In Orhan Pamuk's Nobel lecture "My Father's Suitcase," he described the trepidation that he felt upon deciding to open a suitcase left by his now-late father - he knew that there would be literature in there that his father wrote, and he did not know if he wanted to find out just what his father was like, and whether he was a good writer (like his son). In this essay, the cause and effect format is used substantially to demonstrate the factors leading up to his son's trepidation at opening the suitcase. Sufficient and contributory causes are shown throughout the story toward this decision, and remote causes and causal chains connect these events to other smaller effects, as well as the larger effect of his decision to open the suitcase.
Pamuk's use of sufficient causes is most directly seen in his dilemma regarding whether or not to open the suitcase. "The suitcase was a friend, a powerful reminder of my past, but now I couldn’t even touch it. Why? No doubt because of the mysterious weight of its contents." The use of contributory causes in the story is also substantial, as the overall story involves the simple yet enigmatic question: "Why do you write?" The father's suitcase, Pamuk's relationship with his father as a whole, and his relationship with the world in general are all contributory causes for his need to write. Near the end of the story, the above question is asked, and he follows with an entire paragraph of contributory causes. "I write because I have an innate need to write. I write because I can’t do normal work as other people do. I write because I want to read books like the ones I write. I write because I am angry at everyone." The list continues, and it breaks down the thematic material of the story in simple terms. Writing fulfills all the small and large dissatisfactions in his life, and brings him closer to his father. "When I became a writer, I knew that it was partly thanks to the fact that I had a father who spoke of world writers much more than he ever spoke of pashas or great religious leaders."
Often, for the sake of narrative interest, Pamuk's structure leans heavily toward effect to cause relationships in his writing. Pamuk notes that, "In the seventies, I did begin, somewhat ambitiously, to build my own library." The effect is established; however, why did he decide to build a library? He later says, "at the same time I felt that my life was in some way lacking, that I would not be able to live like others. Part of this feeling was connected to what I felt when I gazed at my father’s library" And so the cause is known. Pamuk loved the library that his father had; therefore, he decided to build his own. This serves to connect him with the act of writing and his father at the same time. We also learn that Pamuk's father has written some manuscript that is contained inside the suitcase; though we do not know why - neither does the author. "So this was what was driving me when I first opened my father’s suitcase: Did my father have a secret, an unhappiness in his life that I knew nothing about, something that he could endure only by pouring it into his writing?"
Pamuk also uses general to specific cause-effect relationships to trace the suitcase anecdote to his specific reasons for writing and seeking out his father's approval. This is first seen when the suitcase first appears in the story. "My father was searching for a place to set down the suitcase, wandering around like a man who wished to rid himself of a painful burden. In the end, he deposited it quietly, unobtrusively, in a corner. It was a shaming moment that neither of us ever quite forgot" The cause is established, and the story later reveals WHY that event was so impactful to him.
Pamuk's use of cause-effect storytelling is incredibly effective, as it works on two levels - it allows the task of writing to connect with his search for his father's approval. The things that he and his father do are both in service to writing and to each other - Pamuk can indirectly credit his writing to his desire to be closer to his father, or gain his father's approval. Pamuk's cause-effect storytelling gets to the heart of both his problems with his father and his desire to write. Pamuk is able to demonstrate the coming-of-age story and the father-son story by demonstrating just how much his father's life impacted him and influenced him. In return, Pamuk wanted to know more about his father. The relationship between writing and his father is very clearly shown, and the audience is impacted substantially as a result.
References
Pamuk, O. (2006 Dec 25). My father's suitcase. The New Yorker.
