Education theme in the Tanzimat novel

Abstract

When Tanzimat period novel is analyzed, it is seen that, in the novels which have been written in order to educate people, main characters are identified with the public, therefore, the process of education of the main characters occurs as a reflection of real life. In Taaşşuk-i Talat ve Fitnat, Felatun Bey ile Rakım Efendi, İntibah, Cezmi, Araba Sevdası, Sergüzeşt, Zebra, novels that I have analyzed, the process of education of the main characters are transmitted to the readers by their authors in detail. At the same time, the novels that reflect the conception of ideal education of the Tanzimat authors which have been seen as the intellectuals of that process, emphasize the characters who adapt themselves to western civilization without losing their own culture. Tanzimat period is a process when great improvements have been achieved in terms of education. After the Tanzimat and Islahat Declarations, the first central organizational and constitutional movements were started, new arrangements were made with regards to education by adopting the education systems of the west, mostly the French. The reflections that was brought by the structuring of secondary education, the rapid increase of the numbers of Rüştiye Schools and the approval of the project by Otttoman Empire which was proposed by the French Government in 1867 to the education field are seen in the novels. Like the Ottoman Empire, Tanzimat authors aimed to give the best education to their characters. This study aims at characterizing the concept of education of Tanzimat authors by analyzing the process of education of the characters in the novels; to compare and contrast the education system of the period with the one given in the novel by Tanzimat novelists in order to reveal its effects on public and the individuals.