Articles

The Problem of the Decline of National Characters in Azerbaijani Literature During the Period of Independence

ABSTRACT

National character is closely intertwined with ideology, and here nationality always acts as an aesthetic category. The tendency towards Europeanization and Westernization accelerates the distancing from national characteristics. External influences always try to make people forget the national identity that is inherent in them. However, the path to human civilization has passed through nationality in all historical periods. It is known that the national character of the Turkic peoples stems from a single pan-Turkic ideology, psychology and philosophy. National character is a spiritual quality arising from the psychology of the nation. The innovations and ideological changes brought by globalization succeeded in distancing this character from nationality. A model of a “global world person” was created in literary texts, which was far from national identity, national self-awareness and self-expression, and national characteristic features. In prose works written during the period of independence, characters who were far from national features, characteristics and national identity began to be described against the background of social and psychological problems. It is observed that these concepts of national character, national identity and national self-awareness are in decline in the works. One of the reasons for the decline of national character in Azerbaijani prose is associated with the military conflicts that occurred after the 1990s. Since this period, literature has increasingly depicted characters who have become victims of a world that has become globalized and alienated from nationalism, severing human and spiritual ties. These characters are also presented as images of a “Stage of New Searches”.

KEYWORDS

national character, alienation from nationality, spiritual bond, modern man, pan-Turkic ideology