2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The United States of America can rightly be proud of the literary heritage left by the best American writers. Beautiful works continue to be created even now, however, most modern books are fiction and mass literature that does not carry any food for thought.
Best recognized and unrecognized American writers
Critics are still arguing whether fiction is good for people. Someone says that it develops imagination and a sense of grammar, and also broadens the horizon, and individual works can even change the worldview. Someone else believes that only scientific literature is suitable for reading, containing practical or factual information that can be used in everyday life and develop not spiritually or morally, but materially and functionally. Therefore, American writers write in a huge number of very different directions - the literary "market" of America is as large asboth her cinematography and pop scene are diverse.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft: master of the real nightmare
Since the American people are greedy for everything bright and unusual, the literary world of Howard Phillips Lovecraft turned out to be just to their taste. It was Lovecraft who gave the world stories about the mythical deity Cthulhu, who fell asleep at the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago and will wake up only when the time of the apocalypse comes. Lovecraft has a huge fan base around the world, and bands, songs, albums, books, and movies are named after him. The incredible world that the Master of Horrors created in his works never ceases to frighten even the most inveterate and experienced horror fans. Stephen King himself was inspired by Lovecraft's talent. Lovecraft created a whole pantheon of gods and frightened the world with terrible prophecies. When reading his works, the reader feels a completely inexplicable, incomprehensible and very powerful fear, although the author almost never directly describes what should be feared. The writer forces the reader's imagination to work in such a way that he himself presents the most terrible pictures, and this literally freezes the blood in the veins. Despite the highest writing skills and recognizable style, many American writers were not recognized during their lifetime, and Howard Lovecraft was among them.
The master of monstrous descriptions - Stephen King
Inspired by the worlds created by Lovecraft, Stephen King created a lot of great works, many of which were filmed. Before his skill bowed suchAmerican writers like Douglas Clegg, Jeffrey Deaver and many others. Stephen King is still creating, although he has repeatedly admitted that because of his works, unpleasant supernatural things often happened to him. One of his most famous books with a short but loud title "It" excited millions. Critics complain that it is almost impossible to convey the full horror of his works in film adaptations, but brave directors are trying to do this to this day. King's books such as "The Dark Tower", "Necessary Things", "Carrie", "Dreamcatcher" are very popular. Stephen King not only knows how to create an inflating, tense atmosphere, but also offers the reader a lot of completely disgusting and detailed descriptions of dismembered bodies and other not-too-pleasant things.
Classic Fiction by Harry Harrison
American science fiction writer Harry Harrison is still very popular in fairly wide circles. His style is light and the language uncomplicated and clear, qualities that make his writings suitable for readers of almost any age. Garrison's plots are extremely interesting, and the characters are original and interesting, so everyone can find a book to their liking. One of Harrison's most famous books, The Untamed Planet boasts a twisted plot, distinctive characters, good humor, and even a beautiful romance. This American science fiction writer made people think about the dangers of too much technological progress, and whether we really needtravel through outer space, if we can not yet control ourselves and our own planet. Harrison showed how you can create science fiction that will be understood by both children and adults.
Max Barry and his progressive consumer books
Many modern American writers rely on the consumer character of a person. On the shelves of bookstores today you can find a lot of fiction telling about the adventures of fashionable and stylish heroes in the field of marketing, advertising and other big business. However, even among such books you can find real pearls. Max Barry's work sets the bar so high for modern authors that only truly original writers can jump it. His novel Syrup centers on the story of a young man named Skat who dreams of a brilliant career in advertising. The ironic style, the apt use of strong language, and the stunning psychological pictures of the characters made the book a bestseller. "Syrup" got its own film adaptation, which did not become as popular as the book, but practically did not yield to it in quality, since Max Barry himself helped the screenwriters work on the film.
Robert Heinlein: a fierce critic of public relations
There is still debate about which writers can be considered modern. Critics believe that Robert Heinlein can also be attributed to their category, because modernAmerican writers should write in a language that would be understandable to today's person and would be interesting to him. Heinlein coped with this task one hundred percent. His satirical-philosophical novel Passing the Valley of the Shadow of Death shows all the problems of our society using a very original plot device. The main character is an elderly man whose brain was transplanted into the body of his young and very beautiful secretary. A lot of time in the novel is devoted to the themes of free love, homosexuality and lawlessness in the name of money. It can be said that the book "Passing the Valley of the Shadow of Death" is a very harsh, but at the same time extremely talented satire that exposes modern American society.
Susan Collins and food for hungry young minds
American classical writers concentrated most of all on philosophical, significant issues and directly on the design of their works, and further demand was almost of no interest to them. In modern literature published after 2000, it is difficult to find something truly deep and original, since all the topics have already been skillfully revealed by the classics. This is seen in the books of the Hunger Games series, written by the young writer Susan Collins. Many thoughtful readers doubt that these books deserve any attention, as they are nothing more than a parody of real literature. First of all, in the series "The Hunger Games", designed for young readers, the theme of a love triangle, shaded bypre-war state of the country and the general atmosphere of the most severe totalitarianism. Screen adaptations of Suzanne Collins' novels hit the box office, and the actors who played the leading characters in them became famous all over the world. Skeptics about this book say that it is better for young people to read at least this than not to read at all.
Frank Norris and his heartache for the common people
Some famous American writers are practically unknown to any reader far from the classical literary world. This can be said, for example, about the work of Frank Norris, who did not stop from creating the amazing work "Octopus". The realities of this work are far from the interests of a Russian person, but Norris' unique writing style invariably attracts lovers of good literature. When we think of American farmers, we always imagine smiling, happy, and tanned people with expressions of gratitude and humility on their faces. Frank Norris showed the real life of these people without embellishing it. In the novel "The Octopus" there is no hint of the spirit of American chauvinism. American writers of the 20th century loved to talk about the lives of ordinary people, and Norris was no exception. It seems that the issue of social injustice and insufficient pay for hard work will worry people of all nationalities in any historical time.
Francis Fitzgerald and his reprimand to bad Americans
The great American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald found"second popularity" after the release of the recent film adaptation of his magnificent novel "The Great Gatsby". The film made young people read the classics of American literature, and the lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio was predicted to win an Oscar, but, as always, he did not receive it. The Great Gatsby is a very small novel that vividly illustrates the perverted American morality, masterfully showing the cheap human inside. The novel teaches that friends cannot be bought, just as love cannot be bought. The protagonist of the novel, narrator Nick Carraway, describes the whole situation from his point of view, which gives the whole plot a piquancy and a little ambiguity. All the characters are very original and perfectly illustrate not only the American society of that time, but also our current realities, as people will never stop hunting for material we alth, despising spiritual depth.
Both poet and novelist
The poets and writers of America have always been amazingly versatile. If today authors can create only prose or only poetry, then in the past such preference was considered almost bad taste. For example, the aforementioned Howard Phyllit Lovecraft, in addition to amazing creepy stories, also wrote poetry. It is especially interesting that his poems were much brighter and more positive than prose, although they provide no less food for thought. Lovecraft's inspirational genius, Edgar Allan Poe, also created great poems. Unlike Lovecraft, Poe did it much more often and much better, soSome of his poems are still heard today. The poems of Edgar Allan Poe contained not only amazing metaphors and mystical allegories, but also had philosophical overtones. Who knows, perhaps the modern master of the horror genre, Stephen King, will also sooner or later hit poetry, tired of complex sentences.
Theodore Dreiser and An American Tragedy
The life of ordinary people and the rich was described by many classical authors: Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Bernard Shaw, O'Henry. The American writer Theodore Dreiser also followed this path, placing more emphasis on the psychologism of the characters than directly on the description of everyday problems. His novel "An American Tragedy" brilliantly presented the world with a prime example of the American dream, which collapses due to the wrong moral choice and the vanity of the protagonist. The reader, oddly enough, does not at all feel sympathy for this character, because only a real villain, who causes nothing but contempt and hatred, can violate all the moral principles of society so indifferently. In this guy, Theodore Dreiser embodied those people who want to break out of the shackles of a society that is contrary to them at any cost. However, is this high society so good that you can kill an innocent person for it?
Recommended:
Famous children's writers. Writers of children's stories
Childhood, of course, begins with acquaintance with the work of popular writers. It is books that awaken in the soul of the child the desire for self-knowledge and the appeal to the world as a whole. Famous children's writers are familiar to each of us from an early age. The child, having barely learned to speak, already knows who Cheburashka and Gena the crocodile are. The famous cat Matroskin is loved all over the world, the hero is charming and constantly comes up with something new. The article makes an overview of the most famous children's writers
Classical Literature (Russian). Russian classical literature: a list of the best works
Classical literature (Russian) is a broad concept, and everyone puts their own meaning into it. The creators of Russian classics have always had a great social responsibility. They never acted as moralizers, did not give ready-made answers in their works. Writers set a difficult task for the reader and forced him to think about its solution
Famous Ukrainian writers and poets. List of contemporary Ukrainian writers
Ukrainian literature has come a long way in order to reach the level that exists at the moment. Ukrainian writers have contributed throughout time from the 18th century in the works of Prokopovich and Hrushevsky to the contemporary works of authors such as Shkliar and Andrukhovych
Great classical composers: a list of the best. Russian classical composers
Classical composers are known all over the world. Each name of a musical genius is a unique individuality in the history of musical culture
Classical writers and an example of artistic style
Any work of classical literature is an example of an artistic style. Its task was expressed in rhyme by Alexander Pushkin - to “encourage” “feelings” with his “lyre”. A characteristic feature of fiction is that its plot is “launched” by the author in a special world, recreated by him with the help of artistic images