If a song begins

In a far away country The Sultan of the Elephants has oppressed all the animals in the forest, ruling with a tyrannical and ruthless rule. He particularly oppresses the ants, the smallest and weakest. Despite their numerous numbers, the ants live in fear and helplessness. Knowing that fear is the ultimate bondage that ensures obedience, the Sultan of the Elephants constantly cultivates fear. He then distorts their identities. Sent from birth to the Elephant Schools he founded, the ants gradually forget their own language, origins, and memories. They become alienated from themselves. In other words, not only their bodies but also their memories are taken over.

Then comes the division. The Sultan of the Elephants divides the ants among himself. He incites them against each other, inciting them to anger. He even attracts the lazy, unproductive yellow ants to his side by feeding them food and encouraging them to act as informants. The ants become afraid not only of the elephants but also of each other. Thinking is dangerous. The first step towards freedom is thinking. That's why books, magazines, and television come into play. The Sultan of the Elephants places trumpets throughout the country. Everywhere, the people are told that the elephants are superior and that their power cannot be defeated.

Thinking becomes dangerous. Because thinking is the first step toward freedom. That's why the Sultan of the Elephants fears books, words, and memory. He places trumpets throughout the land. Every day, these trumpets repeat the same thing: "Elephants are great. Elephants reign forever. Rebellion is meaningless." Hearing this sound, the people forget their own.

But one day...

A song is heard from a distant hill. The Red-Bearded Lame Ant breaks the long silence. At first, he's alone. He's mocked and threatened, but he doesn't give up. His voice, along with the song, touches the other ants. Everyone secretly remembers who he is. They begin to gather around the Red-Bearded Lame Ant.

The folk song initiated by Topal Ant is not just a melody, it's a remembrance. Remembering is resistance. As they remember themselves, their land, their childhood, and their solidarity, their hope, not their anger toward the elephants, grows. Because resistance doesn't always begin with anger, but with remembrance and love.

What happens next?

Fires burn in the mountains. Those fires become symbols of freedom. Led by the Red-Bearded Lame Ant, the ants organize, build solidarity, and overcome their fears. Finally, a revolution occurs. The elephants' dominance is shaken. The ants are reunited with both the land and themselves.

Yaşar Kemal's "The Sultan of the Elephants and the Red-Bearded Lame Ant ," first published in 1977, appears on the surface as a children's story but is actually an allegory with deep political and philosophical overtones. It appeals to both children and adults. While seemingly set in the animal kingdom, it primarily explores universal themes such as power, propaganda, memory, justice, and freedom.

Now it would be appropriate to ask this question: Is this work of Yaşar Kemal a dystopia?

From a Fairytale to Dystopia

Dystopia is typically a dark depiction of the future, where totalitarian regimes oppress individuals, freedoms are destroyed, and the individual is stripped of their identity by the system. These narratives, the opposite of utopia, depict worlds where the individual is erased in the name of order.

Yaşar Kemal's tale, while formally a fable, is clearly dystopian in its content. Why? Ants are forbidden from thinking. Thinking is a crime. This directly aligns with the concept of "thoughtcrime" in George Orwell's novel 1984. The process of educational assimilation, which began with elephant schools, erases the individual's self and replaces it with a desired identity. The rhetoric of "elephant superiority," propagated through trumpets, is the local equivalent of the "Big Brother is watching you" mentality in 1984. The yellow ants' selling out of their own people for profit is reminiscent of the informant neighbors in Fahrenheit 451 .

The Poetics of Resistance

And then, amidst all this darkness, a folk song rises... This is where this tale truly stands out among dystopian narratives, revealing its uniqueness and value. Because in Yaşar Kemal's tale, resistance begins not with anger, but with poetry . The Red-Bearded Lame Ant's rebellion, which begins with a folk song, is not merely a political uprising; it's a spiritual awakening.

Art is a bridge between freedom and hope.

Yaşar Kemal's tale holds a mirror not only to the past but also to the present and future. Classic dystopias often end in darkness; the individual is defeated, the system survives. But in this tale, hope prevails. Because Yaşar Kemal doesn't just describe darkness; he also shows a way out of it.

That's why "The Sultan of the Elephants and the Red-Bearded Lame Ant" is not just a dystopia, but also a narrative of hope. Resistance is possible, it says, beginning with a folk song and growing through solidarity.

Whenever a folk song begins, there is hope. And where there is hope, resistance is inevitable.