The plot of initiation in the novel “The Song of Achilles” by M. Miller

Abstract

The article studies the poetics of M. Miller’s novel in the context of the initiation plot representation. The search for the hero is considered as one of the main problems of modern American literature. We use the cultural-historical and comparative methods and the method of narrative analysis in our research. The relevance of the study is the synthesis of approaches to the analysis of the novel “The Song of Achilles” by M. Miller. The study hypothesizes that, the technique of remythologization enables the writer to represent the universality of the human development stages and the crisis trials that adolescents face. The novel is considered both in the context of rethinking of the mythological narrative and in the aspect of representing the archaic model of initiation. The mythological plot basis, which implies plot determinism, makes it possible to emphasize the axiological, emotive discourse and protagonists’ inner changes. The parallel initiation of Patroclus and Achilles explicates the dichotomy of the godlike and the human elements in the inner nature of the characters. Patroclus, being close to the hero, shares his fate. He literally and metaphorically becomes Achilles in the finale of the novel, entering the battle in his armor and under his name. Achilles, on the contrary, shows human features due to the fact that he matures next to Patroclus. The article concludes that the theme of formation and internal evolution of the person in the context of the initiation rite and mythological narratives plays a plot-forming role in modern American literature.