Lerner describes Balgat’s progress within the framework of Western industrialism. He observes change, and after meeting with the Chief describes that “a sign of the gravity of these changes was that he – of a lineage that had always been Muhtars and landowners – was no longer a farmer” (55). Lerner attributes this change to two major causes: first, upcoming elections which will incorporate Balgat into Greater Ankara, after which it will be administered under the general municipal system (a more Westernized form of government).

Lerner’s second cause is the new bus station which leaves every hour to Ankara. When he sees this, he exclaims, “The villagers were getting out of their holes at last” (51). The emphasis on transportation and connection as a form of progress echoes the definition in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, in which major change is attributed to the railroad. John Gray would look critically at Lerner’s assumption that the same industrial / Western model of progress will work for all societies. Lerner does not take Balgat’s cultural history into consideration, which distorts the way he sees changes as “forward” or beneficial progress. This comes into play when Lerner describes the Grocer as “yearning to be comfortably rich in an interesting city” (54). He clearly places value judgment on the town by contrasting it to a more-developed and thus more interesting city, and assumes that all people strive toward Westernization.