White Spot (Book)

Beyaz Leke is a literary work written by Aslı Arslan. The novel explores the individual’s inner conflicts, the impact of social memory on personal life, and the processes of forgetting and remembering. The concept of “white spot” symbolizes both gaps in personal memory and events suppressed or ignored at the societal level.

Subject and Themes

The themes of forgetting, remembering, trauma, identity, belonging, and memory are central to the work. The author interrogates the points of intersection between personal and collective history. The narrative examines the obstacles encountered in the individual’s search for identity and the destructive effects of repressed experiences.

Narrative Structure

The novel progresses through a fragmented narrative technique. Flashbacks, interior monologues, and multiple perspectives convey both the protagonist’s inner and outer worlds. This method allows the reader to perceive the connection between individual trauma and its social context.

Characters

• Protagonist (Name not specified / ambiguous): An individual confronting the “white spots” in their memory and undergoing a process of reckoning with the past. Identity questioning and memory gaps lie at the heart of the narrative.
• Mother: A carrier of events from the past. Her silence and tendency to suppress embody society’s inclination toward forgetting.
• Father: A figure whose authoritarian nature significantly shapes memory formation. He is portrayed as both an obstacle and a guiding force in the protagonist’s construction of identity.
• Peer Group: Illustrates the protagonist’s social relationships and connections to the external world. These characters render visible the protagonist’s isolation and inner conflict.
• Supporting Characters: Individuals who appear in various memories and help establish links to the past, aiming to deepen the psychological dimension of the narrative.