Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
IX. Uluslararası Batı Kültürü ve Edebiyatı Araştırmaları Sempozyumu (BAKEA) , Konya, Türkiye, 15 - 17 Eylül 2025, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.191-192, (Özet Bildiri)
Abstract This study focuses on the characters of Mephistopheles in Dr. Faustus and Halit Ayarcı in The Time Regulation Institute through the lens of narrative manipulation, power theory and identity construction. The study refers to Foucault’s ideas on power and surveillance, Bakhtinian dialogism, as well as modernist critiques of societal systems, the analysis examines how each character embodies distinct models of influence. While the former is rooted in metaphysical temptation, the latter is in bureaucratic restructuring of identity. Mephistopheles represents the struggle with human ambition and theological determinism. He serves as a means for forbidden knowledge who entices Faustus into a deal that ultimately leads to his downfall. His manipulative power is grounded in the existential limits of human understanding, which can be reflected on Nietzschean ideas on the will to power and its inherent self-destruction. On the other hand, Halit Ayarcı operates within a modernist critique of institutional absurdity. Through bureaucratic discourse, he reshapes Hayri İrdal’s character and values. Ayarcı’s guidance can be said to reflect Foucault’s exploration of disciplinary power in which individual subjectivity is subtly reconfigured within external systems of control. By juxtaposing 191igurees, this research supports that both characters serve as mediators between illusion and reality. Mephistopheles acts as a mediator through seducing Dr. Faustus from a metaphysical point while Halit Ayarcı uses a pragmatic reorganization of social roles as his means. Even though the mentioned works’ publishing is centuries apart, the function of these two characters suggests a shift from the existential tragedy of Renaissance drama to the satirical critique of modernization and institutional control in 20th century literature. By focusing on these aspects, this analysis provides insight into changing formations of identity formation, manipulation and fate across various literary movements. Keywords: Foucault, narrative manipulation, power theory, Bakhtinian dialogism