Literary - Aesthetic and Educational Significance of Comedy in

Uzbek Children’s Literature of the Independence Period

Gulnoza Jurayeva

Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords. Humor, aesthetics, artistry, modern satire, children's literature, characteristics of harmony.

Abstract. This article discusses the amalgamation of classical tradition with modern satirical features in Uzbek children's

literature during the independence period. Uzbek children's comedic poetry also contains features

characteristic of universal poetry, the foundation of which is the predominance of comedic and humorous

images. However, humour in children's poetry, unlike comedic poems intended for adults, is not about

eradicating vices, but rather focuses on educational goals, seeking to re-educate through either sharp or

cheerful laughter. The writing of this article incorporated comparative-typological and sociological analysis

methods.

1 INTRODUCTION

"For our youth to become independent thinkers,

possess high intellectual and spiritual potential,

compete on par with their global peers in every field,

and attain happiness, our state and society mobilise

all available resources and opportunities." (Sh.

Mirziyoyev: 2018) Following the independence of

Uzbekistan, a distinct spiritual atmosphere emerged

in the cultural life of the republic.

2 STUDY METHODOLOGY

Anvar Abidjan's humorous poems also hold a unique

place in children's poetry of the independence period.

Poems such as "Brothers", "When the Bicycle Breaks

Down", "In the Camp", "Yes, You Don't Hurt",

"Silver Coin", "Care", "Stealing the Charm",

"Puffakfurush", and "Fathilla's Breast" are notable in

this regard. In each poem, the poet identifies a

humorous detail reflective of a child's mental and

spiritual world and poeticises it, converting it into a

scene expressing a humorous depiction of a child's

psyche. The disparity between a child's psyche and

this scene gives rise to cheerful, innocent and sincere

laughter. For instance, in the poem "When the Bicycle

Breaks Down", the predicament of Sotimboy, who is

Corresponding author

seen turning a nut with oil smeared over his face and

hands, is described as follows.

Botinka (Rasulov A. 2009) (Meaning: While

Sotimboy is working with a screw, his hands and face

are oily, and his old boot seems to be looking at

Sotimboy with a smile)

Sotim's playfulness, his exhaustion from ceaseless

cycling, and Sotimboy's attempts to fix it by

drenching it in oil - all this is enhanced with comedic

content through the characteristic scene detail of "the

shoe with a broken sole laughing at Sotim". In this

instance, the personification of the boot, its sole

detached as if it were "laughing", serves to amplify

the poetic substance of the poem.

"Rebelliousness, insensitivity, persistent philosophy,

and deep observation serve as the guiding wind for

the sail of the poetry ship, intensifying its intensity,"

Anvar Obidjon writes about literary skill. "But if this

intensity can't merge with the many 'elements that

attract ordinary poets - the juice of words, the

elegance of images, the delicacy of expression', the

poem becomes dry and rhymed prose, its sphere of

influence becomes narrower".

Anvar Obidjon is a poet who deeply senses the spirit

of jubilant children and, most importantly, possesses

the potential to portray this situation with poetic skill.

This feature is strikingly evident in the poem

"Fathullah's Breast". In the poem, Nor, hearing his

306

Jurayeva, G.

Literary - Aesthetic and Educational Signiﬁcance of Comedy in Uzbek Children’s Literature of the Independence Period.

DOI: 10.5220/0012486400003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 306-309

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

brother's complaint that "Fathullah's chest was

running", punches out in anger.

Fatxullani solamiz. (Rasulov A. 2009) (Meaning: Nor

punched with anger and said that instead of a turkey

we would take Fatxulla)

It can be seen that Nor's argumentative nature is

exposed through his own language. Such conciseness,

literary detail that creates humour in the image, the

skill of using dialogic speech and images,

characteristic of the style of Q. Otayev and Anvar

Obidjon, can also be found in the works of young

writers like S. Inoyatov, Z. Isomiddinov, N.

Abdusalomov, and N. Dushaev. The fact that 'y' is

becoming the main form of expression signals the

maturation of children's poetry in the 80s and 90s.

For instance, in S. Inoyatov's poems "Soccer Ball",

"Hasharchi-osharchilar", "Hol", some defects present

in children's nature are revealed through literary

details.

In the poem "Hasharchi-osharchilar", it is described

how children play a game with Nuri's grandmother,

and the grandmother treats them with halwa, raisins,

and apples. Here, the poet skillfully utilises the details

of "Hashar" and achieves to illuminate children's

eccentricity and sarcasm through laughter, literarily

embodying the humorous images of "Hasharchi"

children as follows:

Ne berasiz bizlarga? (Abidjon A. 2014) (Meaning:

We liked receiving gifts from others for helping and

now, if someone asks for help, we do not like to help

for nothing; before giving help we ask for something

in return for our effort)

The poem "Hol" recounts the children electing Hol as

the goal captain, goal goalkeeper, and goal striker,

despite him not being a skilled football player.

Kitabkhan Hayron asks, "What is the reason for such

respect for Hol?" The solution to the mystery is

revealed in the dialogue at the end of the piece.

So, when creating a humorous image of characters in

children's poetry, poets tend to lean more towards

dialogue, and humorous situations that form the basis

of laughter in such poems are expressed as they

manifest themselves through the characters' speech.

Furthermore, the fact that laughter often arises at the

end of a poem enhances its value to some extent. In

the poem "Sleeper", a comedic image is created of a

boy who boasts that he wakes up an hour earlier than

his brother, Talib, who is perpetually late for school

due to his tendency to oversleep. Even in this poem,

the humorous situation is presented in the final lines.

Tokhtakhon Rahimova's humorous poems

predominantly carry a cheerful tone. His characters

are dreamy, full of fantasies, kind towards their

grandparents, and prone to laughter. The poet

portrays these qualities through cheerful and sincere

verses. For example, in the poem "Imagination", the

small protagonist is given a pen by his magical

grandfather, and he fantasises that when he writes

with the pen, "it will be a mistake if he doesn't do it."

Such a distinctive imagination of the little

protagonist, on one hand, contradicts the reader's

imagination, and on the other hand, his laziness and

joviality (he does not want to brush his teeth, does not

want to go to kindergarten) provoke involuntary

laughter.

The dreams of the girl in the poem "Nurse Girl"

follow a similar pattern. She takes care of her ill

grandmother. She inquires about the cause of her

sickness. Each of her questions, each of her actions

incites a sincere and affectionate laugh from the

reader. This indicates that the poetess possesses a

good understanding of a child's psyche. According to

the girl, the primary reason her grandmother is unwell

is that she either ate too much honey or had ice cream

in the morning.

The girl "investigates" her grandmother in this

manner. The poetess has managed to portray such an

"investigation" in the poem with childlike sincerity

and vitality, through extremely cheerful lines.

It can be observed that Tokhtakhon Rahimova had a

remarkably subtle understanding of children's mental

world in her poetry and was able to depict it with

natural simplicity.

3 DISCUSSIONS

In the aforementioned observations, the works of our

poets directly related to the creation of humorous

depictions of children were analysed. However,

despite significant achievements in this respect, there

are numerous poems that fail to fully capture the

psyche of children in humorous tones. From the

moment children start recognising their surroundings,

they gaze at their environment with curiosity. They

strive to uncover its secrets and understand the truth

of life in general. This aspiration gradually gives rise

to imitation. Indeed, imitation of goodness is

beneficial. But a lack of attention to context in the

depiction fails to convince the reader about the

behaviour of the poetic protagonist. In general, the

80s and 90s witnessed substantial achievements in

Literary - Aesthetic and Educational Signiﬁcance of Comedy in Uzbek Children’s Literature of the Independence Period

307

creating humorous images in children's poetry. A

multitude of humorous poems were crafted that

elevate children's spiritual world and contribute to

shaping their aesthetic tastes.

From the above observations, the following

conclusions can be drawn:

When creating satirical images in the children's

poetry of the 80s and 90s, authors primarily created

their satirical images by illuminating some of the

vices present in daily life through laughter. Children's

poetry often hinged on numerous negative habits,

such as gossip, backbiting, laziness, etc.

Concurrently, in Uzbek children's satirical poetry,

authors attempted to unveil the image of a satirical

character, the essence of their life philosophy, which

became a unique aesthetic principle, by focusing the

thrust of humour on issues of social and spiritual life.

Poets endeavoured to expose the essence of vices in

life by employing symbolic and metaphorical images,

alongside realistic depictions. In this type of poems,

scenes from real life and poetic movements are

merged, creating unique literary findings.

Given the educational nature of children's literature,

the art of self-disclosure and laughter was employed

to highlight the vices of children's character. This

feature amplified the effectiveness of literary works.

Authors succeeded in creating satirical laughter by

incorporating simple, sincere, and witty thoughts into

a natural folk rhyme, drawing from the traditions of

folk art. In this manner, the reader's attention was

drawn towards the causes of adverse events. In most

cases, judgment was left to the discretion of the

reader. This aesthetic principle positively influenced

the development of Uzbek children's poetry during

this period.

In many humorous poems created in the 80s and 90s,

when revealing the character flaws of children, the

poets utilised the images of natural conditions and

situations they encountered, the art of self-exposure,

and figurative language in the lively dialect of the

people. It can be observed that they effectively

employed expressions and phrases.

In the satirical and humorous poems of this era, the

poets maintained a seemingly "neutral" stance

towards the scene they were describing, and managed

to create laughter through the actions of the character.

The protagonist, embroiled in a humorous situation,

prompts the reader to reflect and contemplate.

Concise dialogic speech, meticulous composition,

and folk rhyme employed in children's poetry - all

these elements yield effective results in the creation

of comic images. However, insufficient attention to

the context in the image compromises the vitality of

the lyrical hero created by some authors.

An author, who primarily composes comic poems,

strives to educate children through them, teaching

them something, and rectifying flaws through

criticism - unveiling the mysterious facets of the so-

called miracle of words. In their poems, melody and

playfulness take centre stage. Humour is mainly

located at the end of the poem. Azamat’s work brings

pleasure to both the reader and the critic. If the reader

appreciates him for writing a compelling, readable

work, the critic is hopeful that there are deserving

successors of children's literature today.

A person's relationship with books is established in

childhood. To compose a poem that can resonate with

a child's heart and be accepted as true demands

considerable responsibility, especially from mature

artists. In this respect, it is an exceedingly challenging

task. The only way to determine whether children's

literature continues to fulfill its role as a vehicle for

ideological-educational and moral-aesthetic

education today is through a comprehensive analysis

of current works.

It is well-known what the educational-didactic and

artistic-aesthetic value of Uzbek children's comic

poetry should be. Previously, the value of children's

poetry was examined as an example of analysis.

Children's comic poetry is also significant for its

representation of national-cultural and social-

educational experiences. But today's poets who write

for children exhibit a much narrower range of topics.

There are many repetitive and dry poems.

Nevertheless, they can demonstrate that children's

comic poetry retains its importance as a tool for

ideological-educational and ethical-aesthetic

education.

Children's comic poetry, created with a priority on

educational-didactic and artistic-aesthetic spirit, lays

a solid foundation for enriching children's

imagination and improving their speech and

pronunciation, with the animation of letters and

sounds, numbers, and the extensive use of various

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games and forms that are actively utilised in

children's daily life.

In comic-humorous poems dedicated to children,

more attention is given to spiritual and moral issues

related to societal development updates than minor

flaws in children's character, and these characteristics

become an aesthetic principle. This suggests that the

period of independence introduces new trends in the

development of Uzbek children's literature.

Formative and meaningful research into examples of

youth poetry from the period of independence is

gaining a new significance as a result of the need for

renewal of educational-didactic, literary-aesthetic

views. This provides hope and confidence in the

future of children's comic poetry.

4 CONCLUSION

Uzbek children's comic poetry also possesses

features typical of universal poetry, at the heart of

which is the prioritisation of comic and humorous

imagery. However, the humour in children's poetry,

in contrast to comic poems intended for adults, isn't

about eradicating vices, but rather it aims at

educational goals, re-educating through poignant or

cheerful laughter.

The comedic element, which forms the basis of

Uzbek children's comic poetry, has a subliminal

layer. It serves an intellectual role that fulfils social

and aesthetic tasks, educating young readers to

become individuals of delicate souls who appreciate

beauty and sophistication. Simultaneously, it shapes

their worldview from a young age, enabling them to

actively express their attitudes to societal changes. It

is important because it is aimed at cultivating a

potential and aesthetic taste in the readers.

REFERENCES

Sh. Mirziyoyev: 2018 "We will build our great future

together with our brave and noble people", T;. - b 65.

Literature and art of Uzbekistan. — Tashkent, 2006. —

Dec. 8.

The yard is full of children. Poems and tales. - Tashkent:

Yulduzcha, 1988. - P. 19 (the page of the following

examples is shown in parentheses.)

Rasulov A. 2009 Unique identity. — Tashkent: Mumtoz

Soz,. — 214 p.

Kuronov D., Mamajonov Z., Sheraliyeva M. 2010

Dictionary of literary studies. — Tashkent:

Akademnashr,. B-372.

Abidjon A. 2014 Selected poems. (Book 2) - Tashkent:

Sharq,. - 350 p.

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