Abstract
The Need for Abnormal Characters in Socio-Cultural Context: Abnormal Characters in Oral Narratives
Human beings, who are in search of fiction, fantasy, distinctness, and originality in almost every moment of life, have a nature/attitude of rejecting monotony, ordinariness, and banality. It is observed that this attitude toward objects by human beings is also true for normal, ordinary, and ideal ordinary characters. In this regard, especially almost all oral narratives are mostly designed, produced, and presented over anomalous characters, who do not demonstrate noble behaviors. Superficial and thorough patterns seeming as if defective, objects and characters interpreted as incompatible are in fact original images, which make life meaningful, make contrasts explicit, and significantly contribute to cultural memory. The seven wonders, which have been imprinted on the memory of the modern world and whose copies were built in today’s plazas, hotels, churches, and palaces, have actually been the concrete expressions of extraordinary imagination and designs of human beings, who have not able to desist from wondrousness. It is observed that the similar circumstances are created with a great pleasure and aspiration in plays, toys, entertainment organizations, design of dress and places, cultural/economic products, advertisements, and in general of oral narratives. Köroğlu, Deli Dumrul, Tepegöz, Nasreddin Hodja, Keloğlan, Robin Hood, Sfenks, Rapunzel, Hulk, Batman, Spiderman and Superman are the major actors of the designs including much extraordinariness. This study draws in this context attention on outstanding abnormities in sociocultural context. Specifically, the study investigates abnormal characters, who are fictional views of extraordinary designs in oral narratives, and their functions. As a result, the significance of the role played by abnormal design and characters in the continuously rebuilt world scene and their essential function are revealed.
Keywords
Character, context, abnormal, incompatible, anomalous.