Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey

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Dare to Disappoint is an autobiographical comic by the Turkish artist Özge Samanci . Samanci tells of the experiences she had as a child and as a young adult during the 1980s and 1990s in the politically unstable Turkey, which was shaped by the tension between Western values ​​and Muslim fundamentalism. In this setting Samanci wages her own conflict, on the one hand to realize her artistic ambitions and still meet the expectations of her parents, who want their daughter to become an engineer.

Dare to Disappoint was published on November 17, 2015 by the American publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the American language and has a length of 200 pages. Dare to Disappoint is Samanci's first graphic novel and can also be characterized as a coming-of-age story, as Samanci's experiences as a child and adolescent are told in anecdotal fashion.

In the comic, Samanci does not work with panels that are separate from one another , but lets the images flow into one another without neglecting the direction of the reader's gaze. She tells the story mainly through drawn pictures, but also uses photos from collages that she makes from various materials. She is also inventive when it comes to the economical coloring of her comics and uses mustard or coffee in addition to classic colors such as watercolors.

content

Dare to Disappoint tells the story of the little Özge who dreams of becoming a diver . However, her parents want her and her sister to become engineers. In Turkey at the time, however, there are conflicts between representatives of secularization and fundamentalists. Özge tries to find a way for himself in this world that not only satisfies society and its parents, but also makes them happy. The book is divided into 15 chapters, which anecdotally describe different episodes from Özge's life.

1. The Other Side

The story begins when Özge is six years old. Her sister Pelin is already going to school and Özge wants nothing more than to follow her there. Often her mother sends her to the nearby grocery store to get some little things, but one day Özge decides to just walk to her sister's class instead of going shopping for her mother. Pelin's class teacher, who is very fond of children, does not send Özge away, but begins to tell fairy tales. And while she shouts spellbound, her mother begins to worry and goes in search of her daughter. She finally finds Özge, spellbound, listening on the school desk next to her sister.

2. First-Grade Teacher (teacher of the first grade / the first class teacher)

Ultimately, the overjoyed Özge started school herself and immediately fell in love with her first class teacher Hediye Harikatepe and the new school uniform. Özge is fascinated by the fact that the mother of a classmate is an artist, but he can't figure out who it is, and when she gives the adored teacher a kiss, the tiny veins on her cheek are shocked. But nothing can tarnish her reputation and Özge soon wants the fine blue lines on her face.

3. Ataturk

At school, Özge learns the history of Ataturk . Under his leadership, the Turkish Liberation War (1919–1923) was waged against the Greeks, Italians, French, English and Armenians, and then the Turkish Republic was founded. Ataturk introduced Western clothing, the Latin alphabet, and surnames. Every Turk had to come up with a surname or was given one by the government. But the name Ataturk (in German: father of the Turks) was reserved for him alone, not even his wife was allowed to take his name. Özge suddenly understands why his picture can be seen everywhere - on public buildings, in the teachers' room, on the first page of school books, on money, on TV, in the family dining room, etc. Ataturk's military career is also reflected in Özge's school education low. The children learn to march, stand at attention, sing the national anthem and say the student oath. But when Uncle Özges Nihat criticism of the "father of the Turks" expresses that to this day people cult-like devotion learns she can not believe him at first.

4. To die for

In this chapter Özge learns a lot about the Cyprus conflict of 1974, her mother tells her about the prevailing darkening obligation to protect against air raids, a play is regularly performed in the school that deals with the expulsion of the Greeks from Izmir by Ataturk. It is about the Turkish woman Fatma, who prevents an attack on a bridge that Turkish soldiers are supposed to cross by pouring the explosives into the sea, but she is caught and executed. Özge is fascinated by this story and she admires Ataturk. When a boy asks her if she would die for the head of state if he was still alive, she feels terrible because she doesn't want to give her life for him, but Pelin can calm her down by giving her a ruler with a Ataturk stencil is fitted.

5. Pink ruler

Özge tells of the time of the late 1970s, during which there was a civil war between conservatives and socialists, which was ended by General Kenan Evren in a military coup in 1980 . New restrictions were introduced, you weren't allowed to be on the street after 11 p.m., there was only one TV channel, all kinds of opposition were suppressed, books were banned. The police searched various people's homes without legal authorization and if they found anything suspicious, the residents were arrested and tortured and some were even executed. The youngest person killed in these raids was 17-year-old Erdal Eren . During the 1982 election for the constitutional amendment that would have allowed General Evren to become president, rumors arose that the envelopes were slightly translucent to reveal what voters had voted for. When Özge was watching a soccer game with her parents one evening, two members of the opposition suddenly held up a banner asking them to vote against the constitutional amendment. Immediately the image of an antique vase is faded in, which was always used to disguise things that the government wanted to hide. Özge tells the class about this event and Hediye Harikatepe then hits every child's hand with Özge's pink ruler without further explanation.

6.Single Channel (The only channel)

During the early 1980s, the Turkish government banned the import of foreign goods in order to strengthen its own economy. As a result, there was little choice. While Özge and her sister are sitting at the breakfast table, there is a knock on the door, there is a man selling smuggled groceries and Özge's parents buy a box of cereal for their children. Foreign programs were broadcast on the only Turkish television channel that existed and since there were few programs for children, everyone watched the same thing. The children saw Popeye and the adults saw Dallas . Dallas in particular was so popular that Özge and Pelin learn to play the theme song on the mandolin in their music class.

7. Istanbul

Özge is in love with her uncle Nihat, who lives in Istanbul and tells fascinating stories about the city when he is visiting. Even though Özge's father, who is very correct, is the opposite of the young man, he still feels a connection with him, since they were both orphans at a very young age. One day Özge's mother has to go to Istanbul for further training and her two daughters and their father come a little later to visit her. There she goes shopping with her father to get the diving mask she asked for from him, and finally the two of them fish together. Özge has fallen in love with the city and dreams of living there himself one day.

8. Zero

In 1987 the Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal reintroduced the free market economy, which made some people very rich and others very poor. In Özge's family, too, financial resources are becoming scarcer, as state employees earn little money. While other children can afford to wear foreign-branded clothing and hang imported posters of American stars, Özge and Pelin wear self-sewn clothing. Özge is overjoyed when her mother gives her a glossy picture of Captain Cousteau from an imported tailor's magazine . So that Özge and Pelin have a secure income, their father wants them to become engineers. Pelin takes this wish very seriously and from then on begins to study very diligently.

9. Approval

Since Özge's parents cannot afford a private school, she and Pelin have to attend a public school. However, in order for them to attend a prestigious university and develop a career, they must qualify for a better college. To do this, the two weekend courses have to be attended to improve their performance. But since these courses are fee-based, this means a great financial burden for the parents. While Pelin is very successful and even gets a scholarship, Özge has a harder time. After all, Pelin is accepted at one of the best scientific universities and only comes home on weekends. Özge, who is not so successful, takes her sister as a role model.

10. Broken Radio

Özge, who is now 14 years old, does not manage to be as successful as her sister and is not accepted at the same school. When she got a big role in a school play, she dreams of becoming an actress, but everyone she tells about this plan advises her to learn something “right” first and to keep acting as a hobby. Özge is accepted at a less prestigious university in Istanbul. Although her dream of moving to Istanbul is coming true, Özge is not happy. There are a few girls at the school who come from non-practicing Muslim families and a large number of boys who are conservative and very religious. They condemn women who pursue careers in science. During Ramadan , she wakes up between three and four every night to a drummer who wakes the fasters to breakfast because they have to eat before the day starts. Özge's roommate Merve is also a believer, and because she is not allowed to wear a headscarf at school, she pulls the hood of her sweater over her head. The strict division of Muslims into practitioners and non-practitioners reminds Özge of their broken radio, which is either very quiet or very loud. There is no middle for either.

11. Hunting Ground (hunting ground)

Özge sees the teachers as responsible for the polarization of the students, since they proclaim fundamentalist-conservative ideas. The school principal denies evolution and the religion teacher advises women not to cross their legs or paint their nails because it is unhealthy. Ali the tutor refuses to give the girls answers to their questions. But there are also teachers who Özge likes. She tries to persuade one of them to organize a theater project with them, but he has no time and so a colleague takes over this project. It is one of those who doesn't like Özge at all, and of course he's looking for a terribly conservative piece that Özge cannot identify with at all. When she is supposed to recruit among the students, she warns in advance that the whole project will be boring and is therefore suspended for a few days. After this event, Özge received more and more disciplinary sentences until her parents offer her to return home and graduate from a normal college. After some thought, Özge decides to accept her parents' offer.

12. Potato (potato)

During her last year of school, Özge visited Pelin, who is now studying at the Bosporus University in Istanbul. She discovers a world that she has never seen before. Students lie on the grass, smooching or making music, and Özge absolutely wants to attend this university. So Özge applies for every possible subject at the university and is eventually accepted for mathematics. But her father is strictly against it because he doesn't want her to be a teacher like her parents and to earn little. But Özge is overjoyed that she is at the same university as her sister and two of her friends from the college that she left. One day she learns that Mr. Atif, her gym teacher from the college, has been accused of being a terrorist. He and his wife were shot dead in front of their three-year-old child. After the Turkish war of liberation, there were repeated armed conflicts between Turks and Kurds , the latter demanding more rights, but there were different opinions about what these should look like. Students campaigned for the Kurds and their rights, which is why pro-Kurdish posters and stickers were often placed on the walls of the university, which the police removed again. When Özge is sitting in the cafeteria with her friends, a policeman stops in front of a Kumpir poster and, not knowing that it is just a baked potato, tears the poster off. Özge and her friends laugh and the policeman immediately demands their passports. Had they been from eastern cities, from where there are more Kurds, he could have arrested them.

13. Sun behind the clouds

After Özge made fun of a friend's heavy eye make-up by claiming someone had given her a black eye, she was involved in a bus accident the next day and then had one herself. Now everyone else believes she was involved in a brawl. In addition, she also failed all of her math exams. Two days after she finally got rid of her black eye, she is ambushed in the park. Two men try to stun and rape her with chloroform, but someone approaches and they escape. Özge begins to scream and one of the attackers silences her with a blow to the eye. Through the attack, Özge suddenly became aware of the transience of her life.

14. In between

Suddenly aware of the shortness of her life, Özge begins to think about the meaning of her mathematics studies. Actually, she would rather study acting. But because she doesn't want to disappoint her parents, she decides to do both at once. In order not to be too worried about her parents, she also gives tutoring lessons. Torn between their two lives, Özge no longer has any free time and fails in both courses while her friends graduate. Özge gave up acting and two years later, with the help of her friends, was able to finish studying mathematics.

15. Beginning

After graduating, Özge looked back on her life and had to admit that she couldn't be happy as a mathematician. After careful consideration, she finally takes the risk of disappointing her father and decides to pursue a career as an illustrator.

characters

The following important characters are part of the comic: Özge

Özge is the protagonist of the graphic novel. She tells of her life between the ages of 6 and 24. While her father would like his daughter to become an engineer, Özge actually has completely different ideas for her future: Actress, scuba diver and she also enjoys drawing. But she doesn't want to disappoint her father and first adapts to his wishes. But in trying to please him, she repeatedly reaches her limits and cannot build on the success of her sister Pelin. After years of listening to the advice and demands of others, she finally begins to pay attention to her own needs and decides to become a draftsman.

Pelin

Pelin is Özge's sister, she is very hardworking and ambitious. In contrast to Özges, she manages to follow the path drawn by her father. She attends a renowned university and studies computer science, although she has little interest in computers. After graduation, she starts working in a bank but is not particularly happy with her job.

Özge's father

Özge's father grew up in an orphanage and has therefore experienced little affection from adults. It is very strict and makes great demands on its daughters. Since he doesn't earn well as a teacher, he wishes for a better life for her. Despite his harshness, he loves his children and supports them as best he can

Uncle Nihat

Uncle Nihat is Özge's role model. He lives in Istanbul and leads a very unconventional life. When he visits his sister in Izmir, he brings little more than a few books and a bathing suit. He has holes in his socks and is a brilliant storyteller. He tells about how he lives with his friends in a shabby basement apartment and how they stole a tree trunk from a tree spot one day to heat it with him, but when they try to push the trunk through a window into the room, this one is too long for the room so they just slide one end into the oven and wait for the log to get shorter. Although Uncle Nihat leads exactly the opposite of the well-organized life that Özge's father could wish for for her, he can still warm up to his sister's younger brother, since he too lost his parents at an early age.

Press review

"A bright, perceptive bildungsroman with a distinctive setting." The Kirkus Review, October 6, 2015

“The enterprising Saranci [sic!] Even draws a tiny recurring character, a scraggly, childishly drawn bird, into the scene at odd angles to add humor or clarify a fact here and there - a reminder that among her talents is knowing how to make even a harsh story take flight. " New York Times, Maria Russo, December 9, 2015.

2It's remarkably energetic on the page, and combined with Samanci's appealing, reflective voice, offers a perfectly satisfying memoir reading experience: not just the story of someone's life, but the chance to see the world through someone else's eyes. " The Slate, Dan Kois, January 8, 2016

"In the growing body of graphic novel memoirs, this one is a standout." School Library Journal, Maggi Rohde, February 2016

"The shelf may be short, but Dare to Disappoint - a beautifully told tale of a girl struggling against a society stacked against her, only to find her life's work in the last place she thought to look - takes its place among the best graphic depictions of coming-of-age in the Muslim world. ”The National, David Lepeska, February 29, 2016

"The journey she chronicles here - a personal history told through spectacular graphics impossible not to giggle, sniffle, guffaw over (find that snarky bird!) - is poignant and funny, bittersweet and illuminating, entertaining and inspiring. In daring to disappoint, Samanci disappoints none here. "Smithsonian APA / Book Dragon, Terry Hong, February 19, 2016,

Public book presentations

The book was presented as an international premiere in the presence of the writer at the children's and youth program at the 16th Berlin International Literature Festival in September 2016.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://us.macmillan.com/daretodisappoint/ozgesamanci  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / us.macmillan.com  
  2. ↑ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ozge-samanci/dare-to-disappoint/
  3. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/books/review/dare-to-disappoint-by-ozge-samanci-review.html?_r=0
  4. ↑ http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2016/01/ozge_samanci_s_cartoon_memoir_dare_to_disappoint_reviewed.html
  5. ↑ http://www.slj.com/2016/02/reviews/books/dare-to-disappoint-growing-up-in-turkey-by-ozge-samanci-slj-review/
  6. ↑ http://www.thenational.ae/arts-life/the-review/book-review-dare-to-disappoint-a-bold-tale-about-coming-of-age-in-turkey
  7. ↑ http://smithsonianapa.org/bookdragon/dare-to-disappoint-growing-up-in-turkey-by-ozge-samanci/
  8. ↑ http://www.literaturfestival.com/kjl