American literature at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. US literature of the late 19th century American short story of the 19th century

1. Jerome Salinger - “The Catcher in the Rye”
A classic writer, a mystery writer, who at the peak of his career announced his retirement from literature and settled far from worldly temptations in a remote American province. Salinger's only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, became a turning point in the history of world literature. Both the title of the novel and the name of its main character, Holden Caulfield, became a code word for many generations of young rebels.

2. Nell Harper Lee - “To Kill a Mockingbird”
The novel, first published in 1960, was a resounding success and immediately became a bestseller. This is not surprising: Harper Lee, having learned the lessons of Mark Twain, found her own style of storytelling, which allowed her to show the adult world through the eyes of a child, without simplifying or impoverishing it. The novel was awarded one of the most prestigious awards USA in Literature - Pulitzer Prize, published in multi-million copies. It has been translated into dozens of languages ​​around the world and continues to be republished to this day.

3. Jack Kerouac - “On the Road”
Jack Kerouac gave a voice to an entire generation in literature, during his short life he managed to write about 20 books of prose and poetry and became the most famous and controversial author of his time. Some branded him as a subverter of foundations, others considered him a classic modern culture, but from his books all beatniks and hipsters learned to write - to write not what you know, but what you see, firmly believing that the world itself will reveal its nature. It was the novel “On the Road” that brought Kerouac worldwide fame and became a classic of American literature.

4. Francis Scott Fitzgerald - "The Great Gatsby"
The best novel by American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald, a poignant story of eternal dreams and human tragedy. According to the author himself, “the novel is about how illusions are wasted, which give the world such color that, having experienced this magic, a person becomes indifferent to the concept of true and false.” The dream that Jay Gatsby is captivated by, coming into direct contact with ruthless reality, breaks down and buries the hero who believed in it as truth under its rubble.

5. Margaret Mitchell - “Gone with the Wind”
The great saga of the American Civil War and the fate of the wayward and ready to go on the head Scarlet O'Hara was first published 70 years ago and does not become outdated to this day. “Gone with the Wind” is the only novel by Margaret Mitchell for which she, a writer, emancipist and advocate for women's rights, received a Pulitzer Prize. This book is about how love for life can be more important than love; then, when the breakthrough to survival is successfully completed, love becomes preferable, but without love of life, love also dies.

6. Ernest Hemingway - “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
Full of tragedy is the story of a young American who came to Spain, engulfed in civil war.
A brilliant and sad book about war and love, true courage and self-sacrifice, moral duty and the enduring value of human life.

7. Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451

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Despite the relatively short story, American literature has made an invaluable contribution to world culture. Although already in the 19th century, the whole of Europe was reading the dark detective stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the beautiful historical poems Henry Longfellow, these were just the first steps; It was in the 20th century that American literature flourished. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, two world wars and the struggle against racial discrimination in America, classics of world literature, Nobel Prize laureates, writers who characterize an entire era with their works are born.

The radical economic and social changes in American life in the 1920s and 1930s provided the ideal soil for realism, which reflected the desire to capture the new realities of America. Now, along with books whose purpose was to entertain the reader and make him forget about surrounding social problems, works appear on the shelves that clearly show the need to change the existing social order. The work of realists was characterized by great interest in various kinds social conflicts, attacks on socially accepted values ​​and criticism of the American way of life.

Among the most prominent realists were Theodore Dreiser, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner And Ernest Hemingway. In their immortal works, they reflected the true life of America, sympathized with the tragic fate of young Americans who went through the First World War, supported the fight against fascism, openly spoke in defense of workers and without hesitation depicted the depravity and spiritual emptiness of American society.

THEODORE DREISER

(1871-1945)

Theodore Dreiser was born in a small town in Indiana into the family of a bankrupt small businessman. Writer from childhood I knew hunger, poverty and need, which was later reflected in the themes of his works, as well as in his brilliant description of the life of the ordinary working class. His father was a strict Catholic, narrow-minded and despotic, which forced Dreiser hate religion till the end of one's days.

At the age of sixteen, Dreiser had to leave school and work part-time in order to somehow earn a living. Later, he was still enrolled at the university, but was only able to study there for a year, again due to money problems. In 1892, Dreiser began working as a reporter for various newspapers, and eventually moved to New York, where he became a magazine editor.

His first significant work was a novel "Sister Carrie"– published in 1900. Dreiser describes, close to his own life, the story of a poor village girl who goes to Chicago in search of work. As soon as the book barely made it into print, it immediately was called against morality and was withdrawn from sale. Seven years later, when it became too difficult to hide the work from the public, the novel finally appeared on store shelves. The writer's second book "Jenny Gerhard" published in 1911 was also trashed by critics.

Then Dreiser begins to write the series of novels “Trilogy of Desires”: "Financier" (1912), "Titanium"(1914) and unfinished novel "Stoic"(1947). His goal was to show how at the end of the 19th century in America "big business".

In 1915, a semi-autobiographical novel was published. "Genius", in which Dreiser describes the tragic fate of a young artist whose life was broken by the cruel injustice of American society. Myself the writer considered the novel his best work, but critics and readers greeted the book negatively and it was practically didn't sell.

Dreiser's most famous work is the immortal novel "American tragedy"(1925). This is the story of a young American who is corrupted by the false morals of the United States, causing him to become a criminal and a murderer. The novel reflects American way of life, in which the poverty of workers from the outskirts stands out clearly against the background of the wealth of the privileged class.

In 1927, Dreiser visited the USSR and the following year published a book “Dreiser looks at Russia” which became one of the first books about the Soviet Union, published by a writer from America.

Dreiser also supported the movement of the American working class and wrote several journalistic works on this topic - "Tragic America"(1931) and "America is worth saving"(1941). With tireless strength and skill of a true realist, he depicted the social system around him. However, despite how harsh the world appeared before his eyes, the writer never didn't lose faith to the dignity and greatness of man and his beloved country.

In addition to critical realism, Dreiser worked in the genre naturalism. He scrupulously depicted at first glance minor details everyday life of his heroes, cited real documents, sometimes very long in size, clearly described actions related to business, etc. Because of this style of writing, critics often accused Dreiser in the absence of style and imagination. By the way, despite such condemnations, Dreiser was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in 1930, so you can judge their veracity for yourself.

I don't argue, maybe sometimes there's an abundance small parts confusing, but it is their ubiquitous presence that allows the reader to most clearly imagine the action and seem to be a direct participant in it. The writer's novels are large in size and can be quite difficult to read, but they are undoubtedly masterpieces American Literature, worth spending time on. It is highly recommended for fans of Dostoevsky's work, who will certainly be able to appreciate Dreiser's talent.

FRANCIS SCOTT FITZGERALD

(1896-1940)

Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most prominent American writers lost generation(these are young people drafted to the front, sometimes not yet graduating from school and starting to kill early; after the war they often could not adapt to peaceful life, they became drunkards, committed suicide, and some went crazy). These were people devastated from within, who had no strength left to fight the corrupt world of wealth. They try to fill their spiritual emptiness with endless pleasures and entertainment.

The writer was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, into a wealthy family, so he had the opportunity to study at prestigious Princeton University. At that time, there was a competitive spirit at the university, which influenced Fitzgerald. He tried with all his might to become a member of the most fashionable and famous clubs, which attracted with their atmosphere of sophistication and aristocracy. For the writer, money was synonymous with independence, privilege, style and beauty, while poverty was associated with stinginess and limitation. Later Fitzgerald I realized the falsity of my views.

He never finished his studies at Princeton, but that was where his literary career (he wrote for the university magazine). In 1917, the writer volunteered for the army, but never took part in real military operations in Europe. At the same time he falls in love with Zelda Sayre who came from a wealthy family. They got married only in 1920, two years later after the resounding success of Fitzgerald's first serious work. "The Other Side of Heaven", because Zelda didn't want to marry a poor unknown man. The fact that beautiful girls are attracted only by wealth made the writer think about social injustice, and Zelda was subsequently often called prototype of heroines his novels.

Fitzgerald's wealth grows in direct proportion to the popularity of his novel, and soon the couple become the epitome of a luxurious lifestyle, they even began to be called the king and queen of their generation. They lived luxuriously and ostentatiously, enjoying fashionable life in Paris, expensive rooms in prestigious hotels, endless parties and receptions. They constantly pulled out various eccentric antics, had scandals and became addicted to alcohol, and Fitzgerald even began writing articles for the glossy magazines of the time. All this is undoubtedly destroyed the writer's talent, although even then he managed to write several serious novels and stories.

His major novels appeared between 1920 and 1934: "The Other Side of Heaven" (1920), "The Beautiful and the Damned" (1922), "The Great Gatsby", which is the writer's most famous work and is considered a masterpiece of American literature, and "Night is tender" (1934).

Fitzgerald's best stories are included in collections "Tales of the Jazz Age"(1922) and "All These Sad Young Men" (1926).

Shortly before his death, in an autobiographical article, Fitzgerald compared himself to a broken plate. He died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940 in Hollywood.

The main theme of almost all of Fitzgerald's works was the corrupting power of money, which leads to spiritual decay. He considered the rich a special class, and only over time began to realize that it was based on inhumanity, his own uselessness and lack of morality. He realized this along with his heroes, who were mostly autobiographical characters.

Fitzgerald's novels are written in beautiful language, understandable and sophisticated at the same time, so the reader can hardly tear himself away from his books. Although after reading Fitzgerald's works, despite the amazing imagination a journey into the luxurious “age of jazz”, there remains a feeling of emptiness and futility of existence, he is rightfully considered one of the most outstanding writers of the 20th century.

WILLIAM FAULKNER

(1897-1962)

William Cuthbert Faulkner is one of the leading novelists of the mid-20th century, growing into an impoverished aristocratic family in New Albany, Mississippi. He studied at Oxford when the First World War began. The writer's experience gained at this time played an important role in the formation of his character. He entered military flight school, but the war ended before he could complete the course. After this Faulkner returned to Oxford and worked postmaster at the University of Mississippi. At the same time, he began taking courses at the university and trying to write.

His first published book, a collection of poems "Marble Faun"(1924), was not successful. In 1925, Faulkner met the writer Sherwood Anderson, which had a great influence on his work. He recommended to Faulkner do not engage in poetry, prose, and gave advice to write about American South, about the place Faulkner grew up in and knows best. It is in Mississippi, namely in a fictional county Yoknapatawpha the events of most of his novels will take place.

In 1926 Faulkner wrote the novel "Soldier's Award", who was close in spirit to the lost generation. The writer showed tragedy of people who returned to peaceful life crippled both physically and mentally. The novel was also not a great success, but Faulkner was recognized as an inventive writer.

From 1925 to 1929 he works carpenter And painter and successfully combines this with writing.

The novel was published in 1927 "Mosquitoes" and in 1929 – "Sartoris". That same year, Faulkner published the novel "The Sound and the Fury" which brings him fame in literary circles . After this, he decides to devote all his time to writing. His work "Sanctuary"(1931), a story of violence and murder, became a sensation and the author finally found financial independence.

In the 30s, Faulner wrote several Gothic novels: "When I was dying"(1930), "Light in August"(1932) and "Absalom, Absalom!"(1936).

In 1942, the writer published a collection of short stories "Come Down, Moses", which includes one of his most famous works - the story "Bear".In 1948 Faulkner writes "Defiler of Ashes", one of the most important social novels associated with the problem of racism.

In the 40s and 50s it was published best job- a trilogy of novels "Village", "City" And "Mansion" dedicated to the tragic fate of the aristocracy of the American South. Faulkner's last novel "The Kidnappers" released in 1962, it is also part of the Yoknapatawpha saga and depicts the story of the beautiful but dying South. For this novel, and also for "Parable"(1954), whose themes are humanity and war, Faulkner received Pulitzer Prizes. In 1949, the writer was awarded "for his significant and artistically unique contribution to the development of the modern American novel".

William Faulkner was one of the most important writers of his time. He belonged to Southern School of American Writers. In his works, he turned to the history of the American South, especially the times of the Civil War.

In his books he tried to deal with the problem of racism, knowing full well that it is not so much social as psychological. Faulkner saw African Americans and whites as inextricably bound together by a shared history. He condemned racism and cruelty, but was sure that both whites and African Americans were not ready for legislative measures, so Faulkner mainly criticized the moral side of the issue.

Faulkner was skilled with the pen, although he often claimed to have little interest in writing technique. He was a bold experimenter and had an original style. He wrote psychological novels, in which great attention was paid to the characters' lines, for example, the novel "When I was dying" is built as a chain of monologues of the characters, sometimes long, sometimes in one or two sentences. Faulkner fearlessly combined contradictory adjectives to powerful effect, and his works often have ambiguous, uncertain endings. Of course, Faulkner knew how to write in such a way that stir the soul even the most fastidious reader.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

(1899-1961)

Ernest Hemingway - one of the most widely read writers of the 20th century. He is a classic of American and world literature.

He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of a provincial doctor. His father was fond of hunting and fishing, he taught his son shoot and fish, and also instilled a love for sports and nature. Ernest's mother was a religious woman who was entirely devoted to the affairs of the church. Due to different views on life, quarrels often broke out between the writer’s parents, which is why Hemingway couldn't feel calm at home.

Ernest's favorite place was the house in northern Michigan, where the family usually spent the summer. The boy always accompanied his father on various forays into the forest or fishing.

Was at Ernest's school gifted, energetic, successful student and excellent athlete. He played football, was on the swim team and boxed. Hemingway also loved literature, writing weekly reviews and poetry and prose for school magazines. However, Ernest's school years were not calm. The atmosphere created in the family by his demanding mother put a lot of pressure on the boy, so he ran away from home twice and worked on farms as a laborer.

In 1917, as America entered World War I, Hemingway wanted to join the active army, but due to poor eyesight he was refused. He moved to Kansas to live with his uncle and began working as a reporter for the local newspaper. The Kansas City Star. Journalistic experience clearly visible in Hemingway's distinctive writing style, laconicism, but at the same time clarity and precision of language. In the spring of 1918, he learned that the Red Cross needed volunteers for Italian front. This was his long-awaited chance to be at the center of the battles. After a short stop in France, Hemingway arrived in Italy. Two months later, while rescuing a wounded Italian sniper, the writer came under machine gun and mortar fire and was seriously wounded. He was taken to a hospital in Milan, where after 12 operations, 26 fragments were removed from his body.

Experience Hemingway, received in war, was very important for the young man and influenced not only his life, but also his writing. In 1919, Hemingway returned to America as a hero. Soon he travels to Toronto, where he begins working as a reporter for a newspaper. The Toronto Star. In 1921, Hemingway married young pianist Hadley Richardson, and the couple moves to Paris, a city that the writer has long dreamed of. To collect material for his future stories, Hemingway travels around the world, visiting Germany, Spain, Switzerland and other countries. His first job "Three stories and ten poems"(1923) was not successful, but the next collection of stories "In our time", published in 1925, achieved public recognition.

Hemingway's first novel "And the Sun Rises"(or "Fiesta") published in 1926. "A Farewell to Arms!", a novel depicting the First World War and its aftermath, published in 1929 and brings great popularity to the author. In the late 20s and 30s, Hemingway published two collections of stories: "Men Without Women"(1927) and "Winner takes nothing" (1933).

The most outstanding works, written in the first half of the 30s, are "Death in the Afternoon"(1932) and "Green Hills of Africa" (1935). "Death in the Afternoon" tells about the Spanish bullfight, "Green Hills of Africa" and a well-known collection "Snows of Kilimanjaro"(1936) describe Hemingway's hunting in Africa. Nature lover, the writer masterfully paints African landscapes for readers.

When did it start in 1936? Spanish Civil War, Hemingway rushed to the theater of war, but this time as an anti-fascist correspondent and writer. The next three years of his life are closely connected with the struggle of the Spanish people against fascism.

He took part in the filming documentary film "Land of Spain". Hemingway wrote the script and read the text himself. The impressions of the war in Spain are reflected in the novel "For whom the Bell Tolls"(1940), which the writer himself considered his best job.

Hemingway's deep hatred of fascism made him active participant in World War II. He organized counterintelligence against Nazi spies and hunted German submarines in the Caribbean on his boat, after which he served as a war correspondent in Europe. In 1944, Hemingway took part in combat flights over Germany and even, standing at the head of a detachment of French partisans, was one of the first to liberate Paris from German occupation.

After the war Hemingway moved to Cuba, sometimes visited Spain and Africa. He warmly supported the Cuban revolutionaries in their struggle against the dictatorship that had developed in the country. He talked a lot with ordinary Cubans and worked hard on a new story "The Old Man and the Sea", which is considered the pinnacle of the writer’s creativity. In 1953, Ernest Hemingway received Pulitzer Prize for this brilliant story, and in 1954 Hemingway was awarded Nobel Prize on literature "for the narrative mastery once again demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea."

During his trip to Africa in 1953, the writer was involved in a serious plane crash.

In the last years of his life he was seriously ill. In November 1960, Hemingway returned to America to the town of Ketchum, Idaho. Writer suffered from a number of diseases, which is why he was admitted to the clinic. He was in deep depression, because he believed that FBI agents were watching him, listening telephone conversations, check mail and bank accounts. The clinic accepted this as a symptom of mental illness and treated the great writer with electric shock. After 13 sessions Hemingway I lost my memory and the ability to create. He was depressed, suffered from bouts of paranoia, and increasingly thought about suicide.

Two days after being released from a psychiatric hospital, on July 2, 1961, Ernest Hemingway shot himself with his favorite hunting rifle in his home in Ketchum, leaving no suicide note.

In the early 80s, Hemingway's FBI file was declassified, and the fact of surveillance of the writer in his last years was confirmed.

Ernest Hemingway was, of course, the greatest writer of his generation, who had an amazing and tragic fate. He was freedom fighter, vehemently opposed wars and fascism, and not only through literary works. He was incredible master of writing. His style is distinguished by laconicism, accuracy, restraint in describing emotional situations, and specificity of details. The technique he developed entered the literature under the name "iceberg principle", because the writer gave the main meaning to the subtext. The main feature of his work was truthfulness, he was always honest and sincere with his readers. While reading his works, one becomes confident in the authenticity of events and creates the effect of presence.

Ernest Hemingway is the writer whose works are recognized as true masterpieces of world literature and whose works, without a doubt, are worth reading for everyone.

MARGARET MITCHELL

(1900-1949)

Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the daughter of a lawyer who was chairman of the Atlanta Historical Society. The whole family loved and was interested in history, and the girl grew up in atmosphere of stories about the Civil War.

Mitchell first studied at Washington Seminary and then entered the prestigious all-female Smith College in Massachusetts. After studying she started working in The Atlanta Journal. She wrote hundreds of essays, articles and reviews for the newspaper, and in four years of work she grew to reporter, but in 1926 she suffered an ankle injury, which made her work impossible.

The energy and liveliness of the writer’s character could be seen in everything she did or wrote. In 1925 Margaret Mitchell married John Marsh. From that moment on, she began to write down all the stories about the Civil War that she heard as a child. The result was a novel "Gone With the Wind", which was first published in 1936. The writer worked on it for ten years. This is a novel about the American Civil War, told from the point of view of the North. The main character is, of course, a beautiful girl named Scarlett O'Hara, the whole story revolves around her life, family plantation, and love relationships.

After the release of the novel, an American classic bestseller, Margaret Mitchell quickly became a world-famous writer. More than 8 million copies have been sold in 40 countries. The novel has been translated into 18 languages. He won Pulzer Prize in 1937. Later a very successful film was filmed movie with Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard.

Despite numerous requests from fans to continue O'Hara's story, Mitchell did not write more not a single novel. But the writer's name, like her magnificent work, will forever remain in the history of world literature.

Joseph Brodsky - “Democracy!”

Everyone knows Brodsky the poet, many know Brodsky the prose writer, but, for example, Brodsky is the playwright. "Democracy!" - a one-act play written at the turn of the 80s and 90s, on the eve of the demise of the Soviet Union. The action takes place in a fictional country, where the Minister of Internal Affairs is called Petrovich, the Minister of Finance is Gustav Adolfovich, and the Minister of Culture is Cecilia. Full text The play was only published in the early 2000s.

Vladimir Nabokov – “Look at the Harlequins”

This novel is less famous than “Lolita” or “The Gift,” and yet it is the last that Nabokov managed to complete during his lifetime. "Memoirs" famous writer Vadim Vadimovich N. is called a parody of autobiography. The novel in seven parts describes his life in Russia, France, Italy and the USA, a series of loves and marriages, a trip to the USSR with a fake passport and his last love for his own daughter, who was the same age. The text contains many parallels with the real biography of Nabokov, and the chapters about the visit to the USSR are written based on the memories of his sister.

Charles Baudelaire – “The Poem of Hashish”

Few people know, but Baudelaire also wrote prose. Mainly about drugs (there is also his essay “Opiomaniac,” for example). In the “Poem” he describes in detail the process of obtaining hashish oil and the various effects of its use. Typically, the author does not advertise his own experience in this matter. As a result, he comes to the unexpected conclusion that cannabis is a universal evil and much more dangerous than opium. But what can we take from Baudelaire, even if doctors at the beginning of the last century treated cocaine addiction with heroin?

Boris Vian – “Dogs, desire, death”

This brilliant example of sadistic prose is famous mainly because, after a high-profile trial, the author was sentenced to prison for it. A short story from the perspective of a taxi driver sentenced to the electric chair. And no mimimi for you, as in “Foam of Days”. The story was adapted into the film “Mona” directed by Jean-François Perfetti.

Oscar Wilde – “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”

A poem that Wilde wrote after serving a two-year sentence in said prison on charges of immorality. The author’s signature at the end is his camera number – C.3.3. It was based on the stories of real prisoners, and the last quatrain of the poem was used as an epitaph on the writer’s grave. The irony here is also that the name of the prison is consonant with the word reading.

Jerome David Salinger – “The Birthday Boy”

A six-page unpublished story, the typescript of which is housed in the University of Texas Library. Despite the fact that it was never officially published, copies of the illegally printed book appeared on the Internet, from which enthusiasts later completed a Russian translation. The hero of the story is 22-year-old Ray, who suffers from alcoholism. It is assumed that this story was not intended for prying eyes at all. Critics note that it stands apart from Salinger's works because "there is not a hint of enlightenment or redemption in the text."

Ivan Bunin – “Loopy Ears and Other Stories”

In addition to the famous “ Dark alleys” Bunin has a lesser-known collection of short stories, published posthumously in New York. The hero of the main one is “an unusually tall man” Adam Sokolovich, who explains to drunken sailors in a tavern that “geeks have ears in the shape of a loop, the loop with which they are crushed.” The heavy, oppressive atmosphere of the story makes it completely different from typical Bunin stories about unhappy love and broken destinies, where tragedy is still touched by romance.

Introduction

Philosophy of literary criticism

1The relationship between philosophy and science

2Literary criticism in the system of scientific knowledge

2 US literature of the early 20th century

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Romantic and socially acute, unique in its history and original approach to problems, persecuted in its homeland and recognized in other countries - American literature is of particular interest for philosophical understanding.

Literary criticism as a scientific discipline examines not only creative methods, but also pays a lot of attention to the history of literature. This interest can be expressed in different ways: the history of a particular literary movement, the history of literature of a particular country, etc.

The turn of the 19th-20th centuries in many ways became a landmark moment for US literature - new authors received recognition, the public’s gaze fell on problems that for a long time hidden or hushed up, new cultural and literary trends emerged.

The relevance of this work is due to the need to obtain theoretical knowledge in the field of American literature.

The object of the study is the literature of the 19th - 20th centuries. The subject is US literature of this period.

Purpose of the work: to structure knowledge about US literature of the specified period, fill gaps and identify main development trends.

In achieving this goal, the following tasks were identified and solved:

)Searching for information on a given topic;

)Analysis and processing of received information;

)Identification of the main features of the American literature XIX-XX century.

The abstract consists of two chapters, an introduction, a conclusion and a list of references.

1. Philosophy of literary criticism

1 The relationship between philosophy and science

For the most complete understanding of the connection between philosophy and science, it is necessary to define these concepts. Philosophy is a special form of social consciousness and knowledge of the world. It develops a system of knowledge about the fundamental principles and foundations of human existence, explores and generalizes the most essential characteristics of human relationships with the world. The Modern Encyclopedia gives the following definition of philosophy - it is a worldview, a system of ideas, views on the world and the place of man in it. Philosophy explores various forms of human relations with fibroids: cognitive, socio-political, value-based, ethical and aesthetic. Based on theoretical and practical knowledge about these relationships, philosophy reveals the relationship between subject and object. Similar definitions can be found in other sources.

Summarizing many definitions, we can say that philosophy is generalized knowledge about the world and about man’s place in it. Philosophy deals with the search and establishment of the most general laws and patterns in the world: in nature, in society, in the relationship of man with the surrounding reality.

Science can be defined as a special type of cognitive activity aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about the world. In the Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary we find the following definition: science is a sphere of human activity, the main task of which is the development and theoretical schematization of objective knowledge about reality; a branch of culture that did not exist at all times and not among all peoples.

Special sciences are addressed to the phenomena and processes of real reality that exist objectively, independently of either man or humanity. They are not interested in the moral aspect of human life; in their searches they do not take into account the categories of good and evil. Science formulates its conclusions in theories, laws and formulas, excluding from the spectrum of research the scientist’s attitude to the phenomena being studied and the social consequences to which this or that discovery may lead.

According to B. Russell, all special sciences are faced with unknown facts about the world, but “when a person enters the border areas or goes beyond them, he falls from science into the sphere of speculation.” Sciences are characterized by an orientation towards daily life, solving specific issues that determine the quality of life. While philosophy considers the most general forms of human experience, which do not always give specific practical results.

It is obvious that not a single scientific discipline, including philosophy, can absorb the entire volume of knowledge about the world. This fact determines the deep continuity between the private sciences and philosophy. At a certain stage, philosophy has the characteristics of a science: it forms its principles and laws on the basis of specific scientific material obtained empirically through specific sciences; philosophy, in turn, forms the methodological foundation for further scientific growth. Special sciences need a philosophical understanding of the knowledge accumulated by them.

In the 19th century, a special direction of philosophical research emerged, the so-called. philosophy of science. The need to develop a special philosophical methodological base for a particular science appears as the theoretical component of scientific knowledge grows. Elements of the problematics of the philosophy of science are already found in ancient philosophy, but the own problematics of this discipline are identified only in modern times.

The subject of studying the philosophy of science is the structure and development of scientific knowledge as a whole. The philosophy of science chooses as its basis the problems of science as an epistemological (epistemology - theory of knowledge) and sociocultural phenomenon.

The place of the philosophy of science in the structure of scientific knowledge is determined by the ability to realize the epistemological and sociocultural needs of science with the help of its internal, historically formed concepts and problems. The philosophy of science gives consciousness constructive and critical functions regarding existing scientific and cognitive practice.

The own problems of philosophy of science, as a separate discipline, are formed in the works of W. Whewell, J.S. Mill, O. Comte, G. Spencer, J. Herschel. Due to the fact that in the 19th century the social role of scientific work increases so much that it becomes a form of professional activity, the works of these and other authors led to the formulation of a specific normative-critical task: to bring scientific-cognitive activity into conformity with a certain philosophical and methodological ideal.

The path traveled by the philosophy of science from the moment of self-determination as a separate scientific discipline became the basis modern image Sciences. Its most important feature is that scientific knowledge, without differences in subject and method, turns out to be socially and culturally relative, as well as historically changeable. On this basis, it is expected to overcome the confrontation between the natural sciences and the humanities. The search for the unity of scientific knowledge now occurs not only on the basis of the natural sciences, but also on the basis of the humanities. However, at the same time, such concepts as truth and objectivity practically disappear from the reasoning of philosophers of science. The main thing in the philosophy of science turns out to be the central concept of the methodology of the humanities - the concept of interpretation, and in this case, philosophical hermeneutics begins to claim the role of the unified methodological basis of modern science.

The current state of philosophy of science is determined by two reductionist trends. The naturalistic tendency involves the dissolution of the philosophy of science in interdisciplinary studies, such as synergetics, cognitive science, and scientific studies. The humanitarian trend leads to the transformation of the discipline into literary studies, anthropology, and cultural studies. Maintaining belonging to the sphere of philosophical research is possible only taking into account the heuristic potential of the scientific field, critical reflection against the background of a deeper development of those fundamental goals and values ​​that form the core of the rationalistic worldview.

2 History of literary criticism

As mentioned above, the development of philosophy of science tends to expand the “functional field”. Not only applied and natural sciences, but also the humanities are turning to solving global philosophical issues. In the system of philosophical knowledge about the humanities, one can distinguish separately such areas as philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. These areas stand out because, due to their interdisciplinary setting, they are broader in scope than the philosophy of psychology and the philosophy of linguistics.

Within the framework of the philosophy of language, literary criticism can be distinguished as a discipline capable of forming philosophical knowledge. This scientific field is so authoritative that now you can often find an appeal to literary works as the most striking examples in the field of sociology, political science, history. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia gives the following definition of literary criticism: it is the science of fiction, its origin, essence and development. According to the authors of the encyclopedia, literary criticism is currently one of the most complex and dynamically developing systems of scientific knowledge. Literary studies also include the so-called. auxiliary disciplines: textual criticism, or text criticism, paleography, bibliography, bibliography.

It is worth saying that the boundaries of the science that studies literature are quite wide. Except general issues related to the process of development of literature, the subject of study by literary scholars becomes the work itself, the laws of its construction, the specifics of a particular text, etc. Literary criticism is conventionally divided into two main parts - theoretical and historical literary criticism. Theoretical literary criticism deals with the theory of literature, or poetics. She explores the basic elements of fiction: image, genera and species, styles, etc.

Literary history, on the contrary, is interested primarily in specific elements of literary criticism. The subject of her research is the originality of various national literatures, literary periods, directions and trends, and the creativity of individual authors. The history of literature considers any literary phenomenon V historical development.

Historical poetics has the features of the two above-mentioned directions - theory and history of literature. Like literary theory, it separates literary forms: genres, styles, types of plots and characters, etc. But unlike literary theory, historical poetics examines these forms in development (for example, changes in the novel as a genre are traced).

The history of literary criticism has its roots in the deep past. Discussions about art are found in the most ancient monuments that have survived to this day - in the Indian Vedas (10-2 centuries BC), in the Chinese “Book of Legends” (12-5 centuries BC), in the ancient Greek "Iliad" and "Odyssey" (8-7 centuries BC), etc. In Europe, the first concepts of art and literature were developed by ancient thinkers. Already in the works of Aristotle “Rhetoric” and “Metaphysics” the formation of the actual literary disciplines - the theory of literature, stylistics and poetics - takes place. His essay “On the Art of Poetry” contains the first systematic presentation of the foundations of poetics. It opened a centuries-old tradition of special treatises on poetics, which over time acquired an increasingly normative character. In the 18th century The first historical and literary courses were published: “The History of Italian Literature” (1772-82) by J. Tiraboschi, “The History of English Poetry” (1774-81) by T. Wharton, as well as the “Lyceum, or Course”, built on a historical consideration of the types of poetry ancient and new literature"(1799-1805) J. Laharpe.

Over time, the large-scale field of literary criticism gives rise to a number of pan-European methodological schools. One of the first among them was the mythological school. Its philosophical basis was the works on aesthetics of F. Schelling and br. A. and F. Schlegel.

The influence of the romantic theory about art as a way of self-expression of the creative spirit served as the basis for the biographical method (S.O. Sainte-Beuve, “Literary-Critical Portraits,” 1836-39). It is worth noting that this method, to one degree or another, runs through all modern literary criticism. The biographical method gave rise to psychological theories of creativity, widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century. The cultural-historical school, which was based, among other factors, on determinism in literary criticism, was especially influential.

At the end of the 19th century. in Western European literary criticism there are tendencies towards the emergence of a comparative approach in the study of literature. This is facilitated by the development of cultural-historical and psychological methods (“ Scientific criticism", 1888, E. Ennequin, France; "The main trends in European XIX literature century,” 1873-1890, G. Brandes, W. Wundt, D. N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky).

At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. a spiritual-historical (or cultural-philosophical) school took shape. In their theory, representatives of this school (W. Dilthey) neglected the social and class motives of experience, developing the principle of “historicism” (in relation to the change of artistic styles and forms). The moments of artistic structure were not taken into account, since art dissolved in the flow of the general worldview inherent in the era.

A special place in the Western literary tradition has been occupied by movements based on the philosophy of existentialism. Existentialists interpreted a poetic work as a self-sufficient, self-contained truth; the existentialist “interpretation” avoids the traditional genetic approach, taking the work out of its socio-historical context.

Modern literary criticism is a science that comprehensively studies fiction, its origins and social connections; the specifics of verbal and figurative artistic thinking, the nature and functions of artistic creativity, general and local patterns of the historical and literary process. In recent decades, research in the field of poetics has revived, which is characterized by a clear focus on understanding the formative, substantive principles of literature; this highlighted the problem of the work as a complex system capable of being incorporated into a changing historical and social context.

Modern literary criticism faces the main task of developing mechanisms for adequate interpretation of a literary text. A literary critic must be able to establish a dialogue with a work of literary art and make this dialogue interesting for the reader or listener. Simply put, the researcher must see and understand the literary text something that a non-expert won’t notice or won’t be able to explain. The level of qualification of a literary critic is precisely determined by the ability to solve these problems. The more extensive the knowledge, the more subtle and non-standard the commentary, the higher the level of the philologist-literary critic.

US literature at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries

At the beginning, I would like to make a short excursion into the history of the United States of the period of interest to us, because... without knowledge of the basics historical events understanding of literary processes and analysis of texts is impossible.

The United States of America is one of the youngest countries. The exploration of the continent by Europeans began in the 16th century; Before their appearance, the territory of the future world power was inhabited by Indian tribes. By the 18th century, Europeans had colonized the entire North American continent. In 1774, 13 English colonies began military operations in the struggle for independence. The result of their victory on July 4, 1776 was the formation of a new sovereign state.

Throughout the 19th century, the territory of the United States increased due to the acquisition of Louisiana from the French, Florida from the Spaniards, and the conquest of other lands. The seizure of local states was accompanied by either the forced removal of Indian people to reservations or the complete destruction of the population.

In 1861, disagreements arose between the southern and northern states related to economic and cultural issues, as a result of which a Confederation of 11 southern states arose and declared their secession. At the beginning of the civil war, the southerners won several victories, but in the end it ended with the victory of the northern states and the preservation of the federation.

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries was marked by a tremendous economic recovery in the United States due to the influx of immigrants from other continents. On April 4, 1917, America entered the First World War. Until this time, the state preferred to take a neutral position in relation to events in Europe. At this moment, the United States was creating zones of influence in the countries of the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean and Central America. After the war in 1929, a sharp jump in the country's economy gave way to a terrible crisis. During the Great Depression, production fell significantly and unemployment increased. On December 7, 1941, as a result of the bombing of an American base at Pearl Harbor by Japanese fighters, the US Army entered World War II with Japan. After December 11, 1941, America entered into military conflict with Italy and Germany. The Americans deployed all their military operations mainly in the Pacific territory. After the Tehran Conference on June 6, 1944, the US Army was involved in the defeat of the German army on the Atlantic coast of France. Fighting against Japan were successfully held in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. On August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and on August 9, a bomb was dropped on another Japanese city - Nagasaki. On September 2, 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan signed the act of surrender.

1 US literature of the late 19th century

Literary scholars call the end of the 19th century late American romanticism. During this period, a sharp division occurred in the country's literary space caused by the Civil War between North and South. On the one hand comes the literature of abolitionism, which, within the framework of romantic aesthetics, protests against slavery from ethical and general humanistic positions. On the other hand, the literature of the South, idealizing the traditions of the slave system, defends a historically doomed and reactionary way of life.

Motives of opposition to anti-humanistic laws occupy a significant place in the works of such writers as Longfellow, Emerson, Thoreau and others. We can observe the same motives in the works of H. Beecher Stowe, D. G. Whitier, R. Hildreth and others. A complex fusion of romantic and realistic elements is the work of the greatest American poet Walt Whitman. Romantic worldview - already beyond chronological framework Romanticism pervades Dickinson's work. Romantic motifs are organically included in the creative method of F. Bret Harte, M. Twain, A. Beers, D. London and other US writers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries.

It should be noted that American romanticism differs significantly from European romanticism. The affirmation of national identity and independence, the search for a “national idea” runs through all the art of American romanticism. The culture of the United States did not have the centuries-old experience that Europe had at that time - by the end of the 19th century, the new nation had not yet had time to “acquire” objects and realities for which romantic associations could be attached (such as the tulips of Holland and the roses of Italy). But gradually, in the books of Irving and Cooper, Longfellow and Melville, Hawthorne and Thoreau, the phenomena and facts of American nature, history, and geography acquire a romantic flavor.

The theme of the Indians became no less significant for American romanticism. Indians in America from the very beginning have been associated with a very complex psychological complex - admiration and fear, hostility and guilt. The image of the “noble savage”, the life of the Indians, its freedom, naturalness, closeness to nature could become a romantic alternative to capitalist civilization in the books of Irving and Cooper, Thoreau and Longfellow. In the works of these authors we see evidence that the conflict between the two races was not fatally inevitable, but that the cruelty and greed of the white settlers were to blame for it. The works of American romantics make the life and culture of Indians an important component national literature USA, conveying its special imagery and flavor. The same applies to the perception of another ethnic minority - black Americans of the southern states.

In American romanticism, within a single creative method there were marked regional differences. The main literary regions are New England (northeastern states), the middle states, and the South.

The atmosphere of the American South is conveyed by the works of D. P. Kennedy and W. G. Simms. It is worth noting that the authors were not able to completely get rid of the stereotypes of glorifying the virtues of “southern democracy” and the advantages of slave-owning systems. With all these limited features, “southern” romanticism prepares the ground for the formation of a complex, multidimensional, but undoubtedly fruitful “southern tradition” in US literature, which in the 20th century. represented by the names of W. Faulkner, R. P. Warren, W. Styron, K. McCullers, S. E. Grau and others. Southern writers often sharply and rightly criticize the evils of capitalist development in America, the dehumanizing consequences of bourgeois progress, but they do this with politically reactionary positions, arguing that “the slave lives happily on the plantation, without worries.”

The Middle States have been characterized by great ethnic and religious diversity and tolerance from the very beginning. Here American bourgeois democracy is being founded and capitalist relations are developing especially rapidly. The work of Irving, Cooper, Paulding, and later Melville is associated with the middle states. The main themes in the works of the romantics of the middle states are the search for a national hero, interest in social issues, reflections on the path the country has traveled, a comparison of the past and present of America.

New England romanticism (Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Bryant, etc.) is characterized primarily by the desire for a philosophical understanding of the American experience, an analysis of the national past, its ideological and artistic heritage. This literature is characterized by exploration of complex ethical issues; important place occupies a revision of the Puritan complex of religious and moral ideas of the Puritan colonists of the 17th-18th centuries, with which a deep continuity remains. New England Romanticism has a strong tradition of moral and philosophical prose, rooted in America's Puritan colonial past. After the end of the Civil War, a realistic direction in literature began to develop in US literature. A new generation of writers is associated with a new region: it relies on the democratic spirit of the American West, on the elements of folk oral folklore and addresses its works to the widest, mass reader. From the point of view of the new aesthetics, romanticism ceased to meet the requirements of the time. M. Twain, F. Bret Harte and other young realist writers sharply criticized the romantic “impulses”. Their contradictions with the romantics are caused primarily by different understanding life truth and ways of expressing it in artistic creativity. American realists of the second half of the 19th century. They strive for maximum historical, social and everyday concreteness; they are not satisfied with the language of romantic allegories and symbols.

It must be said that this denial is of a purely dialectical nature. In US literature of the 20th century. There are romantic motives and they are associated, as a rule, with the search for lost high ideals and true spirituality, the unity of man and nature, with the moral utopia of extra-bourgeois human relations, with a protest against the transformation of the individual into a cog of the state machine. These motifs are clearly visible in the works of the greatest American literary artists of our century - E. Hemingway and W. Faulkner, T. Wilder and D. Steinbeck, F. S. Fitzgerald and D. D. Salinger. US writers continue to turn to them last decades.

american literature novel realistic

2.2 US literature of the early 20th century

The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by significant artistic achievements American literature, which has received wide recognition throughout the world. This was largely due to the influx of immigrants from Europe and strong economic development. At the beginning of the century, the conflict between mass literature, bourgeois fiction and pseudo-romantic prose in the style of “refined tradition”, on the one hand, and literature seeking to convey life in its dynamics and contradictions, on the other, became more noticeable. The growth of social movements was important for the development of literature during this period: first - anti-war, then - anti-monopoly. Already in the first decades of the twentieth century, three new trends were identified in American literature: critical realism, experimental and socialist literature.

Dreiser's novel "Genius" became an important stage in the literary life of America. This work shows the conflict between true creativity and external circumstances that prevent its realization. Dreiser believed that the romance of profit prevails in American society; minds are dominated by the belief that the existing system is the best. In his opinion, Hollywood has captured not only cinematography, but also literature: heroes in American literature have stopped working, poverty has become a myth, and difficulties are resolved through various intrigues.

The growing realistic literature was represented by such authors as Mark Twain, E. Sinclair, J. London and others. Many of them supported the so-called movement. "muckrakers" This group of writers became the founders of the American sociological novel, combining journalistic research with artistic comprehension in their work.

In April 1917, the United States announced its entry into the First World War. America has never fought on its own territory, but its literature was also shaken by the theme of the “lost generation.” Problems related to the war were included not only in the books of those writers who fought on the fronts of Europe, such as E. Hemingway. The war, intertwined with other semantic lines in different works, touches on problems specific to America - big money and the collapse of the American Dream - helps to gain insight and see true value things, lies and selfish falsehood of official slogans. Economic crisis of the 20-30s. pulled all the contradictions into a single knot, exacerbating social conflicts: in the South and West, farms were ruined en masse; in the North and Northeast, violent clashes broke out in mines and factories. T. Dreiser writes about the disasters of the miners of Garlan, Steinbeck told the whole world about the tragedy of the farmers of California and the Far West. The stormy 30s are their most truthful and profound reflection. found in the works of E. Hemingway, W. Faulkner, J. Steinbeck, A. Miller, S. Fitzgerald.

The beginning of the century was also marked by new trends in the development of ethnic cultures. Interest in the work of Indian writers is growing, and the number of publications of works by black Americans is increasing, among which are William DuBois, P.L. Dunbar, C.W. Chesnut. They capture a wide American audience. The influx of immigrants to the United States has given rise to a unique literature, both in English and in the languages ​​of immigrants from different countries who came to America. This phenomenon gave impetus to a new stage in the development of not only US literature, but also culture as a whole.

A characteristic feature of the American realists was that, while borrowing some formal features of the modernist novel, they preserved the aesthetic principles of critical realism: the ability to create types of enormous social significance, to show the circumstances of provincial and metropolitan life that were deeply typical of American reality; the ability to depict life as a contradictory process, as a constant struggle and action, in contrast to the decadent novel, which replaces the depiction of social contradictions with a retreat into the inner world of the hero.

The masters of American prose of the early twentieth century consciously created simple stories, depriving them of the entertaining elements inherent in novels XIX century. In their opinion, this approach to creativity is better able to emphasize the tragedy of the protagonist’s situation. Traditional autobiographicalism continued to fuel the realistic elements of American literature, such as factualism and documentaryism. The authors believed that in the twentieth century the aesthetics of reading should become more intense, so they do not strive, like their predecessors, to convey in the exhibition everything basic about their heroes; Additional effort is required from the reader to assimilate and comprehend the components of the complex composition of the novel.

The beginning of the twentieth century in the United States not only revealed great names to the world community, but also became for the country a difficult transition period from the state of “arrogant youth” to a more mature understanding of things. The “Great Depression” of the 1930s was officially overcome in 1933, but its presence in literature goes far beyond the indicated limits. The experience of these difficult years forever remained in the Americans as an immunity against complacency, carelessness and mental indifference. It formed the basis further development national formula for success, contributed to strengthening the moral foundation of American business, which is reflected in the literature.

Conclusion

Literary life in the United States at the turn of the century was intense. Political events, social upheavals and cultural changes taking place in the world were quickly reflected in fiction. It must be said that many reactionary works eventually laid the foundation for entire movements of literature.

I would like to note the main trends that emerged in American literature at the beginning of the twentieth century. In this work, three of them are identified.

The dissonance in literary circles regarding the themes, ideas and forms of works naturally led to a change in the period of romantic literature to realistic literature. The conflict between mass and "noble" literature, based on the nation's rethinking of itself, led to the formation of the American social novel.

The second trend in US literature was war prose. Despite the fact that the hostilities of World War I did not affect American territory, the American public reacted strongly to them. The authors who touched upon this topic received recognition not only in their country, but also abroad.

I would like to note another trend that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century and is actively developing to this day - the recognition of ethnic authors. For a long time, this area of ​​​​literature was consigned to oblivion due to the internal policies of the United States regarding the colored population. The beginning of the century was marked by the “discovery” of ethnic literature. This fact greatly enriched literary space America. Now many non-American American writers have gained worldwide fame.

Bibliography

1.Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov, 3rd ed. T. 1-30. M., “Sov. Encyclopedia", 1969-78.

.Gilenson B.A. American literature of the 30s of the XX century, M. 1974.

.History of US literature: Literature of the early 20th century. Ch. ed. Ya. N. Zasursky, T.5. M., “Heritage”, 2009.

.Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006.

.Moiseeva N.A. Philosophy: A short course. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2007. - 352 p.

.Nikolaev A.I. Fundamentals of literary criticism: a textbook for students of philological specialties. - Ivanovo: LISTOS, 2011

.Fundamentals of literary criticism. Ch. ed. Meshcheryakov V.P., M., “Bustard”, 2003

.Russell B. Wisdom of the West / Ed. V.A. Malinina. - M., 1998

.Modern encyclopedia. 2000.

.Tolmachev V.M. Foreign literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries. - M.: Academy, 2003.

.Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004

.Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. 2010.

.Encyclopedia of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science. M.: “Canon+”, ROOI “Rehabilitation” I.T. Kasavin, 2009.

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Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio have collected the best stories in the genre of horror and suspense, written by recognized masters of American prose (Chuck Palahniuk, Michael Moorcock, Walter Mosley, Michael Swanwick...). Before you is a collection of smart, subtle, exquisitely intelligent, exciting and truly scary stories: the door through which the Abyss peers into a person.

Binding

A young British gentleman decides to invest money in the production of a play, the success of which should surpass even the masterpieces of Hollywood... A rake and womanizer suddenly finds himself in the center of a sensational story of kidnapping and robbery... Tormented by a grumpy wife, an American tycoon tries to flee to England - but he is drawn into a whirlpool of intrigue and blackmail ... Any other writer would have turned such stories into dramas, detective stories and even thrillers.

But if Pelham G. Woodhouse gets down to business, then we're talking about about sparkling, unparalleled humor!

Responsible task

On instructions from the US leadership and the President personally, in the context of the outbreak of the global economic crisis, the famous American journalist Diana Rose goes to Russia with the goal of finding out what Russian indifference is. In the Russian outback, events of incredible intensity happen to her; in a remote province, she meets very extraordinary people.

The main events unfold in the village of Bolshaya Lobotryasovka, famous for its desperate indifference...

Jim from Piccadilly

The magnificent Jimmy Crocker, a young American heir obsessed with the desire to turn into a British aristocrat, is forced to admit that in the elegant Piccadilly, unlike his native Broadway, nothing but trouble awaits him...

Gene Webster Children's prose Absent

Jean Webster (Alice Jane Chandler) is an American writer and great-niece of Mark Twain. She lived only forty years and died during childbirth. Her stories in letters brought her worldwide fame. The play based on these works was staged on Broadway and the film versions created over the years were a resounding success.

In the first film adaptation, the role of the heroine was played by famous actress silent films by Mary Pickford. "Daddy Long Legs" is a very famous work by Jean Webster. Who is he, Daddy Long Legs? The young college girl saw him only once, from behind.

He got her into college on the condition that she would write letters to him without expecting an answer. And he disappeared from her life... Trying to unravel the mystery of Daddy Long Legs, in reality, a teenage girl discovers the world and her own soul. This touching work, full of humor, leaves a feeling of freshness and warmth.

Webster's easy and accessible language makes the book attractive even to those who are just beginning to learn English.

Women in love

David Herbert Lawrence (1885–1930) was an English novelist, poet, and essayist, whose work evoked polar opinions among readers, critics, and the public. His novels "Lady Chatterley's Lover", "Sons and Lovers", "Rainbow" and "Women in Love" were included in the list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

They were read and at the same time condemned as obscene. The novel "Women in Love" was published in 1920 in a limited edition. The story of two passionate sisters Gudrun and Ursula and their beloved men Gerald and Rupert, disillusioned with life and love for women, caused a flurry of indignation among the conservative part of English society.

In 1922, a high-profile censorship process took place. Subsequently, the novel was filmed by the famous American director Ken Russell. The lead actress, Glenda Jackson, was awarded an Oscar in 1970. The novel was first published in Russian in 2006 by the Institute of Soitology together with the ABC-Classics publishing house.

Martin Eden

The famous novel by the outstanding American writer Jack London (1876-1916) “Martin Eden”. In many ways, autobiographical, which is one of the most widely read works of the writer, the novel tells about the life of a man from the very bottom who became a famous writer.

Having achieved a lot in life, Martin Eden decides to die...

Stories of the fairyland of Mo and its magical king

We bring to the attention of young readers a book translated into Russian for the first time by the greatest American storyteller, Lyman Frank Baum, better known to us as the author of The Wizard of Oz. The book about the incredible country of Mo was written a year before The Wizard and did not receive as much popularity.

It is known mainly in English-speaking countries. This happened because the book turned out to be too difficult to translate - it is all filled with puns, its characters are too phantasmagorical and too unreal to take them seriously.

Martin Eden

The twenty-first volume of The Complete Works of the outstanding American writer Jack London (1876-1916) includes the novel Martin Eden. In many ways, the autobiographical novel, which is one of the most widely read works of the writer, tells about the life of a man from the very bottom who became a talented and even famous writer.

Having achieved a lot in life, Martin Eden decides to die... Martin struggled in the darkness, without light, without approval, already beginning to experience despair. Even Gertrude began to look askance at him; at first she, like a good sister, encouraged it; which seemed to her childish nonsense; but then she, again like a good sister, began to worry.

It began to seem to her that childish stupidity was already turning into madness. Martin, noticing her anxious glances, suffered from them even more than from Mr. Higginbotham's rude and outright ridicule. He continued to believe in himself, but he was alone in his faith.

Books in my life (collection)

Henry Miller is the most prominent representative of the experimental trend in American prose of the 20th century, a daring innovator whose best works were banned for a long time in his homeland, a master of the confessional-autobiographical novel. All of his books represent a kind of polemic, a conversation on equal terms with those whom he considered his teachers, and nowhere is this felt more clearly than in the works included in this collection - “Books in My Life” and “The Time of Assassins: Sketch about Rimbaud."

“This book... aims to complete the story of my life,” Miller writes in the preface. – Books are considered here as life experience… When seeking knowledge or wisdom, it is always best to go straight to the source. The source is not a scientist or philosopher, not a master, saint or teacher, but life itself - the direct experience of life.”

And even today the novel has not lost its relevance: oligarchs, terrorists, secret agents... They say that sooner or later the truth always comes out. I kind of doubt it. Nineteen years have passed now, and despite all our efforts, we have not been able to discover who threw the bomb.

Without a doubt, this was some protege of the Iron Heel, but he somehow surprisingly managed to evade the searches of our secret agents. They never picked up his trail. And now, when so much time has passed, there is nothing left to do but classify this incident as one of the unsolved mysteries of history.

Henry Miller Counterculture Rose of the Crucifixion

Henry Miller is the most prominent representative of the experimental trend in American prose of the 20th century, a daring innovator whose best works were banned for a long time in his homeland, a master of the confessional-autobiographical genre. The "Paris Trilogy" - "Tropic of Cancer", "Black Spring", "Tropic of Capricorn" - brought him scandalous fame; these books reached the general reader for decades, overcoming court injunctions and censorship slingshots.

Miller's next largest work was the trilogy “The Crucifixion of the Rose,” which began with the novel “Sexus,” continued with “Plexus,” and ended with “Nexus.” Yes, before these books shocked, but now, when the scandal has long subsided, what remains is the power of words, the power of genuine feeling, the power of insight, the power of enormous talent.

In the novel, which became Miller's last major work, the modern classic explores his favorite themes with new fervor: friends and people as living books, Dostoevsky, Hamsun, Rimbaud, painting, criticism of consumer society, the contrast between the USA and Europe, love and art on the eve of leaving for Paris... Contains obscene language.

Life on borrowed time

The novel was first published in 1959 in the illustrated edition “Crystal” as a “novel with a continuation.” In 1961, after revisions and editing by the author, a longer version of the novel was published in an American translation, but under the title “Heaven has no favorites.”

The German version of the novel, Der Himmel kennt keine Gunstlinge, was a great success among readers in Germany, but received negative criticism. Remarque was accused of sentimentality and lack of style. And yet, despite all the complaints and comments, the same critics could not help but note that “the novel is exciting and impossible to tear yourself away from.”

Early 50s. Race car driver Klerfe comes to visit his old friend at the Montana sanatorium. There he meets a terminally ill girl, Lillian. Tired of the strict rules of the sanatorium, of routine and monotony, she decides to run away with Clarfe to where there is another life, a life that speaks the language of books, paintings and music, a life that beckons and arouses anxiety.

Both fugitives, despite all their differences, have one thing in common - a lack of confidence in the future. Clairefe lives from race to race, and Lilian knows that her disease is progressing and she has very little time left to live. Their romance is developing very rapidly, they love each other on the verge of doom, as only people can love, whose every step is accompanied by the shadow of death... The publication was carried out within the framework of an agreement with the Late Paulette Remarque Foundation c/o Morbooks Literary Agency and Synopsis Literary Agency © E.

Edgar Allan Poe Classic prose Missing No data

Edgar Alan Poe is a legend of American literature. It seems that all its genres and directions grew out of his work. It is his dark, mysterious figure that runs through all the masterpieces born in the New World. His own works are full of darkness and mysticism. Mysterious dead people, mysterious animals, the Sphinx, King Pestilence and the Devil himself - these are his favorite heroes.

But no, no, let his kind, sly smile peek through all this devilry. Such is the mysterious creator of the “Golden Bug”! The Golden Beetle The King of Plague A Few Words with the Mummy The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade The Stolen Letter Four Beasts in One.

Best american stories

The best stories of American writers Mark Twain, Jack London and O. Henry are heard in English, performed by native speakers. For ease of perception, the disc contains the texts of the stories: you can not only listen to the text, but also read it. Each story is accompanied by listening exercises that will help the listener check how well he perceives the text.

Texts and exercises are adapted for Intermediate level. Mark Twain. The ?1,000,000 Bank-Note Mark Twain. The Million Pound Bank Note A humorous account of the adventures of a poor young man with a million pounds in his pocket.

Jack London. Brown Wolf Jack London. Brown Wolf The story of a dog who came from the vast expanses of Alaska to a rich house in California. O.Henry. While the Auto Waits O. Henry. While the car is waiting A story about love, illusions and desires, written in typical O.

Henry in a romantic-ironic manner.

Freeze like a hummingbird (compilation)

The most prominent representative of the experimental trend in American prose of the 20th century, a daring innovator, whose best works were banned for a long time in his homeland, Henry Miller became famous not only for his confessional-autobiographical novels, but also for his memoirs and journalistic essays, in which he continues to talk about many of his friends and acquaintances, without whom it is impossible to imagine contemporary art and literature.

We present to your attention one of the collections of his documentary stories and artistic essays, “Freeze Like a Hummingbird,” translated into Russian for the first time. The book also includes two stories presented in a new edition: “A Smile at the Foot of a Rope Ladder,” written by order of the famous artist Fernand Léger and intended to accompany a collection of his works on the theme of the circus, and “Insomnia, or the Devil on the Loose,” a love story of an already elderly man. Miller to his last wife, a Japanese film actress and jazz singer.

Iron steam

Pavel Krusanov is a prose writer, a native St. Petersburger, in his youth he played rock and roll, in adulthood he became one of the leaders of the “St. Petersburg fundamentalists”, the author of the books “Angel Bite”, “American Hole”, “Bom-Bom”, “Dead Language” , "King of the Head". Finalist of the National Bestseller Award.

The heroes of the new novel “Iron Steam” are twin brothers. One is a restorer of ancient books, obsessed with the idea of ​​​​breeding a new, sinless human breed. In order to interest the powers that be in his project, he needs to bind his treatise using miraculous material, the natural elements of which can only be obtained in Tajikistan, in the burning mines of the Yagnob Valley.

His brother will help him bring these ideas to life: he assembles an expedition and sets off on a journey that will change their destinies, and, perhaps, all of humanity...

American short stories

The collection presents the works of three famous American writers who have made significant contributions to world literature. It will be of interest to people who know the basics of English and are improving their skills in it. Frank Norris. The ship that saw a ghost Jack London.

To build a fire Edgar Allan Poe. The pit and the pendulum NORRIS Benjamin Franklin was an American writer and journalist of the Progressive Era, one of the first to bring French naturalism to American literature. LONDON Jack is an American writer of adventure stories and novels.

The Son of the Wolf: Tales of the Far North

Jack London (real name John Griffith) is an American writer. In his youth, he changed many random professions, traveled and even spent a month in prison for vagrancy. In northern stories, London contrasts civilization with a world of untouched nature, but, believing in the beneficent nature, it never ceases to admire the technical and cultural achievements of civilization.

In his works, life is simple and cruel, requiring from people endurance, courage, willpower and endurance. The writer poetizes the right of the strong, admires the manifestations of the anarchic principle in his heroes. The audiobook was read by professional American actor Adam Maskin in English.

Sister Kerry

Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945) was an outstanding American writer and public figure. The trilogy “Titan”, “Stoic” and “Financier” brought him worldwide fame, and the pinnacle of his creativity was “American Tragedy”. “Sister Carrie” (1900) is Dreiser’s first novel.

The book tells the story of how the notorious “American Dream” is actually realized, when a person from the bottom of society, overcoming obstacles, moves towards his goal and reaches the heights of success. The main character of the novel is Caroline (Kerry) Mieber, an eighteen-year-old provincial girl from a poor family.

Arriving to visit her older sister in Chicago, she is forced to take a hard, low-paid job in a factory: they won’t hire her anywhere else. Exhausting poverty pushes a fragile girl onto the path of a kept woman - the mistress of successful men who manipulate her, seducing her with false promises.

Meanwhile, Kerry dreams of becoming an actress. You will find out whether her dream will come true by listening to the audio version of the novel. © & ℗ OOO "1C-Publishing" Translation - Mark Volosov Music - Vyacheslav Tupichenko.