Traces of Ecophobia in Faruk Duman’s Forest Depictions / Faruk Duman’ın Orman Tasvirlerinde Ekofobinin İzleri

Abstract

The term ecophobia, which was introduced by Simon, points out the fear from or hate of nature without any logical basis. Ecophobia is deeply cultivated in the Turkish culture, so it is easy to see its traces even in the works of writers who have a certain level of nature awareness. For instance, Faruk Duman, a contemporary Turkish writer, specifically mentions a fear of the forest in his works, which can be considered as an ecofiction. This situation creates a contradiction. Faruk Duman is one of the authors with an awareness for nature. Nature is definitely not a background in his novels; however, nature has its own personality and directs the fiction. Moreover, Duman builds his novels on the unity of nature and humans. The fear of nature can be seen quite clearly in his works, where the forest stands against the reader with all of its frightening characteristics. Fictional characters are filled with apprehension regarding the forest, for which they entered for some reason. In this study, complicated characteristics regarding the relationship between nature and human will be revealed, even in ecofiction.

Keywords

• ecophobia
• ecocriticism
• nature awareness
• ecofiction
• faruk duman