The drowned souls by john steinbeck and halyna pahutyak: ‘special’ characters in the author's conception of man

Гальчук, Оксана Василівна (2024) The drowned souls by john steinbeck and halyna pahutyak: ‘special’ characters in the author's conception of man Закарпатські філологічні студії (36). pp. 329-337. ISSN 2663-4880; 2663-4899

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Abstract

The authors’ variant of the Other character that suffers from a mental illness is identified as a ‘special’ character. The study of artistic incarnations of such characters in different national literatures is relevant as it helps to analyze the ethical space of world literature texts that raise the themes, such as the conflict between ‘own’ and ‘alien’ (Other), tolerance, and empathy. It also helps to understand how these characters are connected to the traditions of national literature and their role in shaping the author's concepts of humanity and the world. The purpose of this article is to determine the conceptual nature of characters with mental illnesses in the works of John Steinbeck and Halyna Pagutyak. Additionally, the article analyzes the unique artistic construction of 'special' characters by Steinbeck and Pagutyak. It identifies the symbolic content of these characters and determines the common and distinctive features of the interpretations of ‘special’ characters in the context of the authors’ concepts of a person. The objects of the study are Of Men and Mice by Steinbeck and Drowned in the Snows, The Drowned Soul by Pagutyak. The article uses such research methods as comparative-typological, intertextual, psychoanalytical, and annotated reading. The research identifies the following common topos in the works of Steinbeck and Pagutyak: characters with mental illnesses, typologically similar chronotopes, an emphasis on existential motives, and archetypal images. It is noted that in Steinbeck’s interpretation, all characters feel ‘special’ due to social and racial problems. Their markers are alienation and lost dreams. With artistic generalization, the author transforms ‘special’ characters into symbolic images of the ‘underprivileged.’ Unlike Steinbeck, Pagutyak views the image of 'drowned souls' as representing ‘special’ characters within the context of aesthetic and post-colonial issues (The Drowned Soul) and emphasizes the impossibility for these characters to find peace in the real world (Drowned in the Snows). The use of ‘special’ characters as symbols of the underprivileged is expressed through biblical allusions, the Orphic motif, the motif of duality, and the poetics of artistic animalism. The study concludes that both Steinbeck and Pagutyak embodied their vision of the tragic figure of the Other in the modern traumatized world through the ‘special’ characters.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	John Steinbeck; Halyna Pahutyak; Other; topos of mental illness; existential motives; identity
Subjects:	Статті у базах даних > Index Copernicus Статті у періодичних виданнях > Фахові (входять до переліку фахових, затверджений МОН)
Divisions:	Факультет української філології, культури і мистецтва > Кафедра світової літератури
Depositing User:	професор Оксана Гальчук
Date Deposited:	24 Dec 2024 12:01
Last Modified:	24 Dec 2024 12:01
URI:	https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/50874

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