Problems and Literary Characters in the World Prose of the 20-21st Century: I. S. Shmelev, D. Setterfield, Su Tong

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this literary analysis is to consider a range of problems in the life of literary characters described by Russian, English and Chinese prosaic writers. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The main provisions of literary text analysis form a methodological and theoretical basis of this research. Literary works are studied based on historical and functional principle. The comparative method helps to identify the distinctive features of the genre and stylistic creativity of I. S. Shmelev, D. Setterfield and Su Tong. Artistic merits of the analyzed works are justified by the degree of development of the concrete historical reality. Findings: The result of comparison of poetic texts published in different periods of time, which are artistically multi-leveled and evaluated differently by critics, revealed an artistic pattern of Russian, English and Chinese prose of the 20-21st centuries. The research aspect is focused primarily on the psychological identification of the characters, the writers' creative individuality and peculiarities of constructing a system of images and the plot. The study has identified the motives of these prosaic works relating to the characters' spiritual searches which determine the range of problems. Comparative analysis of the poetics of the studied texts reveals the traditions of national literatures and genre search by novelists based on the cultural constants, religious conceptions and family values. The House-Family archetype is interpreted by the writers as a ground for development of a harmonious personality. It is established that narrative strands are imbued with characters' thoughts about world order, harmony between man and nature, monologues about the sense of life, dialogues of people of different nationalities about the humanistic ideas of the century. Application/Improvements: Analytical reading of Russian, English and Chinese works in the context of the discoveries of world literature, understanding of those aspects of the writer's creative work, which demonstrate the continuity within the national literary process, enables to approach at solving the poorly-studied issues in the world prose.