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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marginalization and Belonging
Time, Memory, and Transition
Gender and Power
Tradition and Change
Religion, Political Conflict, and Identity
Summary
Analysis
Nalan is born a boy named Osman, certain from a young age that, on the inside, “he was always a girl, never a boy.” It isn’t until after his time in the army, which utterly crushes his spirit, that Osman feels ready to begin his transition and finally embrace Nalan externally. Thus, on the night of his would-be wedding, Osman flees his bride and Anatolian country home for Istanbul, where he sheds his former identity once and for all. Going forward, she resolves that there is now only Nalan, and she does not look back.
Nalan’s journey of self-discovery and transformation begins long before her external transition, in a world that is deeply fearful of queerness. Growing up, she struggles to find words for her feelings of displacement and dysphoria. Her time in the army, a traditionally masculine space, exemplifies the societal pressures and rigid gender expectations that stifle her true identity. However, rather than succumbing to the pressure to conform, Nalan uses her experiences to fuel her resolve. She never gives up on a better future, where she’s able to live authentically and freely.
Themes
