Forgotten Fire

For our latest paper, we had to read a book called Forgotten Fire. This book has been my favorite book that we have read so far. From the moment I started reading it, I could not put it down. I think it was a good book as an introduction to the Armenian massacre because I had never heard about this massacre before in any other class I have taken even before college. I was even more shocked when I read that it was based on a true story. The things that humans are capable of doing to each other are unreal. This book was also a good portrayal of defensive developmentalism, which is what the bulk of my paper was about. The Ottomans wanted to strengthen their empire in order to keep the Europeans out. Since there were many laws in Turkey banning Armenians from basic rights such as the right to bear arms, Russians were becoming sympathetic with the Armenians in Turkey. Because of this, the Ottomans were afraid that the Russians would conspire with the Armenians and intervene in the empire. The Turks thought that the best solution to their fears was to wipe out the entire Armenian population.

Although I consider what happened to the Armenians to be a genocide, we learned in a DVD that we watched today that the Turks only consider it a Civil War and that the number of murdered Armenians is exaggerated. I cannot understand how they can say that those numbers are exaggerated when there are tons of pictures and videos that show countless bodies stacked on top of each other. This book makes it seem completely unfathomable that people would deny that such a massacre was as bad as it was. I think that this book was an excellent source in understanding the Armenian massacre.

My Opinion of the Janissary Tree

I have finally finished The Janissary Tree. Although I was liking this book when I first started reading it, I did not really enjoy it once I finished it. I felt that the book jumped around too much and had way too much detail. I feel that the author could have omitted many parts of the book such as the scenes where he goes into detail about what Yashim is cooking. The book jumped around so much that I began losing track of the plot and which characters played what role.

Although I did not like The Janissary Tree as a novel, I do believe it is a reliable source in learning about the Tanzimat. Jason Goodwin's scenes with the Janissaries rebelling match up perfectly to what we learned in class and what is in the textbook. For example, we had learned in class that the Janissaries turned their cauldrons upside down when they were rallying together to rebel. In the novel, Yashim connects the cauldrons with the dead bodies in them to the fact that Janissaries would turn their cauldrons upside down and bang on them when they wanted to rebel with violence. Although I did not enjoy the actual storyline of the book, I do feel that the author made excellent connections to historical fact and really made me understand this important time of the restructuring of the Ottoman Empire.

Another part that I enjoyed about the novel was when the author discussed Napoleon's invasion into Egypt. When we learned about this in class, I was fascinated because I had never known that the French at one time were in Egypt. Naturally, I was drawn into the book when the author spoke about it because it was a fact that was foreign to me. I did not enjoy The Janissary Tree as a novel, but I do feel that it is a good source in learning about the Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire and their eventual end.

The Janissary Tree

The book that we have been reading for the next colloquium is called The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin. So far, I am really enjoying this book. I love how the novel is a perfect combination of a what we are learning about in class and a good read. I have always loved mystery novels and mystery films, so this book is interesting to me. The way that the story is narrated reminds me of the format of a movie. Each chapter ends with a punch, and the next chapter usually begins with a completely different scene from the previous chapter. I think that Yashim is a great detective because of the way that he is investigating the crimes. He is researching cauldrons and drawing smart conclusions from what he gathers. I would never be able to be a detective because I don't think I would be able to make conclusions as quickly as he does. I have not finished the novel yet, so I am very interested in seeing how these murders and other crimes will tie together and be solved.

The Janissary Tree is a good reflection of what we are learning about in class and what we read in The Red Apple. In The Red Apple, we learned mostly about how young boys were chosen to become janissaries and how they fought in battle. In The Janissary Tree, we are learning more about how janissaries rebelled against their sultan to get their ways. The two books together are a great source of information about janissaries because they both teach different sides of what it was like to be a janissary.