The Initiation Plot in Belger’s Story “Dedushka Sergali” (‘Grandfather Sergali’): Structure, Simbolism and Historical and Cultural Context
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Keywords:
initiation, motive, cultural interaction, growing up, symbolism, self-knowledge.Abstract
The article examines the initiation plot in G. Belger’s short story “Grandfather Sergali” (1971) as the structural and semantic core of the narrative, reflecting the process of the hero’s maturation and the formation of his identity in the context of historical and cultural transformations. The aim of the study is to identify the structural and semantic features of the initiation plot and to analyze its significance for understanding cultural memory and interethnic interaction. To achieve this goal, three methods are applied: structural analysis, which makes it possible to reconstruct the architectonics of the text and correlate it with the classical initiation cycle (“separation – trial – return”); a cultural approach, which reveals the symbolic content of images and motifs; and a biographical method, which relates the artistic elements to the writer’s personal experience. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the concepts of A. van Gennep and M. Eliade, which provide support in universal models of initiation. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the initiation plot is both a literary phenomenon and a way of comprehending existential issues such as maturation, intercultural dialogue, historical memory, and continuity. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the short story is interpreted for the first time through the lens of the initiation plot, which makes it possible to identify a complex of motifs (bata, mentorship, rituals of hospitality, ethnographic markers), to compare them with the tradition of “zheti ata” and to reveal their role in representing cultural adaptation. The analysis shows that the hero’s personal experiences correlate with collective models of memory, and that the initiation plot transcends the framework of individual maturation and becomes a metaphor for intercultural dialogue and inclusion into a new sociocultural reality. The results of the study clarify the specifics of G. Belger’s artistic world, reveal the connection of his prose with ethnographic and cultural codes of the Kazakh tradition, and confirm the significance of the initiation plot as a means of artistic interpretation of the experience of deportation and cultural integration. The practical value of the research lies in the possibility of applying its findings in courses on contemporary Kazakh literature, intercultural communication, and cultural memory studies.
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