THE NOVEL Of THE LAND WHERE ONE CANNOT DIE
ÖLÜNEMEYEN YER’İN ROMANI

Author : Elif ERGÜN
Number of pages : 127-136

Abstract

The meaning of death is historically variability. In the past, naturally defined death is now completely different with the modern age. This change in the meaning of death can be observed in institutions. In modern times, attitude against death is much more violent. Death is situated somewhere cold, undesirable, and distant from ourselves. The death of someone else is described as romantic and mythical. When it comes to philosophy, death, for some, is the name of doing philosophy. In other words, philosophy reminds us of the question of how one is dead. We do not question our own death as much as the death of others, but it is also a question of the value of life. So death always has a public face. What would have been if the powers, the states, encountered with a situation in which no one died or no one could die? This paper is an attempt to answer the above-mentioned question through Saramago's novel, the "Death at Intervals”. Saramago fictionalized how future would be without death in the public place and in the world of emotion. In the public place all the churches, the state, the security, justice all the institutions functioning through the death of man go bankrupt and chaos occurs. In the world of emotion, death comes out with a completely different identity, and no one dies again. This time the reason is different. A description of this land where one cannot die will be about the value of life. Where there is no death, life has no value. Love win victory in the face of death. This also means the value of life.

Keywords

Death, Love, State, Church, security, Saramago

Read: 2,450

Download: 1,254