In the isolated, rural, mountainous area where the novel is set, the local authorities exert almost total control over the common people’s lives. Their abusive behavior includes the extortion of taxes and tribute, and the resulting confiscation of lands from those who cannot pay. In opposition to these abuses, a few people are forced to take a stand. Memed is a reluctant hero whose poverty and desperation lead him to challenge the tyrannical Abdi Agha. As those abuses also include forcing young women to marry against their will, he becomes the defender of the lovely Hatche. The moral force of Memed’s motivations sets him apart from, as well as exerts a positive influence on, other bandits who steal for their own benefit.

Drawing heavily on the folk traditions of the Taurus region of Turkey, Gökçeli fills the novel with tales about local customs. The richness of the setting includes descriptions of the mundane aspects of the peasant agriculture that provides their livelihood. Moreover, the narrative structure draws on oral traditions and on folk tales that glorify Robin Hood–type bandits.

While much of the novel’s setting and local color are specific to the Taurus region, the idea of regional importance is also a key feature of the nationalism that the author supports. Rather than a foreign-derived, generic modernism that would strip away culture and tradition, an effective nationalism would draw on the diversity that made their country strong. Gökçeli was among those advocating the importance of ethnic and geographic diversity as the fundamental underpinnings of a modern nation.