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INTERPRETATION OF COMIC FANTASY IN THE WORKS OF TOHIR MALIK
Khamdamova Shamshoda Saidakhmad kizi
Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature
Basic doctoral student of the university
Abstract:
This article discusses the poetic interpretation of Tohir Malik's comic-fantastic works.
In the author's book "Reverse Eyes," fantastic aspects, fantastic heroes and place names, as well
as the vices of our society and some individuals are revealed under the guise of fantasy,
sometimes in the form of bitter satire, sometimes in the form of light humor. The author's
fantasy is satirically illuminated in the stories "May the Doctor Be Well," "Catch the Thief,"
"Father and Son," "Take the Money, Welcome," "Iron Man," and "Reverse Eyes," which take
place with the characters of the planet Yokkulabad. Satirical names such as Betqul, Tilqul,
Bevoshqul ota, G'o'rqul, and Voyqul were chosen for the characters of each story. Place names
such as Borkant, Teskariobod, Toshbaqaobod, and Kengqosh also served this style. Although
the events on the planet Yokkulabad are fictional, life is depicted in the same way as on planet
Earth, while on the planets Inverse Eyes and Z everything is interpreted as a reflection of Earth.
In his works of a satirical-fantastic nature, we observe that the writer was able to widely and
appropriately use examples of folklore: mainly exaggeration, as well as proverbs, anecdotes,
and fairy tales. He created his fantasy stories "Golden Rat" and "Golden Fish" based on fairy
tale plots.
Keywords:
Yo'qqulobod, Planet Z, anecdote, idiom, satirical fiction, humorous fiction, fairy
tale, boast, irony.
Introduction
. In Uzbek literature, the science fiction genre is associated with the name of
Tahir Malik. Erkin Malik writes about this:
"Fantasy is a new direction in Uzbek literature, and no writer has yet explored this topic. This
path was pioneered by a young man, Tahir... What am I trying to say? It turns out that a truly
creative person doesn't get bogged down in trivial matters. Intending great deeds, he 'mounts a
camel and looks far ahead' [4; 2]. Indeed, it was his fantastical works that established Tohir
Malik as Tohir Malik. S. Rasulova Tohir Malik was the first writer in Uzbek literature who
practically demonstrated that elements of adventure are an integral part of artistry [9; 26].
Academician Aziz Kayumov praised him, saying, "Tahir Malik is the Tolstoy of our time" [10;
36]. A writer's creative evolution can be studied in three stages. In the initial period, he focused
on fantasy; in the second stage, the detective genre; and in the third stage, that is, in the final
years of his career, he created works of a religious and educational nature.
II. Analysis of literature
. Although the author's main works in the fantastic genre were
created during the first period of his creative career, elements of fantasy are also found in
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"Shaytanat" and "Charxpalak," detective elements in the stories "Hunt" and "Death of Hikmat
Afandi," and didactic and religious-educational features in the stories "Falak," "Hunt," and
"Devona." In the final years of his life, he returned to science fiction, writing in a rare field in
our literature - comic fiction. In his book "Reverse Eyes," he satirizes the vices in our society
and in some individuals under the guise of fantasy, sometimes in the form of bitter satire,
sometimes in the form of light humor.
Erkin Vohidov created the series "Donishqishloq Anecdotes" in verse, while Tohir Malik
created the series "Yo'qqulobod Anecdotes" in prose. Yo'qqulobod is the name of a strange
planet in the author's fantasy, and as the name suggests, this planet is actually formed from the
word "yo'q," meaning "doesn't exist." The writer used this method of naming a planet in his
previous works. In particular, in the stories "The Ambassadors of the Milky Way" and "Hunt,"
the name of the same planet is mentioned. In both works, the planet inhabited by astronauts
visiting Earth is called Unet. Regarding this, the writer states: "I combined the Uzbek pronoun
'u' with the Russian word 'net,' meaning 'He - no.' Such a planet does not exist" [6; 43].
The situation on the internet is a depiction of the Aral Sea tragedy, while the events in
Yo'qkulobod are a satirical interpretation of the vices within ourselves, the people around us,
and our society. The author writes about this: "Among the eighteen thousand worlds, there
might be another planet like ours. Since that planet resembles ours, its stories are also similar to
ours: We haven't discovered that planet yet. But don't you believe that they have already
discovered and observed us? Someday they will fly in their celestial ships. Until then, they have
been sending their stories via airwaves [7; 123]. The name of the planet is Yo'qqulobod, and the
names of all its characters are pronounced with a syllable: Voyqul, Bevoshqul ota, Borqul,
Balliqul, Jasqul, G'o'rqul, Jumqul, Alqul... The names of the countries, cities, and villages on
this planet are also unique: Teskariobod, Toshbaqaobod, Borkand, Ongqulobod, Chapqulobod,
Bikinqulobod, Quyruqqulobod, Bo'ksakulobod, Boldirqulobod...
T. Malik, who incorporated scientific, social, and even religious-educational, didactic styles
into fantasy in his previous works, makes extensive use of examples of folk oral creativity: tales,
anecdotes, and even fairy tales in this book. After all, at the beginning of every fantastic satire,
the following comments are inserted: One probably doesn't notice that a hundred grams of sour
boasting are added, A neighbor's joke is a joke that shouldn't be believed, A joke that isn't
worth a penny, a joke that never happened anywhere, a joke saturated with a hundred grams of
boasting, a joke kept in one's pocket...
In the story of the journey from Zijhaz to Kengkosh, it is satirized that Voyqul, who was going
to sell melons at the market, was stopped on the way by Voybola, that is, traffic police officers,
without grounds but purposefully. When Voyqul said, "I'm going to sell the melons we planted
with my wife," Voybola replied, "So you've been farming with my sister-in-law? Is there no
document for this?" [7;128]. After giving ten melons "in his own way," the officer wished him a
good journey and allowed him to continue on his way. The most interesting thing is that these
officers stop the car not in one, but in several places and take ten melons each time. When
Voyqul enters the market with an empty car without melons, he returns home with just the car's
empty key. The reason is that on the way back, he distributes the parts of his car to the officers.
The people of this planet are strange. Voyqul wasn't offended. The author explains this
situation as follows: "Voyqul has a key, four wheels, one motor, and as they say, a div... is it
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difficult to find?" [7; 129]. The satire criticizes bribery, as well as excessive documentation. At
the end of the work, Voyqul goes to get a document stating that his wife is a daughter to her
mother-in-law, and he is a son-in-law to his mother-in-law.
"May they be healthy, doctor" criticizes some corrupt doctors through the example of the
adventure of Bevoshqul ota, a resident of Toshbaqaobod village near Teskariobod, located
northeast of Yo'qkulobod. The writer's skill in using words itself evokes laughter: "Actually,
Bevoshqul ota is in perfect health. Until he reached this age, he had never had to deal with
doctors. When he sneezes twice, his son's affection overflows, and he says, 'Father, you should
stay in the hospital like everyone else.'"
The fact that doctors don't care for patients who don't pay money, and they fleece you when you
go to the hospital, citing various reasons, is satirized through the life of Bevoshqul ota. The
opening sentence of the work served to reveal the content of the satire: "In the ancient history of
Yokkulabad, if a person with a headache went to a doctor in the hope of healing, after settling
accounts with the doctor, he would also end up with a pain in his heart" [7; 130].
At the end of the satire, Bevoshqul ota decides to teach such doctors a lesson: "One bed costs
so-and-so. I paid that money. Now this bed will be mine," he says [6; 132].
The chief physician covers all expenses and keeps the bed. The author concludes the work with
sarcasm: "The poor thing suffered."
III. Methodology
. In the comedy "Catch the Thief," the indifference of police officers, their
abuse of authority, and the victim's forced wandering to avoid excessive worry are humorously
portrayed. Borqul, whose wallet was stolen from his car, traveled the entire world in search of
the thief. In the end, the author once again replaces criticism with laughter:
The reader naturally wonders about the contents of the small wallet stolen by the thief, how
much money it contained, and why Borqul went to such great lengths to find it. In the writer's
words: "Borkul is not naive; he doesn't leave a wallet full of money in the car. Money is always
kept in the side pocket, close to the heart. In the wallet... there was a toothpick" [7; 134].
The reader It's natural to think about what was in the small wallet stolen by the thief, how big
the money was, and why he was wandering around so much. In the words of the writer: "Borkul
is not naive, he doesn't put a wallet full of money in the car. Money is always in the side pocket,
close to the heart. In the wallet... there was a toothpick" [7; 134].
The comedy "Father and Son" criticizes the practice of collecting money from students in
schools for various purposes. The work sheds light on certain vices in our society through the
characters of father and son, Jorqul and G'o'rqul, who refused to bring the money requested by
the teacher due to their stinginess, not out of a desire to fight corruption. When the teacher tells
Jorqul to collect money for the Communist Party in Katkulobod and for the starving people
there, he retorts that there is no Communist Party in Katkulobod, and where there's no
Communist Party, there won't be any starving people.It addresses the collection of money from
students for lunch and tea, classroom repairs, subscriptions, school funds, window curtains, and
inspection commissions from junior, middle, and senior departments.
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The satire "Let them take from the money, welcome" tells a humorous story about the tricks in
the banking system, salary delays, and the forced imposition of sponsorship for certain projects
on entrepreneurs. The story, which the writer sarcastically titled "The Rooster of Mercy," is
described as follows:
"Soon there will be a grand celebration in Yokkulabad to mark the birth of the one-millionth
donkey. Thanks to the bank, they didn't dismiss it as too insignificant, and even withdrew five
or ten coins from their account. However, there are also ungrateful people among the residents
of Yokkulabad. They ask, 'Why doesn't the bank give money for salaries?' Looking at such
people, you want to say: 'Oh fool, be patient, let good deeds be done, then there will be more
justice.'"[6; 139].
In the anecdote "Scholarly Market," the intellectuals who abandoned their educational
institutions and rushed to the marketplace during the market economy period are satirized. This
market on the planet of Yokkulabad consists of people with higher education who are
specialists in various fields, from market vendors to meat sellers and headscarf sellers.
Although it's a knowledgeable market in name only, nepotism is allowed here too, as evidenced
by a young man who barely finished fourth grade working as a ticket collector. The reason for
this was cleverly explained by the fact that he was the son-in-law of the market committee.
In the anecdote "Where is the Satire Theater?," the characters Betkul and Tilkul make a bet on
whether there is a satire theater in the city of Kengkosh. The miser Tilkul, afraid of losing, runs
away from the pilaf and puts it up as collateral. Betqul, Tilqul, Kengqo'sh. In this story, the
character and place names are derived from human organs.
In the story "Iron Man," the involvement of teachers in additional work is satirized. The
philosophy of Jasqul, a teacher with forty years of experience accustomed to these assignments,
is that even if others are made of clay, in Yo'qkulobod, the teaching staff must be made of iron
or concrete. He will remain silent if the commission unjustly accuses him. The teachers simply
say he's made of plasticine. He won't get angry if they take him to mow. The teachers simply
say he's made of dust. They won't be offended if deductions are made from their salary for
subscriptions to magazines that never reach their school or for circus performances. Teachers
simply say he's made of rotten paper. The most interesting part of the story is that after hearing
about the cancellation of involving teachers in cleaning Khoja's streets, he becomes genuinely
upset about being "disbelieved" in the teaching profession. Only then do the teachers conclude
that he is indeed made of iron.
In the writer's words, the story that fell from Lofchi's lips takes place on the planet of Inverted
Eyes. This planet is described as follows: "The appearance of the people there is slightly
different from that of the people of Yokkulabad; the mouth and nose are on the front of the face,
and the eyes are on the back. And they have no ears at all. Their actions are completely
different as well. It is such a place that their carts move ahead of the horses, their flies are
masters of the elephants, and their mice hunt tigers" [7; 157]. In another humorous science
fiction story called "The Dangerous Discovery of X," planet Z is also described as Earth's
opposite. This planet is the exact inverse of Earth. They breathe carbon monoxide instead of
oxygen, drink salt water instead of fresh water, and appeal to the lower court instead of the
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supreme court for criminal cases [5; 311]. While Mulla Mutallib visits that planet in the story
"Teskari ko'zlar" (Inverted Eyes), Alkul from Yo'qkulobod lands on such a planet. His forehead
was beaming, and they were in the process of choosing an emir there. The conditions of the
competition are also interesting: Not listening while listening - When asked: "There are many
scoundrels in our area, do you see?" - he pretends not to listen; - Under the condition of silence
- when told "State that strict measures must be taken against bribery," - he pretends to be mute;
On the condition that he must raise his hand in agreement, he raises both hands without even
half hearing; - He applauded the adoption of the law without stopping.
IV. Results.
The master of artistic expression, T. Malik, also makes extensive use of idiomatic
phrases:
In particular, the title of the anecdote "Bozor darsligi" (Market Lesson) itself is derived from an
expression. The story's protagonist, Sanqul, fills his pockets at the market while working as a
station employee by turning a blind eye to everything.
"Know this: there is a price for every eye's work, every nose's cover. Healers receive their due.
Yours will be the price of the eye."
A person's nose would lift when they had more money, but their eyes had closed. His fellow
villagers, unaware of the city's affairs, made various assumptions because they had forgotten
the saying "abandoning custom is a sign of the end times" [7; 165]. At the end of the story,
Sanqul's eyes close, knowingly blinded by the forbidden acts. In the work, both the literal and
figurative meanings of the phrase "кўзини юммоқ" (to close one's eyes) were used to create the
plot of the humorous tale.
In his works of comic-fantastic direction, we observe that the writer was able to widely and
appropriately use examples of folklore: mainly praises, as well as proverbs, anecdotes, and fairy
tales. For example, proverbs like "Close straw is better than distant wheat" or "Feeding the poor
is half-rich," "The camel also dreamed of a bathhouse," "If I had known my father would die, I
would have exchanged him for a sack of bran." In the anecdote "Golden Fish," the local proverb
"God is tired of the idle" is humorously adapted: "The people of Yokkulobod say that his wife
is tired of the old man Bekorchi." Along with similar proverbs, the author also used Nasriddin
Afandi's following anecdote as a basis for the satirical story: They asked Nasrqul: "If God
created man from clay, did He also add straw?" He replied: "Whether He added it or not, a
person would have burst from the worries of this world."
He created his fantasy story "Golden Fish" based on fairy tale plots. Speaking about the
fairy tale-fantasy direction, T. Malik emphasizes that he began his creative work in this genre:
"I must have learned to find plots by writing stories for children, especially fantasy stories.
Because children don't like empty words. To attract their attention, it is necessary to tell an
interesting story" [8; 35].
M. Obidjonova notes that based on literary traditions, genres such as adventure, satirical, fairy
tale, and humorous fiction emerged in fantasy literature, blending scientific and social issues. [3;
45].
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In particular, the story "The Golden Fish" is reminiscent of the plot of Pushkin's work "The
Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish." In both works, the adventure that begins with a leaky basin
ends with a leaky basin again. In this tale, the author also depicts a scene from the life of
Yo'qqulobod. The name Yalkul was used to express the laziness of the old man who caught fish.
In the story "Golden Rat," environmental protection and the indifference of those responsible
for neglecting their duties are highlighted in the style of fairy tale fiction.
V. Conclusion. In conclusion, it can be said that T. Malik, along with pure, scientific, and
social science fiction, also worked effectively in the field of comic fiction. In this direction, he
created fantastic stories in the form of anecdotes using examples of oral folk art such as tall
tales, jokes, fairy tales and proverbs, as well as phrases, wordplay and irony. Whether the
events involve the fate of aliens, the distant future, stories, or fairy tales, the essence of fantastic
works lies in warning humanity and calling for understanding oneself and the world. If H. G.
Wells likened works of this kind to a gambling game that excites and shakes our psyche [11;
350], G. Gore writes that, although he believes in the existence of other forms of life and
intelligence in other worlds, the hero of any science fiction novel on Earth is a human being [1;
121]. R. Ibragimova, however, emphasizes that no matter how much fantastic worlds and
aliens are described in science fiction works, their foundation still lies in the study of humanity
[2; 104]. After all, the purpose of the comic-fantastic direction in Tahir Malik's work is also to
call for a rational life without losing the feelings of kindness, conscience, and compassion,
drawing conclusions from the past and present of humanity, and being aware of the predictions
of a promising or tragic future.
VI. References:
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Toshkent. 2003.
3. Обиджонова М. Инглиз ва узбек фантастик хикоячилиги: оригинал ва муштарак
тенденциялар(Рей Бредбери ва Хожиакбар Шайхов ижоди мисолида). Филол. фан.
номз. ... дисс. – Toшкент, 2022.
4. Malik E. Baxtsizlikdan baxtini topgan Tohir Malik. – “Sharq”. Toshkent: 2019.
5. Malik T. Hikoyalar. “Sharq, ziyo, zakovat”. Toshkent: 2016.
6. Malik T. Po‘rtanali ummonda suzar hayot qayig‘i. “Sharq”. Toshkent: 2016.
7. Malik T. Teskari ko’zlar. "DAVR PRES". Toshkent: 2019.
8. Namozov A. Tohir Malik gurunglari. “O‘zbekston”. Toshkent: 2016.
9. Rasulova S. Tohir Malik qissalari poetikasi. Филол. фан. номз. ... дисс. – Toшкент, 2025.
10. Tohir Malik zamondoshlari xotirasida. “Tohir Malik”. Toshkent: 2022.
11. Uells G. Sobr. Soch. v 15tомax. 14 -M. “Pravda”, 1964.
