Lessons 51–52 · 2 lessons · B. To‘xliyev, B. Karimov, K. Usmonova. Literature: textbook-collection for Grade 11 of secondary schools and for students of secondary specialised and vocational institutions, Parts 1–2. 1st edition. “O‘zbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi” State Scientific Publishing House, Tashkent, 2018
51
Prose of the independence period
Textbook: Part 2, pp. 105–106
GoalKnow the features, themes and trends of Uzbek prose of the independence period.
New words
epic cycle (epopeya) · epopeyanovella (qissa) · qissadocumentary-journalistic work · hujjatli-publitsistik asarmulti-layered meaning · serqatlam ma’no
Explanation
According to the textbook, prose stands out for its scale and breadth of depictive possibilities; through novels and novellas one can imagine the social-historical life of a certain period, people’s way of life and feelings. In the independence years novels on historical and modern themes were written, along with novellas and stories that learned from world experience, and new trends and young writers appeared. Because creative freedom was restricted in the Soviet period, themes that had been left unsaid were now covered; writers such as Said Ahmad, Odil Yoqubov and Shukur Xolmirzayev wrote such works. Valuing human values, respecting national customs and artistically interpreting the lives of famous historical figures became leading; the Second World War, the Afghan war, human beings and nature, and revealing human nature through the images of animals were also covered. The textbook stresses that a good work should have multi-layered meaning and affect people of every age.
Worked examples
Example: a story about a horse can really be about human conduct – so a work written through animal images always has the human being as its aim.
Example: when a writer chooses a prose genre, a novel or epopeya suits broad events of life, while a short story suits a single episode.
Class activity
Make a table with columns “theme,” “explanation in the lesson text,” “a work or writer you know.” Include at least five themes.
Practice
1
What possibility of the novel and the novella does the textbook stress?
Through them one can imagine a period’s social-historical life and people’s experiences.
2
How did the restriction of creative freedom in the Soviet period affect the prose of the independence period?
Writers could now artistically interpret themes they had long kept inside.
3
What is the main purpose of works written through the language of animals, and why?
The aim is the human being: they show human virtues and faults.
4
What two qualities does the textbook require for a good literary work?
Multi-layered meaning with its own symbolic language, and the ability to affect people of every age.