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INTERPRETATION OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE POEMS OF USMAN AZIM
Rakhmatova Madinabonu Qosimovna
Doctoral student at Bukhara State University
Annotation:
Usman Azim's poetry is unique for its breadth of topics, simplicity of language, and
weightiness of content, as well as its variety of forms. Poems that address social issues constitute
the majority of the poet's work. The focus of poetry is to illuminate social issues, to encourage
the reader to observe, to call them to spiritual perfection in order to understand the situation and
achieve social change. In this, poets often put forward their views on the existing problems of
their time, relationships between people, and social justice. Through this, poetry also becomes a
mirror of its time.
This article analyzes several poems by Usman Azim, one of the leading poets of contemporary
Uzbek literature. The analysis focuses mainly on the poet's attitude to social problems. It also
draws conclusions about his skill in covering them.
Keywords
: poetry, theme, sociality, artistry, freestyle, skill, Usman Azim.
Since fiction is a unique reflection of human life, one of the important tasks of literature is to
shed light on various social problems in both prose and verse.Usman Azim is one of the poets
who pays special attention to the diversity of themes and content in contemporary Uzbek poetry,
who poetically sees the problems existing in society and incorporates them into his poetry. The
poet's poem, which begins with "Mahmud, the Little Employee of a Small Office," is particularly
characteristic in this regard. This poem is written in free verse, in the genre of white verse. It can
be said that the main means of providing rhythm and melody in the poem is the relationship
between the content and the words.
This poem captures one of the serious ills of our society today. Mahmud is a typical
representative of our society, working in a simple and small position:
When the small office employee,
Mahmud, died,
he was pampered: he was washed and combed first
(the deceased was ashamed of such respect!), [2, 18]
In fact, the poem describes a tragic situation - the death of the hero and his funeral rites, but
the poet perceives this situation as a celebration. During this "celebration", the hero is being
pampered, washed, and carried on his shoulders... The first six lines convey the hero's
contentment; he is very happy with the attention and respect he is being shown for being a
simple, lowly employee. But through the parenthetical line - (the deceased was ashamed of such
respect!) - the reader is drawn to a painful point in our social life. Why was the deceased
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ashamed of this respect? The respect and appreciation he did not receive during his lifetime,
while he was alive, he is seeing after his death. This is the real tragedy, this is a huge social
problem. Although Mahmud held a simple position all his life, he worked tirelessly, devoting his
life and being to his work. But he has never been honored, he has never been given any title or
award for his work. He does not consider himself worthy of respect, he is not used to such
situations. That is why he is surprised, that is why he is ashamed. Throughout the poem, people
shed tears for him, and seeing this situation makes Mahmud want to cry too. His crying is not
just for the sake of it, firstly, he wants to cry because he has achieved this respect, secondly, he
wants to cry because he regretted not having received this respect in time, and thirdly, now that
he is coming of age, that is why he wants to cry.
Then (can you believe it!)
they carried him on their shoulders.
Mahmud was very moved,
He wanted to live again:
- I don't need to die,
I want to live with you,
he wanted to say
to Mahmud.” [2, 18]
(Do you believe it!) - the poet puts the word in brackets, if we pay attention, the words that
deserve special attention and have a greater semantic load are given in brackets. Those who
never appreciated Mahmud are now carrying him on their shoulders. Neither Mahmud nor the
poet believe this. He addresses the reader. Through this address, he is interested in the reader's
attitude towards this evil in society. He makes him think. In our society, it is customary to carry
the deceased on a shoulder and follow them on their final journey, everyone is used to it. There
is nothing surprising in this, but the poet is tormented by questions about why such respect is not
shown to a person while he is alive, why he does not receive sufficient value while he is alive.
That is why he emphasizes what seems ordinary to everyone with the words "can you believe
it?"
Another line of the poem is noteworthy:
“But he said nothing,
He walked away without saying a word,
Because Mahmud is very experienced,
Very intelligent,
(He did not die in vain!)” [2,18]:
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Up until this point in the poem, the shortcomings of society's members have been described:
inattention, lack of appreciation, hypocrisy, etc., but now the hero's faults become apparent. He
said nothing - he could not say that he had never said anything in his life. Unable to demand his
own worth, value, and rights, he lived his entire life like this. He accepted whatever happened to
him, however they treated him, and was powerless to fight back, acting cowardly.That's why
today he couldn't even speak. He is experienced in even remaining silent, not speaking. This was
his life experience. Of course, it is true that a dead person cannot speak, but the poet approaches
it differently. He refers to this as the weakness of Mahmud, and through him, of many Mahmuds.
Here again, the emphasis is placed in parentheses: "(died not in vain!)". This sentence shows the
tragedy of Mahmud. He did not die in vain, he was condemned to silence all his life, he did not,
could not, express his words, his pains and sorrows to anyone, and these pains and unspoken
words caused his death. This is also one of the widespread vices in our society today, one of the
factors that hinders the development of society.
Although this poem captures a number of vices and highlights a sad scene in human life, the
strength of the lyricism and the high level of pathos evoke a strange feeling in the reader.
The poem ends on an upbeat note:
Such a happy day comes to a person only once [2,18].
The lyrical hero lived a short life, but he does not regret his death, this one day of honor is a
holiday, a happy day for the hero. The sad thing is that this honor is granted to a person only
once.
Usman Azim is a real poet with a sharp pen. The poet, describing the world as a
"marketplace" [1,156], writes about social problems such as human dignity, religion, and
kindness. In his poems, he calls for people to retreat from bad vices and turn towards goodness.
Another work of art dedicated to such social issues begins with the words "Man has been given
wings," and this poem focuses on another pressing problem - ingratitude and the issues of lust.
Many don't notice it,
some have their wings clipped,
some have their skies shattered...
And you
just can't
fly, you cunning man.
The phrase "raw milk" is not used for nothing when it comes to a human child. He doesn't
appreciate much until he loses it, but man is given all the opportunities to achieve perfection
beyond his imagination.Unfortunately, sometimes their value is only realized when they are lost.
Taking this into account, the poet says: “Many people who are given wings do not notice this.”
Although the wings have a figurative meaning here, taking into account the idea that
“Knowledge and enlightenment give wings to a person and raise him up,” we can understand the
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word “wing” in this poem as knowledge. Knowledge leads a person to heights. But those who do
not use it effectively "cannot fly." When used for the right purpose, all doors open to a person to
achieve their dreams, but "many do not realize it."
Others have had their “wings” clipped. For some, this is due to sudden blows in life, while
for others, it is because they have become wrapped up in the worries of this fleeting world and
have abandoned or given up on their original purpose. For others, even “the sky is too clear for
them to fly.” They have completely strayed from the path of knowledge, lost their way, and sunk
into the mire. Condemned to remain on earth, they do not even try to fly towards enlightenment.
The poet uses the phrase "cunning man" about even more pitiful individuals - slaves of their own
interests as a result of ignorance. They have all the opportunities to fly, to move forward towards
their noble goals, but they do not want to, they are dissatisfied with their lives, complaining and
blaming the world. Addressing them:
"Don't complain about life,
Don't blame the world,
Don't play tricks on yourself - you cut off your own wings,
You cunning person," says the poet.
Greedy people, slaves of their own desires, always blame someone or something, unable to
admit their own ignorance. They are obsessed with worldly wealth, looking for someone to
blame, and as a result, they do not even realize that they have clipped their own "wings." They
forget their noble goals.
The poet is disgusted by how low, how miserable they have sunk. Those who think only of
themselves cannot rise because they are so low. They act as if they are superior in this world:
When the sky is full of longing,
You want to be alone,
In this vast world,
In this flightless world,
While every person lives with a "sky longing" that reflects their dreams and hopes, walking
towards them, even writing to death, those who are far from knowledge are in pursuit of their
own desires. Because they are unenlightened, they cannot be disillusioned with this world. They
do not hesitate to harm others, thinking only of their own benefit. They want to dominate this
vast world alone. But they don't know that this world is actually a test, and that's their fault, they
don't want to know. They don't want to "fly" with knowledge. However, the more a bird flies, the
more it knows how vast the universe is. Science is like that: the more it learns, the higher a
person rises to the sky. High moral values, humanity, and sincerity are alien to them. Even when
approached through mystical perspectives, striving for the sky and sacrificing one's life on this
path represent the issue of divine love. This path is the greatest path. Only truly perfect people
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understand this. They take a step forward. But even then, the black-hearted forget their own
identity.
You want to be left alone - to eat this world.
Those who are willing to sacrifice anything for their own benefit do not even think about
the harm they may cause to others. They are ready to sacrifice everything, even this world, to
"eat and sleep." They have become slaves of their own desires.
The conclusion, which ends with a heartfelt sentence, makes one think deeply. Usman Azim,
while expressing that evil people are dangerous to society, calls on us not to forget that this
danger is hidden within each of us. A person should be able to clearly define the reason for his
birth, the purpose of his life, without acting only for his own benefit and benefit. Turning to
knowledge and enlightenment, in order not to become a slave to one's own desires and indulge in
evil intentions, and increasing the spiritual potential necessary to overcome evil, encourages a
person to form perfect human qualities. After all, the world does not give loyalty to anyone!
Similar thoughts are put forward by Osman Azim in his poem "The Bird".
Once upon a time,
When I was a bird,
I clearly remember falling into a trap.
The poet describes his past life as "a bird's journey." Why exactly a bird - first of all, this
takes into account the natural situation of a bird quickly falling into a trap in the pursuit of free
grain, and on the other hand, the image of a bird represents such characteristics as short-
sightedness, thoughtless actions, and laziness.
The lyrical hero recalls his struggle for survival, his inability to endure hunger. And he
recalls one by one the tragedies that befell him as a result of this inability to endure hunger and
falling prey to the tricks of his own desires.
Hunger clung to my soul like a snake,
Then my eyes fell on a piece of grain.
Even though I felt that there was a trick in this grain,
My crazy being wouldn't let me go-
When life came to my throat,
I fell into a trap! Oh, a terrible trap!
Indeed, we often encounter the scene depicted in the poem in our social life. Although
people see the traps and dangers in front of them in the path of self-interest, they still fall prey to
those traps. But an easily obtained bite will certainly not lead to good. The emergence of various
crimes and violations is actually the result of this slavery to self-interest.
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The lyrical hero, knowingly, falls into the cage in search of an easy bite. His ego defeats
him. The freedom of the bird, accustomed to freedom, is limited, which is a tragedy for him.
However, the hero, defeated by his ego, is unable to think of getting rid of the problem. He
prefers to submit to the struggle, because the reason is again slavery to that ego, ignorance.
They put me in a cage and then... in a cage
There was no freedom, not even to breathe.
I couldn't escape it,
Although it was tight,
But there was always food and water.
Then... I don't remember what happened next,
Maybe I died, maybe that's how...
One tragedy leads to another. Ignorance leads to tyranny, to the swamp of lust, while lust
calls for an even more miserable condition - dependence, slavery. Although it saw freedom
marching for ready-made food, the bird settled for this slavery. Through this, the poet is referring
to those who, in pursuit of their own desires, take on slavery in the name of their own stomach.
Even though it knows that the cage is narrow, the bird is in search of free food and cannot escape
it. Ie forgets about freedom. Perhaps it even died like that, but it doesn't remember. The poet is
referring to spiritual death here. Perhaps the div is still alive, but a div without a free spirit is
considered dead.
And I can't get enough of humanity:
It is familiar to those who are birds,
It is familiar...
The poet does not believe that there is any humanity left in the slaves of the soul. For this
reason, he does not want to talk about it. Those who have become "birds" of the soul in the midst
of grief are far from this feeling. It is redundant to equate the concept of humanity with them. In
the words of Hasan Basri: "Whoever does not value the world, Allah will reward him." This
poem also refers to not believing in the deception of the mortal world and becoming blind to the
eyes of the heart, and not giving too much value.
In conclusion, Usman Azim's poem, which begins with "Mahmud, the Little Employee of a
Small Office," encourages us to live a meaningful life, using the example of Mahmud, who turns
a blind eye to all injustice and injustice, and remains silent, and to speak out for justice. The
poems "Man Has Been Given Wings" and "The Bird" encourage us not to be deceived by our
own desires and not to give in to the whims and fancies of this fleeting world, and not to give up
on ourselves.
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LIST OF REFERENCES:
1. Usman Azim. Collage. Part 2. – Tashkent. 2018.
2. Usman Azim. Selected Works. Volume 3. – Tashkent. 2021
3. Usman Azim. Fonus. – Tashkent. 2010.
4. Usman Azim. Election. – Tashkent. 1995.
5. Sheikh Muhammad Sodiq Muhammad Yusuf. Translation of the Holy Quran and its
meanings in Uzbek. – Tashkent. 2020
