Revealing the historical truth: on the case of the novel by S. Smatayev “Elim-ai”

Abstract

In the novel “Elim-ai”, Smatayev S. turned to the distant past of his native people, describing one of the difficult periods in the life of the Kazakh steppe, the exploits and struggle of real national heroes of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the “Elim-ai”, a large number of khans and sultans, princes and heroes are represented, and the life of the ordinary people takes a large place. His works cover the existence of historical figures, the true events of the tragic and heroic period in the life of the Kazakh nation. In the novel, a broad picture of the heroic battles for the Motherland and the heroism of the people were depicted. Within this article, the researchers analyzed the secondary data dedicated to this trilogy, which enabled to reveal the new facts described by Smatayev S. and other authors. Thematic analysis was used to determine the patterns (themes) which emerged from the secondary data. The data, which was collected during the inquiry, was read and themes determined on a sentence-by-sentence principle to enable the researchers to detect the fundamental ideas, suppositions, and conceptualizations embedded within the secondary sources. This enabled to look from the different angle at the historical figures described in these works. The results contribute to a better understanding of the indicated novel and the Kazakh literature in general.