ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
35
THE EXPERIENCE OF DIVINE MOTIFS IN UZBEK NATIONAL
NOVELS
Mukhtorova Umidakhon Tolib kizi
The teacher of Karshi State University, an independent researcher
muxtorovaumida06@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16886319
Abstract:
The use of myths exists in all eras, when the creator wants to
tell the truth about the political, social and economic life of his time, he usually
uses myths. This situation can be observed in the works of Alisher Navoi,
especially in the epic “Khamsa”. The fact that a genius thinker and statesman like
Navoi spoke about his era in the language of myths confirms the existence of a
conflict between the creator and the era.
Key words:
Myth, epic, divine motives, legend, perspective, nationalism,
synthesis, neo-myth.
In fact, the literature of the former Soviet era, as a result of political
patterns and religious restrictions, Uzbek literature was not watered with the
ideas of the Holy Kur'an and Hadith, and although it did not turn to divine
motives, it preserved the traditions of folk art to a certain extent. Along with the
famous myths of the Turkic peoples and the Uzbek population, myths of a new
content - narratives, i.e. neomyths - were created in Uzbek literature of this
period.
One of the great writers of Uzbek literature, Asqad Mukhtar’s novel "Plant"
is a clear example of our word. The five narrations on different topics in the
novel have their assigned tasks according to the idea of the work and the
writer's artistic goal. The writer symbolically incorporates the words that could
not be said or written during the former Sovet period into the layers of myths
and legends. In addition, myths do not record specific space and time, from this
point of view, it is a convenient way for a writer to use myths or create a
neomyth that fits his point of view.
Askad Mukhtar also feels the need for myths in his work, and when
appropriate, he points to his idea with neo-myths that reflect his artistic
purpose. Jabbar Eshankul expresses this opinion about myths. It should be noted
that in fiction, myths know no boundaries and do not talk about the past, on the
contrary, they refer to the present and speak about today through motifs and
symbolic images.
Askad Mukhtar's novel "Plant", which is told in a unique style
retrospectively, is written in a new form reminiscent of eastern literary
traditions. The novel talks about the ancient, recent past and present. That is,
ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
36
before giving the events of the lives of Grandmother's children and
grandchildren, Achil gives the narration and stories that symbolically represent
this event. Those introductory stories prepare the reader for future events, serve
to highlight the writer's artistic intention.
The stories that branched out in all directions like the branches of a maple
tree reflected the living reality. The stories with its deep roots are about the
recent past, and the narratives go back to ancient legends. The narratives, i.e.
neomyths, which increased the attractiveness of the work, were able to give a
deep hint of what the writer really wanted to say.
The first narration from the novel "Plant" is about a plantain planted by one
of the distant ancestors of Grandmother Achil in the year of the plague. On the
second Friday of the month, when the plantain should be lit, the villagers
witnessed that Grandfather Achil stood under the plantain until dawn. That
night, the tree does not burn and he says: "If I burn, the time will end." In the
story, the maple tree acquires a symbolic meaning and is reflected as a symbol of
eternity. The writer points to the immortality of Islam, the eternality of Allah in
hearts in the image of the plane tree, a symbol of eternity. The author, who
survived so many "floods" during the time of the conqueror Genghis, and
believed that the eternal history of the Islamic religion, culture, and nation will
one day be freed from the tyranny of the Shura period, and that the days of
healing will come, refers to these truths in the image of grandmother Ochil, in
the image of a maple tree.
Through this neo-myth-narrative created by Askad Mukhtar, he made his
way even in the dangerously brutal period and expressed his opposition to the
politics of the Shura era based on the mythological model. In the example of the
character of grandmother Ochil, the writer is embodied before our eyes as a
creator who was able to show who he is and whose side he is on, who was able
to stand firm in his beliefs, and who was able to preserve the light of faith in his
heart.These mythological analyzes require a new perspective on Askad
Mukhtar's analysis of "Plant". The writer concentrated his main idea not on the
development of events in the novel, but on the content of five narratives on
different topics.
Askad Mukhtar created the first and most beautiful example of prose works
based on the mythological model under the influence of Western literature,
which is considered a novelty in the modern literary process, in Uzbek literature
in the middle of the 20th century. Each socio-political era has a certain influence
on the development of literary art, ideological poetic scope, images and stylistic
ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
37
conditions. It causes its development and renewal. For example, the
development of former Shura literature, including Uzbek literature, freed from
the oppressive oppression of socialist realism and political patterns and reached
a new era in the days of independence, began to harmonize with the most
advanced principles of world literature. Such qualitative and formal changes are
manifested, first of all, in the work of creative artists of middle age. Such changes
can be seen, first of all, in the example of large-scale genre novels, and such
large-scale works tend to glorify the national spirit, national values, restore the
acquired national spiritual principles, and reflect the characteristics of its
acquisition of commonality with universal ideal qualities.
Literary scholar Damin Toraev and Zebo yakhshiyeva emphasized that
during the years of independence, Uzbek literature is changing and enriching in
terms of content and expression, methods and styles, philosophical and spiritual
analysis, and notes that a positive opposition between traditional prose and
modern prose has emerged. Uzbek prose writers created modern examples of
prose under the influence of writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Franz Kafka, Luis
Borges, Albert Camus, and James Joyce, influenced by the flow of symbolism and
surrealism in world literature 16.
Also, Hamidulla Karomatov, a confident and courageous scientist who
decided to deeply study the harmony of Uzbek literature and Holy Koran teaches
us in the early days of independence, notes with regret that Islamic ideas and
themes were neglected in the creation of classic and modern literary works in
our national literary studies of the 20th century. He believes that the reason for
this is not that our literary experts do not understand the principles and sources
of the development of literature, but in the socio-historical environment related
to the Sovet.
In modern national novels, directions such as the parallel depiction of
mythological plots with the unreal reality, the divine interpretation and the real
reality, which were forbidden in the previous era, have become clearly visible. In
particular, our skilled writer Khurshid Dostmuhammad, who made good use of
the plot of ancient Greek literature, embodied the motif of loneliness in his novel
"The Wise Sisyphus" in a combination of the principles of absurd and existential
philosophy, national identity, and the Uzbek worldview. Its main character, the
convict Sisyphus, sometimes experiences depression, sometimes social
alienation, sometimes elation, sometimes hopeful moments, but most of the time
he passes the divine punishment alone, alone. Considering this important aspect,
effective study and mastering of the literary-aesthetic style and approaches of
ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
38
the representatives of the existential and absurd direction allowed Khurshid
Dostmuhammad to convincingly express the leading ideas in the novel at a high
level, in accordance with the criteria of artistry.
Writers of the period of independence began to use completely new
methods to reflect nationality. Nationalism is now perceived not only in external
elements such as clothes, portraits, speech, but also in deep psychological
analysis, symbolic and hidden of the national spirit. For example. In the story
“Yak-40” by I.Sultan, Ibrahim is interested in airplanes after hearing about the
Yak-40 plane from his father. But the difficulties of life do not allow him to study
and work in the field of aviation, nor to go on a plane because of life's worries.
He will be a baker. One day, young men studying aviation come to the bakery.
They laugh at Ibrahim's simple words about the Yak-40 and talk about modern
aviation and modern aircraft. But... these young men came to order bread for the
wedding: "We are having a wedding," said one of them, smiling, showing his
open spade teeth. "We need two thousand loaves of bread." There is a very
important national scene in this episode, which does not attract the attention of
the reader or even the literary critic. The size of the wedding luxuries and
extravagance is reflected in the details of the wedding, which required two
thousand loaves of bread. So, Uzbek is mastering the field of aviation, it is going
side by side with world development, science and technology. But he was not
able to get rid of his "executioner" - luxury, dreams. The writer gives a very
subtle hint of one aspect of the national character.
Indeed, in the last twenty-thirty years in our literature, the artistic
synthesis of divine motifs and narratives, characterized by sharp changes in the
scenery of a certain period, people's daily life, and way of thinking, has risen to a
new level.
References:
1.Eshonqul J. Mif va badiiy tafakkur. – Toshkent: Fan, 2019. – 312 b.
2. Hamdamov U. Badiiy tafakkur tadriji. – Toshkent: Yangi asr avlodi, 2002. –
199 b.
3. Jo‘raqulov U. Nazariy poetika masalalari: Muallif. Janr. Xronotop. – Toshkent:
G‘afur G‘ulom nomidagi MMIU, 2015. – 353 b.
4. Karimov B. Adabiyotshunoslik metodologiyasi. – Toshkent: Muharrir, 2011. –
88 b.
5. Matyoqubova T. Poetik idrok va mahorat. – Toshkent: “Fan va texnologiya”,
2011. – 170 b
6. Мухтор А. Чинор. – Тошкент: “Ёшлар” нашриёт уйи, 2018. – 448 б.
7. Xon A. Chingiz Aytmatov va o‘zbek adabiyoti. – Buxoro: Buxoro, 2005.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
39
8. Shodmonov N. O‘zbek mumtoz adabiyoti tarixi. – Toshkent: Tafakkur, 2020. –
248 b.
9. Zola, Émile. The Experimental Novel and Other Essays. Translated by Belle M.
Sherman, Cassell Publishing, 1893.
10. Yakhshieva Zebo Rashidovna. Studies of the image Tamburlaine in the
Russian literature field. France. Scientific approach to the modern education
system. January. Part 32. P.9-12.
11. Yakhshieva Zebo Rashidovna. Scientific process of learning the personality of
Tamurlaine in Russian studies. Netherland. Intellectual education, technological
solutions and innovative digital tools. 2025. 3 January.
12. Yaxshiyeva Zebo Rashidovna. Ingliz va o’zbek temurshunosligi tadqiqi va
taraqqiyoti. Xorijiy tillarni o’qitishda innovatsion yondashuvlar, nazariyaning
amaliyotga tadbiqi. Toshkent. Respublika ilmiy-amaliy konferensiya. 2025.
Aprel.
13. Yakhshiyeva Zebo. "Aesthetic Experiments and Historical Reality in the Field
of the Tetralogy." JournalNX, 2020, pp. 251-258.
14. Rashidovna Y. Z. Studies of the image tamurlaine in the field of russian
oriental studies //scientific approach to the modern education system.
– 2025. – Т. 3. – №. 32. – С. 4-6.
15.Yaxshiyeva Z. "Historical reality and its artistic interpretation"
(2022): 2510-2513.
