THE LOYAL HEROES OF LITERATURE: DOGS AND MUMU

Abstract

Dog heroes which are frequently seen in myths are among the significant characters of literature as well. Animal heroes in
literature, themes such as the relationship of humans and animals and the place of animals in humans’ life are subjects which
have been given place to in world literature for long. These subjects whose roots go back to ancient times and to the period in
which humans appeared on earth have been on a long historical journey. When we take a look at literary works in which dogs
are the main heroes, it can be seen that intense sentimentalism comes to the fore. With the help of these dog heroes, the reader
can go to the depths of human nature and gets an opportunity to feel emotions at a deeper level. Works in which the world of
humans is reflected through dogs are those which have left the greatest effect on the readers and have deeply influenced them. In Russian literature, the main hero of numerous important works is dogs. However, the fate of these dog heroes is much more
tragic compared to humans. Dog heroes who are given place to in literary works to depict the spiritual world of heroes at times
become the main tools through which writers deal with social issues as well. Ivan Turgenev’s long story Mumu takes its name
from the dog hero which is a deaf and mute serf. In his work Mumu, Turgenev reflects both of the aforementioned analyses.
While Mumu is a detailed panorama of Turgenev’s artistic life, it is a work in which he bluntly presents his reaction against
serfdom. Dogs which in general come to the fore in literary works with their tragic stories stand out as the writer’s message to
the society. Turgenev, who has always preserved his love for his home country in his heart although he has spent a majority of
his life abroad, internalizes his faith in Russian society through a tragic story he narrates in Mumu. The writer, who attempts to
wake up Russian readers who have as much a tragic story as the dog Mumu by creating a character out of dogs which are the
most faithful heroes of literature, aims at creating a sense of objection to the social life of the time which was devoid of justice
and human rights. The purpose of the study is to present the historical scene which Turgenev cracks open through an ordinary
dog hero and the tragedy of the system of field slavery from the eyes of the writer.