Ragged Men on the Move: Poverty, Inertia and Friendship in Latife Tekin's Swords of Ice (1989/tr.2007)
Abstract
This article examines the relationship between two protagonists from Istanbul's impoverished outskirts in Latife Tekin's novel Swords of Ice. The study explores how friendship represents a transgression of class boundaries and socio-political norms, arguing that the well-tuned friendship between the characters is vital to escape the poverty that their neighborhood imposes.
Overview
This article offers a close reading of Latife Tekin’s Swords of Ice, focusing on the dynamics of friendship and poverty among two protagonists navigating Istanbul’s urban margins.
Key Arguments
- Friendship in the novel functions as a form of transgression against the rigid class structures of Istanbul’s impoverished outskirts.
- The protagonists’ bond provides an alternative to the inertia imposed by poverty, offering a path toward agency and mobility.
- Tekin’s narrative style captures the tension between structural immobility and the liberating potential of human connection.
Significance
The article contributes to scholarship on Turkish literature and urban poverty narratives, demonstrating how literary friendship can serve as a lens for examining socio-economic conditions and resistance.
Citation
@article{karabag2022ragged,
title={Ragged Men on the Move: Poverty, Inertia and Friendship in Latife Tekin's Swords of Ice (1989/tr.2007)},
author={Karabag, Ayse Irem},
journal={Pivot: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies and Thought},
volume={8},
number={1},
year={2022},
doi={10.25071/2369-7326.40330}
}