Cultural and historical context of overcoming the traumatic past (on the example of Saull Bellow's novel “Mr. Semmler's plane”)

Братусь, Іван Вікторович (2021) Cultural and historical context of overcoming the traumatic past (on the example of Saull Bellow's novel “Mr. Semmler's plane”) АРТ-платФОРМА, 3 (1). pp. 166-192. ISSN 2708-5317

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Abstract

The article analyzes the cultural and historical context of the novel by the outstanding American writer Saul Bellow. The study examines the overcoming of the traumatic experience by the protagonist of the novel, his attempts to get rid of the negative effects on consciousness and partly subconsciousness. Attention is also paid to the age specifics of the main character, which reproduces the characteristics of the elderly. The article raises the issue of personal responsibility for the correctness of moral choices in extreme living conditions. Particular attention is paid to the period of World War II in the context of traumatic memories and the inability of the human psyche to assimilate the criminal nature of the terrible events of that time. The study also focuses on the adjustment of Holocaust survivors to American society in general and to New York in particular. The relevance of the study is due to the unresolved problems of historical memory, the need to deepen and expand knowledge about traumatic memory and ways to overcome the negative consequences. Examples are given of the lack of freedom from the traumatic past, the general memorial discourse, the dynamics of individual and collective memory, the moralization of history and the actualization of systems against the creeping universal oblivion. The author dwells on the problems of death, the military past, the Holocaust and the like. It is proved that in Saul Bellow's novel “The Planet of Mr. Sammler” the analysis of national identity in the historical and cultural context of the twentieth century occupies a significant place. The main events of Arthur Sammler's biography are reviewed from the point of view of the traumatic memory that persistently haunts the main character. The historical and cultural context of American reality in the second half of the twentieth century in general and “life in New York” in particular is analyzed separately. An appropriate assessment of the events of New York life as “distractions” in overcoming traumatic memory is provided. The balance between memory and oblivion is given. Arguments in favor of attempts to construct the past from the position of a victim of Nazi crimes are presented. Victory is seen in the articulation of traumatized memory, the removal of memories from the subconscious to the consciousness. At the same time, the position of Arthur Sammler in the fight against "systematic lies" is defended.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Saul Bellow; American literature; war; traumatic memory
Subjects:	Це архівна тематика Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка > Статті у журналах > Наукові (входять до інших наукометричних баз, крім перерахованих, мають ISSN, DOI, індекс цитування)
Divisions:	Це архівні підрозділи Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка > Факультет образотворчого мистецтва і дизайну > Кафедра образотворчого мистецтва
Depositing User:	доцент Іван Братусь
Date Deposited:	28 May 2021 11:29
Last Modified:	28 May 2021 11:29
URI:	https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/36505

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