tarafından yansıtıldığına inanılan yeni ve alışılmadık, erkeğe özgü özellikleri sergiledikleri fikrini kanıtlamaktır. Güneş De Doğar (1926) adlı eserde Jake, erkeklik organındaki savaş yarasından dolayı Brett ile olan gönül ilişkisinde bazı sorunlar yaşarken Cennetin Bu Yanı (1921) adlı eserdeki Amory farklı zamanlarda dört kadınla yaşadığı aşk ilişkilerine arzulanan mutluluğu getiremez. Farklı hayat tecrübeleri ve problemlerine rağmen, her iki karakter de esasen modern dönemdeki sarsıntıda olan ve muğlak erkekliğe dikkat çekmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Erkeklik, Cinsiyet İlişkileri, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Modern Erkek, Alışılmadık Roller, Jake, Amory Introduction Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the traditional male and female roles were commonly accepted and performed in accordance with their clearly drawn boundaries. Due to some reasons, these roles began to alter considerably for both genders, which prompted male and female figures to transcend the traditional behavior and ways of living both inside and outside home, hobbies, love affairs or perspectives. One of the reasons for these radical changes was the Great War in which men were heavily affected, and the other one was some women movements or protests against the existing conditions which they thought were only in favor of men. Women often had to live and behave within the roles determined by their husbands (Martin, 1987: 67). Few of them had an active part in the working life until the end of the nineteenth century. However, women gained the right to vote in 1920, and the scientific developments in birth control motivated them to have less and less children, which encouraged them to feel that they did not have to raise children and stay at home throughout their lives for they began to think that they deserved more freedom and better job positions (Gray, 2004: 340). From that time, some women rejected the dominant roles of men and also the social roles imposed on them by male figures. They wanted to enjoy freedom which they provided for themselves by trying to get rid of inferiority complex asserted by their male rivals. Even though greatly romanticized girls who were seen “dancing”, “drinking”, “smoking” plainly and having love affairs with men they wanted to be with outside were reflected in the Unfulfilled Gender Relations in The Sun Also Rises… -111- media in general, “the image of the short-skirted, shimmying, seductive, sleek femininity” heralded incomparable autonomy for the female figure in the modern age for the most part (Martin, 1987: 67-68). Men were regarded as the dominant types who were spending time outside home and as more superior to women. The income of home belonged to men who were the only responsible members of the family for work. However, men’s self-evidence and harsh masculine feelings showed the symptoms of decaying, whose reason can be attached to participating in the World War I, in which millions of men died poignantly even though they never knew fully for the sake of what they ventured to lose their lives (Moddelmog and Gizzo, 2013: 279). The war destructed their psychology so deeply that they recognized that the traditional heroic stance of men was nearly an illusion since a large number of dead soldiers underlined their dismal vulnerability during and after the war (Martin, 1987: 66). They became aware of the fact that they can be killed and wounded in the battlefield in spite of their masculine structure, so their sound male senses were losing their core and moving to some of the female characteristics. These outcomes left their harmful stains on the relationship between the same and other sexes, including family life and friendship. In the study, literature review method was used, and the two novels of both writers above mentioned were consulted as the main reference points. Also, other resources which refer to these writers and unfold these writers’ views and writings on gender issues were focused on. 1. General View on Fitzgerald and Hemingway Both Fitzgerald and Hemingway are among the most outstanding American writers of the 20th century whose literary works point out the modern man and his attitudes under the changing circumstances in the modern age. Hemingway wrote such w (...truncated)