American Theme in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s and Grigori Machtet’s Works

Abstract

The article examines the image of the “New World” and the problem of emigration in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s and Grigori Machtet’s “American” works. It is stated that the main historical and literary context of both authors is the ideology and philosophy of positivism. The similarity between the worldview of Sienkiewicz and Machtet is determined by the fact that both writers traveled to America, and the comprehension of themes considering American culture played a key role in their creative evolution. The image of America in “Letters from a Journey to America” by Sienkiewicz and “Travel Pictures” by Machtet are compared. Similarities and differences are found in the artistic interpretation of the image of an Indian in Senkevich’s “Sachem” and Mactet’s “Black Ingratitude”. The main attention is paid to the relationship between the theme of emigration and the problem of hope in the stories of Sienkiewicz “For Daily Bread “ and Machtet’s “Prodigal Son”. The author concludes that the difference between the analyzed works considering the plot is established by the social identity of the characters (the image of the intellectual in Machtet’s story and the images of peasants in Sienkiewicz’s tale). It is concluded that there is an antinomic relationship between the motif of hope as an integral part of human life and the statement of the hopelessness of the situation of peasants in America in the story by Sienkiewicz. Machtet’s story is also characterized by the motives of disappointment - the hero’s unfulfilled hopes for self-realization in America, and at the same time, the motives of revival of hope and finding the purpose of life in work on land. The ideological similarity of both texts is determined by the program of „economic patriotism” preached by the writers of the positivist direction.