The Multiculturalism of the Initiation Novel in Modern US Literature: The Hero’s Journey
Shalimova Nadezhda Sergeevna
Moscow City University
Submitted: 02.02.2023
Abstract. The aim of the study is to determine the specifics of the multicultural novel of initiation in the national literary tradition of the United States. The representation of the initiation rite in a literary text, the correlation of individual and social discourse in the formation of the protagonist’s character and the influence on his fate, the type of a hero who is both a bearer of a deeply individual principle and a representative of an ethnic group and clan are studied. World outlook strategies, architectonics, and mythopoetic reconstruction of the initiation rite in the American novel of initiation at the beginning of the XXI century are highlighted. The research makes a theoretical contribution to the study of the genre: a comparative analysis of selected novels, presented for the first time, allows us to draw a conclusion about the specifics of the multicultural issues representation in the novel of initiation, this determines the scientific novelty of the study. Different types of protagonist initiation are presented in the novels “Middlesex” by J. Eugenides and “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by J. Díaz, but they are connected by multicultural issues, the type of a hero, and the “steps” of plot development. As a result, it is proved that in the modern literature of the United States, the theme of the formation of the hero, his awareness of his identity, associated with the study of socio-cultural and family contexts, plays a plot-forming role.
Key words and phrases: роман инициации, герой-подросток, мультикультурность, самоидентификация, современная литература США, initiation novel, teenage protagonist, multiculturalism, self-identification, modern US literature
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