In a society enveloped by a type of melancholy found only in Turkey, there is no feeling more pervasive than alienation. Like a low flying cloud, hüzun hovers over Turkey and fills even the Republic's brightest hopes with a certain sadness. Caused primarily by an identity crisis, alienation detaches a large part of the Turkish population from political and social processes. Although Turkey was once part of a great empire that spanned much of Europe and Asia, it is now a dwarf of itself. It was once home to a great Islamic civilization whose culture flourished and spread to the ends of the earth, but today it is an officially secular society, devoid of religious inspiration. Although these changes happened many years ago, most Turks have not yet recovered from them. Just as the prisoner is separated from society, many modern Turks are separated from the very essence of historical and cultural Turkish identity. As the voice of the people, art and literature can give us insight into the Turkish spirit. They can help us understand the particularities of Turkishness and the effects of alienation on Turkish identity. According to Marxist philosopher Alan Wood, alienation “consists of being forced to lead a life in which [one's] nature has no possibility of being fulfilled or actualized” (Wood 22). In his “Autobiography,” Turkish poet Nazιm Hikmet laments the lost opportunities in his life: “After the age of twenty-one, I stopped going to the places where most people go: / Mosque, church, worship, synagogue, sanctuary” (Hikmet 325). ). Like many Turks of his time, Hikmet could not fully embrace his Turkish identity. His own actions, ranging from denouncing injustice to inciting rebellion, gave Turkish officials a reason to imprison him middle of paper...... all Turks have the same regard for the Turkey than Orhan Pamuk for Istanbul: “For me, it has always been a city of ruins and end-of-empire melancholy” (Pamuk 6). Works Cited Bilefsky, Dan and James Kanter. “The Turkish candidacy for membership in Europe is stuck on Cyprus and on rights, officials warn. » New York Times November 8, 2006. Hikmet, Nazιm, “Autobiography”. An anthology of Turkish literature. Ed. Kemal Silay. Bloomington, IN: Cem Publishing. 2006. 325-6. Kinzer, Stephen. Crescent and star: Turkey between two worlds. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. 2001. Pamuk, Orhan. Istanbul: memories and city. New York: Vintage Books. 2006.Silay, Kemal, “Nazιm Hikmet Ran”. An anthology of Turkish literature. Ed. Kemal Silay. Bloomington, IN: Cem Publishing. 2006. 325-6. Wood, Allen, “Alienation.” The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1995.