ARTISTIC EXPLORATIONS IN 21ST-CENTURY KAZAKH PROSE: BASED ON KANAT ABYLKAIYR’S NOVELLA “ZHYNDY”

Abstract

This article examines the prose of Kanat Abilkaiyr, one of the prominent representatives of contemporary Kazakh prose, in close relation to the processes of renewal in Kazakh literature during the period of independence. It analyzes the use of socio-psychological analysis and fragmented narration in the structure of the text. The aim of the study is to identify the thematic and ideological orientations, narrative structure, psychological narration, chronotopic organization, and the functions of artistic detail and mystical elements in K. Abilkaiyr’s novella “Zhyndy” (“The Madman”), as well as to determine their connection with the artistic explorations of contemporary Kazakh prose. The study employs hermeneutic, narratological, discourse, and structural-semiotic methods of analysis, each substantiated through specific textual excerpts. The analysis revealed that in the novella “Zhyndy”, the motifs of fear, loneliness, uncertainty, and death shape not only the character’s psychological world but also the narrative structure and the spatial organization of the work. Narrative focalization foregrounds the character’s subjective perception, blurring the boundary between reality and illusion. These features are assessed as one of the manifestations of the anthropocentric, psychological, and poetic artistic quests characteristic of 21st-century Kazakh prose.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive elucidation of the interconnection between realistic, psychological, and mystical poetics in the novella “Zhyndy”, the fragmentary presentation of the character’s consciousness, and the semiotic load of artistic details. Narratological analysis made it possible to reveal the organization of the narrative focus and subjective perception; hermeneutic analysis, the underlying meaning of the character’s inner world and the problem of life and death; discursive analysis, the functions of dialogue and sound repetitions; and structural-semiotic analysis, the artistic significance of detail and spatial markers.

The study established that the themes of fear, loneliness, uncertainty, and death in the novella “Zhyndy” determine not only the character’s psychological world but also the narrative structure and spatial organization of the work. The realistic socio-psychological narration is intertwined with mystical elements such as the ghost, the Ghost-girl, and an unknown sound, which blurs the boundary in the text between reality and subjective illusion. These features are assessed as one of the manifestations of the anthropocentric and psychological artistic quests characteristic of 21st-century Kazakh prose.

The conclusions of the work can be used in specialized disciplines such as “Contemporary Kazakh Literature” and “Literary Theory”, in courses and seminars, as well as in literary analysis and scholarly research work.