The East-West Dichotomy in the Novel „My Name is Red“ by Orhan Pamuk

Abstract

The East-West paradigm has various connotations in Orhan Pamuk’s works. Pamuk deconstructs the East-West dichotomy in the novel My Name is Red. He declares: “In my novels I try to say: all generalizations about East and West are generalizations. Don’t believe them, don’t buy them”. Historical fiction like My Name is Read blurs the dichotomies of fantasy and historical records, and thereafter questions the nature and responsibility of fiction. This novel portrays a multilayered, multicentred narrative where historical events and artistical elements mingle. In this novel we can see narratives within narratives, labyrinths of signs and symbols.