SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND LITERATURE: THE REFLECTION OF THE YOUNG TURK ERA (1908-1918) IN THE LITERARY WORK OF OMER SEYFEDDIN (1884-1920) I. Introduction Modern social literature of the Middle East, namely the short story, the novel, poetry, and, lately, the drama, is a rather faithful mirror of social and political transformations occurring in the society at large. Unlike other modes of intellectual expression, literature pre- sents an internalized, psychological, and individualized interpretation of change and its effects. It appears, first, as a qualitative critique of transformation. Sccond, while remaining involved in the realm of values, it strives to justify the need for additional transformation. In some cases, it may well oppose and criticize certain moral and intel- lectual aspects of change. The writer’s personality and background often determine his views regarding the process of social change. The family is the basic insti- tution in which the writer’s early values are formed. In fact, it is the mother who may have the overwhelming formative impact upon the writer’s personality and his basic viewpoint toward change. Consequently, some knowledge about the mother’s background, expe- rience, and personality would be valuable in understanding the Middle Eastern writer. (We are not referring here to the mother’s natural impact upon the child’s personality, but to a series of special femi- nine qualities which might determine the writer’s formation as an artist. Emotion, lyricism, tenderness, perception, empathy—that is, some of the basic qualities of an artist—may be attributed to the mother; whereas the model for courage, manliness, family responsi- bility, social position, etc., is provided by the father.) We may divide (arbitrarily, merely for the sake of clarity) the sys- tem of values in a traditional society into two categories: personal and societal. Thus, one may say that the impact of the mother’s personality and values is evident in an individual’s intimate personal life, while fatherly values are dominant at a more general and imper- sonal societal level.