James Aldridge life and his work

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James Aldridge life and his work

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Becoming of young antiimperialist writer in the 20th century in English literature

1.1 The lifetime of writer

1.2 The creation of works of James Aldridge

Chapter 2. The well-known works which was in the trend of fifties literature

2.1 Review about the novel “The diplomat”

2.2 About the masterpiece of “The last inch”

Conlusion

Bibliography

Chapter 1. Becoming of young antiimperialist writer in the 20th century in English literature

writer aldridge literature novel

1.1 The lifetime of writer

The progressive English writer James Aldridge is familiar to the Soviet reader not only as the author of talented works of art, but also as an active fighter for the cause of peace and security of peoples.

The name of this talented English writer, an active publicist and a tireless fighter against fascism and imperialism, a herald of peace and progress, is known to all people of good will who have joined forces today in the fight against the instigators of a new war. Especially it is very popular and respected in European countries. Soviet people know Aldridge well, love his talented works of art and passionate, journalistic speeches denouncing the enemies of peace and progress. His numerous publications in the press are a true chronicle of the present, in which the most important events of our turbulent era are deeply and comprehensively analyzed from the class perspective and the combat experience of the literary skill of a born publicist is concentrated.

Aldridge continues and develops the best traditions of revolutionary writers and publicists, diehard fighters for peace and progress, such as Romain Rolland, Henri Barbus, Julius Fucik and others. He shows vivid examples of offensive journalism. The experience of Aldridge is important for Soviet journalists, as well as of great international importance both for progressive foreign publicists and for the widest masses of mankind.

Aldridge's journalistic materials play an important educational role, they reveal the heroic pages of history, show an example of an uncompromising struggle against bourgeois ideology, and this contributes to the class tempering of workers, their education in the spirit of patriotism and proletarian internationalism, the formation of their high political vigilance, and irreconcilability to imperialism, conviction in the correctness and invincibility of socialism.

James Aldridge entered the English literature in the early 40s in a relatively short time, he has undergone significant creative evolution. The birth of Aldridge as a writer, his ideological growth is closely related to the liberation struggle of the peoples during the Second World War. Most of Aldridge's works are extremely relevant; at the same time, his journalistic acuity is combined with the gift of artistic generalizations. The focus of the writer is a man with his quest for freedom and happiness. Aldridge's satirical conviction is directed against those who, he said, are trying to "build their calculations on profitable trades with dead souls."

James Aldridge was born in Australia in 1918, in Swan Hill (Victoria), in the family of an English writer who settled here shortly before his birth. Already a fourteen-year-old boy, he was sent as a messenger to the editorial office of one of the Melbourne newspapers, while continuing to study. He lived on the Isle of Man (near Scotland) in his mother's old house. After moving to England, Aldridge went to university at Oxford; Then he attended flight courses and actively collaborated in a number of London newspapers. During the years of the liberation struggle of the Spanish people, young Aldridge followed with great sympathy all the ups and downs of historical battles with fascism in Spain, where many prominent representatives of the English intelligentsia fought. The events of those days played a big role in the ideological formation of Aldridge, an anti-fascist. Aldridge was 21 years old when he went to Finland as a war correspondent. The keen journalist correctly appreciated the events unfolding before his eyes. In the messages of the discerning correspondent, the condemnation of the disastrous anti-national policies of the Finnish ruling circles of that time and the recognition of the historical correctness of the Soviet Union slipped through. For this he was sent outside of Finland.

During the Second World War, Aldridge traveled as a correspondent in many countries (Norway, Greece, Egypt, Libya, Iran, etc.) and in many theaters of war. He also visited the Soviet Union, where he spent almost a year (1944-1945). The writer was an eyewitness to the selfless struggle of the Soviet people, who gave everything to victory and played a decisive role in the defeat of the “Nazi war machine”.

Creatively, James Aldridge matured during the Second World War. Its formation as a progressive writer took place under the influence of the gigantic struggle waged by the Soviet Union and the peoples of other countries - members of the anti-Hitler coalition against German fascism and Japanese imperialism.

He was also active in social events. In his speech at a ceremonial meeting in Moscow dedicated to the centenary of the death of V.V. Gogol, in March 1952, James Aldridge praised the power of the striking satire of the great writer and at the same time vividly expressed his ideological and aesthetic views, clearly defined the artist's place in the struggle for happiness and freedom of peoples. Aldridge's speech at the jubilee meeting is evidence of friendly feelings towards the Soviet people; she is full of optimism and faith in the final victory of the cause of peace over the forces of reaction. He stigmatizes the abomination and meanness of the Anglo-American imperialists who view the war as a profitable business, and says that “thousands of other conferences and popular conferences of peace supporters are gathering around the world. They defend our hopes, our future, and where our national peace conferences come into force, the limit will be put to cynicism and violence ”.¹

Aldridge, as an active public figure and a prominent participant in the movement of peoples for peace and international security, takes an active part in the work of the English Peace Committee and participates as the British delegate in the Stockholm session of the Standing Committee of the World Congress of Peace Supporters. After the American imperialists, with the support of their British, French and other allies, unleashed a bloody intervention in Korea, Aldridge declared: “If I had not been a member of the peace movement earlier, I would have joined it now.” ²

Aldridge highly values the life-giving value of the realistic traditions of both national and world literature. At a meeting with Soviet readers, Aldridge spoke about the enormous contribution of Leo Tolstoy to the development of the artistic thought of mankind, the strength of his genius, and the unfading power of his realism.

Noting the certain achievements of Soviet and progressive foreign literary criticism in the study of the works of Aldridge, it should be noted that the author's combat journalism, devoted to the most important problems of our time, is still not well understood. As a special object of study, this problem has not yet been put forward by either Soviet or foreign scientists.

The subject matter of Aldridge's journalism is unusually broad and multifaceted. In each of his journalistic articles, he simultaneously covers a number of acute issues of our time, addresses the problems of philosophy, science, culture, art, international politics, etc. However, in almost every journalistic speech he raises his voice against imperialist reaction, exposes the extravagant plans of the imperialists to achieve world domination, the outbreak of a new war.

The relevance, political and practical significance of the problem, the lack of elaboration in journalistic science of a number of dignified and political significance of his novels of important issues of Aldridge's creative and social activities determined the main goal of this work, namely, to study and generalize the experience of his journalistic and active public activities in the fight against fascism and imperialism for peace and friendship between peoples.

The writer lived in Cairo for a long time, to which he dedicated the book “Cairo. Biography of the city ”(1969). Since the mid-1960s, Aldridge has been writing mainly books for children and adolescents. In 1971, Aldridge became a jury member at the Seventh Moscow International Film Festival.

In 1972 he became a laureate of the International Lenin Prize "For the consolidation of peace between peoples." In the same year he was awarded the Gold Medal of the International Organization of Journalists.

James Aldridge died at his home in London on February 23, 2015, at the age of 96.

Aldridge is a classic representative of 20th century writers. He from those who saw the war, saw people one-sidedly divide the world into black and white, rejecting humanity. The enemy is not a man, life is more valuable than honor. And who could condemn these people sitting on the ashes of their homes?

So Aldridge does not condemn. He does not mean good and evil in his stories. Each story of this author is a story of a broken heart, a heart trampled into dust and dirty snow. Each of his stories is a story about a man clinging not to life, but to humanity and honor. About a very rare person in those years.

You can read the trilogy about the war and not experience the dumb horror and shudder you experience when reading small, pierced by the cold of winter and human hearts, stories of Aldridge. Reading about Christmas and holiday songs trying to drown out the screams of dying prisoners of war, reading about the frozen hands of a young soldier who flinched at the last and the stolen heat.

“I don't know why and who needs it

who sent them to death with an unkind hand

only so useless, so evil and unnecessary

dipped them into Eternal Peace. "¹

1.2 The creation of works of James Aldridge

The list of novels:

· The Diplomat (1949)

· The Hunter (1950)

· Heroes of the Empty View (1954)

· Signed with Their Honour (1954)

· Undersea Hunting for Inexperienced Englishmen (1955)

· I Wish He Would Not Die (1957)

· The Last Exile (1961)

· A Captive in the Land (1962)

· The Flying 19 (1966)

· My Brother Tom (1966)

· The Statesman's Game (1966)

· Sea Eagle (1971)

· Sporting Proposition (1973)

· Of Many Men (1974)

· Mockery in Arms (1974)

· The Marvellous Mongolian (1974)

· The Untouchable Juli (1975)

· Ride a Wild Pony (1976)

· One Last Glimpse (1977)

· Goodbye Un-America (1979)

· The Broken Saddle (1982)

· The True Story of Lilli Stubeck (1984)

· The True Story of Spit Macphee (1986)

· The True Story of Lola Mackellar (1992)

· The Girl from the Sea (2002)

- Non fiction- Cairo (1970)

- Anthologies containing stories by James Aldridge - The 4th Bumper Book of Ghost Stories (1980)

- Short stories - The Black Ghost of St Helen (1980)

The first books of Aldridge aroused considerable interest not only in their life truthfulness and reliability of the narrative but also in the profound democracy of the writer, who was vitally interested in the victory of the people. The early works of James Aldridge - “A Matter of Honor” (Signed with Their Honor, 1942), “Sea Eagle” (The Sea Eagle, 1944) and “About Many People” (Of Many Men, 1946) - are a major achievement of the advanced English military literature time. These works pleased with the novelty, freshness of the writer's voice, clarity of political thought. They were perhaps the first war veterans in England who brought the truth about the suffering of millions and the determination of peoples to defend their independence and freedom. James Aldridge's first novel, A Matter of Honor, paints a vivid picture of the popular liberation movement in Greece, from the moment the Italo-Nazi invaders invaded October 1940 until the Nazis captured the country in April 1941. The Greek people defending their freedom are opposed in the novel is a rotten fascist-metaxist elite in power. The writer shows how poorly armed Greek soldiers fought selflessly for their land and what sinister, treacherous role metaxists and representatives of the high English command played. Already from the first novel, marked by the stamp of undoubted talent, one can judge about Aldridge's democracy, about his considerable life experience, great observation, persistent search for his individual style of writing. In the early works of Aldridge, especially in the novel “The Case of Honor,” one can hear the echoes of Hemingway intonation. However, this influence exerted by Hemingway on Aldridge at the time of the formation of his creative method should not be overestimated. The young writer inevitably enters into a kind of ideological and artistic polemic with him. Aldridge reinterprets the theme of courage in the face of death, takes a new approach to portraying the patriotism of a people fighting for its independence. His heroes experience the same bitterness as the heroes of Hemingway's novel “Farewell to Arms,” but they more clearly see the culprits of the senseless and tragic deaths of people and they all make their way to the truth in one way or another, overcoming the moods of political indifference typical of many representatives of the English bourgeois intelligentsia.

Aldridge very soon discovers his independence as an artist, and this is greatly facilitated by the breadth of his views and the ever-increasing historical experience brought by him from the liberation struggle of the peoples. Aldridge's path in this sense is directly opposite to the path of various Hemingway epigones, blindly canonizing the early manner of his teacher, his deliberately simplified, stylized tale, which Hemingway himself later largely abandoned. The desire to portray noble human characters, which is one of the main features of Aldridge's creative work, makes him related to the best traditions of English and world classical literature.

The lyrical theme - the love of the Greek patriot Elena Stangu and the English aviator John Quale, the awakening and development of this love, its tragic character, due to the harsh atmosphere of the war - occupies a prominent place in the novel “A Matter of Honor”. The personal fates of the heroes, inextricably linked with the nationwide struggle against fascism, are, as it were, illuminated by its light. In the family of Elena Stangu, John Quale found the true patriots of Greece, people of advanced beliefs who are persecuted by the metaxists. Communication with this family, bitter military experience prompts the hero to think a lot, overestimates his views on life. Quale saw that "his views are not ugliness" and that he is not alone. And Mann, and young Gorell, and many others are in the same mood as he is. “The day will come when they will all come together,” is Quail's conclusion. The novel "A Matter of Honor", dedicated to the fate and quest of John Quale, closely leads the writer to the theme of the people who have risen to fight. This theme is developed in the novel "Sea Eagle", in which the clarity of political thought, the boldness of exposing the perpetrators of the tragedy of the Greek people, combined with high artistic merits. An epigraph was prefaced to Roman, which gives the key to the author's plan and introduces a dynamically developing action into a passionate struggle. “Nis defended Megara,” the epigraph says, “when the Minotaur invaded the country. His half-brother decided to take Megara into his own hands as soon as Nis defeated the Minotaur. Nis penetrated his plan and told Zeus about him. Zeus turned his half-brother into a fish and Nisu gave power at will to turn into a sea eagle in order to pursue his stepbrother in this image and observe the actions of enemies."

The action of the novel "Sea Eagle" takes place on the island of Crete at the moment when the last act of the drama that the Greek people experienced came: having occupied Greece, the Nazis occupied Crete, destroying the Australian, New Zealand and English troops that did not have time to leave the island.

During the actions of novel, the wounded Australian Enges Burke roams in search of salvation. A skeptical person, he tries to remain an outside observer of the events unfolding in front of him. He meets the Greek patriot Nis on his way; close acquaintance with him and participation in a joint struggle prompts Burke to think and doubt the correctness of his position of political indifference. Fate brings with Nis another Australian, the simple-minded giant Stone, a man of unbending will, possessing restraint and humor; adopted as a brother by the kind-hearted Littosian fishermen, Stone is close to them. The image of the freedom-loving Greek Nis - the "sea eagle" - a man of great spiritual strength and nobility, who knows how to be a devoted friend and a passionate, implacable fighter, helps to understand how deep the roots of the national liberation movement are. This is one of the best images of a national hero in the literature of the Second World War.

James Aldridge manifests himself in this novel as a master of a tense, fascinatingly developing plot. He knows how to convey the drama of life, to show the clash of social forces, the deep antagonism between the people and their enemies. The novel shows that the reactionary goals and intentions of the metaxist clique aspiring for power found sympathy and support in well-known English circles.

Showing how people infected with ironic skepticism overcome it and join the ranks of the fighters against fascism, Aldridge does not separate this topic from the image of the nobility and power of ordinary people like Nyssa or the giant Sarandaki, who boldly meet the danger. The lyrical overtones are especially noticeable in the workshops' dialogs, which eloquently testify to the deep emotional experiences of the characters of The Sea Eagle.

The book "On many people" consists of separate chapters, short stories, from essays written at different times, but connected by a unity of ideological design and the image of the protagonist. In vivid fragments, she gives a brief chronicle of the outbreak of the Second World War, sets out its dramatic course and completion.

The book is a kind of review of the most important theaters of war. Events are given through the perception of the protagonist, the sharp-sighted journalist Wolfe, a Scottish-born. Wolf visited Spain during the war of the Spanish people against fascist invaders and is full of sympathy for anti-fascists. The book outlines the silhouettes of many people whom he happened to see. He writes about his meetings on the mountain roads of Norway, where he comprehended the calm courage of the Norwegian people, writes about people he met in the rear, in America. He talks about close friends and literary snobs deeply alien to him, whom he mentally calls "corrupt creatures." In Italy, Wolf saw such folk heroes as the Italian anti-fascist Fabiano, whom the representatives of the Anglo-American command held accountable for punishing the fascist killers who mocked the Italian people. Wolfe describes the persecution that Fabiano was subjected to as a typical manifestation of a certain policy of encouraging revanchism. Wolfe visited the USSR, where the people gave everything for victory, met with staunch people who defended Stalingrad.

The figure of Wolf, a man seeking the truth, plays a fundamentally important role in the book. It enables the author not only to cement together fragmented fragments, but also to show the aspirations of one of the typical representatives of the English democratic intelligentsia.

The genre of the book "On many people" is peculiar: these are more likely links of short stories, closely related to each other, than an integral novel. Aldridge has established himself here as a brilliant storyteller, owning the secret of the dynamic development of action, convexly outlining his images, skillfully building a dialogue, always with a deep undercurrent of thought. The book "On many people" is one of the approaches of the writer to the great epic canvas - the novel "Diplomat".

The play Forty-Ninth State, written in 1946, can also be seen to some extent as a harbinger of the novel Diplomat. And not only because Aldridge turned to acute international problems, which in itself is indicative of his creative development, but also because in this work the important aspect of the writer's talent was revealed in its entirety - the ability to create satirical images. The events depicted in the play take place “80 years after our time”, but it bears the stamp of our days. In this work in the form of a political buffoonery, the author poses such an important issue as the Anglo-American contradictions after the Second World War. The writer shows that the desire of the monopolistic circles of the United States of America for world domination creates an immediate threat to England, its dominions and colonies. The play feels the anxiety of the progressive English intelligentsia for the fate of their country, which, as a result of the anti-national policy of the Labor government, "for the first time in history" lost its independence and freedom of action in the field of foreign, economic and military policy, submitting to a foreign power - the United States of America "(" The Way of Britain to socialism ”is the program of the Communist Party of Great Britain.

The novel "Diplomat" (The Diplomat, 1949), on which James Aldridge worked for four years and in which, according to him, he invested himself, is one of the most significant phenomena of English literature of the post-war period. Despite the attacks of reactionary criticism, this novel found its way to a wide audience and was a well-deserved success.

The novel "The Hunter" Aldridge devotes to people of work who have preserved the nobility and purity of the soul in the cruel conditions of their existence. Aldridge shows interest in the spiritual world and the fate of such people from the very first steps of his literary activity. In this book, he contrasts his understanding of man with the mockery of him that is characteristic of modernist literature.

Although there is no breadth of the social horizons of The Diplomat in The Hunter, the author in this novel also touches on the disturbing social problems facing his heroes - Canadian hunters and farmers. Aldridge is deeply concerned with human destinies.

The novel reveals the tragedy of the Indian Bob, a pounded, lonely, reserved and proud man. He loves and respects Roy, who sacrifices his interests for him and despises his oppressors. Aldridge's democratic views and his humanism are also manifested in the historically truthful depiction of Indian tribes doomed by capitalism to slow death. The author shows the unity of white and colored peoples in their struggle for their vital interests. The friendship of Roy McNair and the Indian Bob, in their growing mutual understanding, reveals the best aspects of their nature - integrity of character, responsiveness and humanity, manifested in a restrained form, only emphasizing the strength of their emotions.

Beautiful in the novel are descriptions of the harsh nature, among which the heroes of Aldridge live, fight and win. The writer, as it were, returns to the mood of the novel "Sea Eagle" and writes a book imbued with lyrics and philosophical reflection on the fates of people who are close to nature and feel their inextricable connection with it, waging a fierce struggle to not perish and not become brutal in immense forest wilderness.

“Hunter is a beautifully constructed novel,” the Daily Worker wrote, “reflecting a person's hope, struggle and victory over despair; this side of the book is very important at the moment. This novel, of course, does not have the scope and scale of a Diplomat but thanks to the skill of the author, determination, "The Hunter" is immeasurably higher than most of the books now appearing" ¹

Chapter 2. The well-known works which was in the trend of fifties literature

2.1 Review about the novel “The diplomat”

Aldridge's struggle for peace is inextricably linked with his work. The novel "Diplomat" (1949), on which the author worked for four years, is convincing evidence of this.

In "Diplomat", the author, with great power, exposed the reactionary imperialist essence of England's foreign policy, revealed its treacherous, provocative methods, showed people who are executors of practical measures carried out in terms of this policy. At the same time, the author gave the image of an honest young English scientist McGregor, who accidentally ended up in the diplomatic service after the Second World War. Realizing the true goals of British diplomacy - the preparation of a new world war - McGregor breaks with diplomatic service and comes to the camp of peace activists.

The author used as the backdrop against which the fictional characters of the novel act, the actual historical events: the people's liberation movement in Iranian Azerbaijan after the Second World War and the creation of a local democratic government there, which carried out some democratic transformations. The reactionary Tehran government fought a fierce struggle against the Democrats. England and the United States came to the aid of the Iranian reaction.

“And the rose fell on Azor's paw” ... The ideal beginning of a love story in romantic scenery, everything is somehow vaguely familiar (did you also always think that Azor is the nickname of a dog?) And at the same time it's difficult to perceive, era, a scene - everywhere there are only one space and question marks. Another thing is Aldridge. Here rushing is sheer specificity, in the characters, there are really existing politicians like Molotov and Stalin, and the very name “Diplomat” puts us in a completely recognizable environment. Undercover intrigues, social events, business trips, and adventures - everything, as in life, but in a more concentrated form. And yet - full of tension dialogues, controversy, the brilliance of political arguments, eloquence on both sides, passing, however, at times into overt demagoguery. The confrontation of two characters, two heroes is an ideal and insoluble conflict. Thus, Aldridge saturates the text of the novel with excellent dramaturgy, and the way the author knows how to interest the reader, keep him in suspense, is a definite merit of the author, an advantage that cannot be taken away from him. 840 pages in paper is truly a major work, but he did not tire me of either his lengths or the pamphlet character of the monologues. The book, of course, is very saturated with ideology, how not to admit. But since the writer aims to expose capitalism and shows with all his sympathies for Soviet Russia that it is not necessary to be a communist to be an honest person, the political line of the novel evokes a certain sympathy, and the author respects it. It is not easy to spit against the wind, and at all times the anti-liberal and anti-American text issued in the West will cause a lot of misunderstanding among critics of all stripes. Let's be fair - there are convinced people among them.

At one time, James Aldridge was not particularly popular and loved in bourgeois Europe, his pro-Soviet sympathies were too obvious. In the Soviet Union, the author's books were printed with great zeal. Today this writer has become unreadable in Uzbekistan, most likely for the same designated reason. Times are changing ... Although Aldridge was far from being a communist, and his true principles and position can be seen just in the novel "Diplomat". But perhaps this is not the main thing, but the fact that Aldridge's attitudes, thoughts, and messages are relevant today as never before, and the events that take place in the novel are easily interfaced with today's reality. Times are changing, but not always for the better. “Diplomat” is a serious and somewhat heavy work in terms of its semantic load and global topics that are raised there. The novel takes place in the years after the Second World War, when the world was redrawn, and the leading powers on the "bloody scraps" began to build new strategies and weave diplomatic intrigues in order to secure the biggest jackpot in the "new" world. In the work, the two main heroes are the antagonists - a brilliant English diplomat with an impeccable reputation, Lord Essex, and his assistant McGregor - a learned paleontologist who, by chance after the war, was demobilized to the Ministry of Indian Affairs. It is these two heroes that personify completely two opposite principles, two opposite points of view, and if it is wider, then two political vectors. The confrontation and symbolism of these heroes are emphasized even by the very structure of the work. It is divided into two books, which are called “Essex” and “McGregor”. The plot also involves the heroine - Katherine Clive, with whom not only the love line of the novel is connected, but which also has a more conceptual role - it is like a thread connecting two opposing, but equally aspiring heroes to it. Who will she choose, who can attract her to her side, whose point of view will she accept? This issue will be resolved only on the last pages of the novel. The book "Essex" and the hero of Essex. The events take place in Moscow, the English lord diplomat arrives in Moscow with an important mission: to convince Russia to withdraw its troops from Iranian Azerbaijan, in which the revolution took place, the centralized Iranian power was overthrown by the democratic party. The British government was convinced that it was the Russians who helped to bring about the coup. Naturally, all the fears of England are connected with the oil that it produces in this region, but, in order to maintain their influence, the stiff English hide behind completely different reasons for their “concern” (interference in the internal affairs of Iran, the situation of its inhabitants, etc.). Essex masterfully owns diplomatic receptions, besides, he is overly loyal to his government, fully supports his line, and, of course, expects to achieve a favorable result for England by any means, even, in which case, resort to cunning tricks. The entire operation of the first book is connected with the negotiations that Essex conducts with the leadership of the Reds. There are real historical figures here: Stalin, Molotov, Vyshinsky, and others. In Moscow, the characters get to know the employee of the embassy, Catherine Clive, a true Englishwoman, an aristocrat, self-confident and foolish. Essex confidently decides that he will take her to England and marry her, McGregor unconsciously falls in love with a young woman, but can not understand her radically different behavior and closes in her feelings. The book "McGregor" and the hero of McGregor. He not only does not share the views of Essex, but also openly opposes them. McGregor is a scientist, not a politician, but knows very well about the life of the Iranians, since he was born and raised in this country, and then worked for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He is abhorred by the deceitfulness of the official position of England, which is covered by concern for the integrity of Iran, the well-being of its inhabitants, but is truly interested only in its oil rigs. Moreover, McGregor bitterly understands that it is beneficial for the British that poverty, lack of culture, and corruption reigned in Iran. It's easier to control this country. In the McGregor book, the heroes, at the invitation of Stalin, go to Iranian Azerbaijan to see for themselves what is happening there. This book is especially eventful and full of interesting characters, details, descriptions. If in the first book Aldridge's increased attention to detail was a little tiring and seemed to drag out the narrative, then here it brought true pleasure. The author skillfully immerses in the unknown world of the East, helps to master it.

Take a closer look at the residents, walk along the unfamiliar streets of the Iranian city, admire amazing national costumes, suddenly find yourself in the mountains of Kurdistan and learn about such a mystical and magnificent place like Takht-i-Suleiman, the secrets of which are revealed by an earth angel - Father Daud (and find out who are earthly angels), to be horrified by the fanatically cruel feast of Tazia and imbued with oriental wisdom and a sense of humor. The denouement of the whole plot takes place in England, upon the arrival of the heroes in their country. It is here that a decisive clash of views takes place - the truth of McGregor and Essex's loyalty. What will win in the end, in whose favor will the scales roll? Will the world stop for a moment and think about which way in the new time he should choose. History (I mean real-world history) shows that Essex won. And all the fears of Aldridge (for example, regarding the role of America, which at that time only skillfully arranged its networks) came true. But if you don't think about the sad, the book is very informative, it has a lot of cultural, historical, moral artifacts. I am sure that no one will regret reading it. I personally just fell in love with the way the author spoke about the East. I look forward to what can be found in his work.

In June 1953, the World Peace Council awarded James Aldridge a gold medal for his novel Diplomat. This testifies to the recognition by the world community of the great merits of this outstanding artist and fighter for peace.

The novelist depicts social events in the life of English society in the light of great historical prospects. He clearly sees the features of the new in the fates of the peoples of the Middle East, he knows that the victory of democratic forces is inevitable, although the reaction may temporarily triumph. The system of images of his novel serves to reveal the opposite of the two worlds. Full of tension and drama, the novel "Diplomat" is imbued with a sense of historical optimism, faith in the strength of the people.

The writer came so close to the problems of today, to the chronicle of modern events, that he was in danger of slipping down the path of illustration and fluent sketches. But the artist happily avoided this. Deploying a motley series of events of international significance to readers, the novelist created capacious, plastic images against their background revealed a complex and contradictory game of public interests, showed the connection and clash of various human destinies as an expression of social antagonisms, as a manifestation of contradictions between the world leaving and the world that is born in the fight.

Aldridge's satirical special success is the image of Essex precisely because it is not given in isolation, but is included in a great perspective, and this allowed the writer with all conviction to show how hopeless the case that Essex defends, how tragicomic his attempts to make history are. The life truth of this image lies in the deep and consistent debunking of the philosophy of a sophisticated diplomat who plays a tragic role in the life of nations.

Using all the positive that he obtained in the early period of his work, the author deeply solves the problem of the positive hero of our time. In the rapprochement with the people and their liberation struggle, the best aspects of the character of John Quail, Enges Burke, Stone, Wolf - positive heroes of the early works of Aldridge were manifested. All the previous artistic finds of the writer were further developed in the novel "Diplomat" and acquired a new quality. Compared to early things, the tone and style of the novel "Diplomat" takes on a different character. Aldridge appears in it both as a deeper and more mature artist-realist, boldly intruding into the world of political passions, figuring out the subtle connection of the hero's personal feelings and actions with the social situation, and as a militant satirist. The novel "Diplomat" is an important milestone on the creative path of a talented artist. And at the same time, it testifies to the victory of innovative trends that mark the emergence of a new stage in the development of advanced English literature of our days.

2.2 About the masterpiece of “The last inch”

Not only literature, but life itself can tell us many examples when courage, self-control and the desire to survive helped a person to overcome difficult trials and even death itself.

Throughout his life, James Aldridge carried the love of ordinary people to nature, retained his passion for fishing and hunting. His stories are captured by both children and adults. The theme of childhood is presented by the writer in the unity of man and nature and through the beauty of pure human relationships. In the Australian cycle of stories, Aldridge with great skill was able to convey child psychology, to reveal the spiritual world of the teenager Edgar. In his small works, Aldridge sought to show the strength and beauty of man, its enormous potential. The writer owns the words: "I have the stories" The Last Inch. " Its essence is to stop in time, not to cross the border. In fact, this is a metaphor. Today, so many weapons have been accumulated in the world, which on the last inch before the global catastrophe turned out to be humanity. Everyone must realize their responsibility for the fate of the world, for the fate of civilization ... so that the last inch is not passed. For there to be people on Earth ... ” ¹

The novel“ The Last Inch ”captures us not so much by a combination of amazing circumstances, but by its inner drama.

The protagonists of James Aldridge's “Last Inch” story are the old pilot Ben and his son Davy. Ben. Worked in many countries: in Canada, in the USA, in Iran. Recently, he worked for an oil company that was looking for oil in Egypt. They did not find oil, and Ben lost his job as a pilot in the company. He was already forty-three years old, and therefore Ben could hardly count on another place. He decided to make money by shooting sharks under the order of one television company underwater. Ben lived in Cairo with a French maid and Davy. His son was ten years old, and they had a very difficult relationship. Ben worked all the time: when the son was born, and when he grew up, when he began to walk and talk. Therefore, he devoted very little time to his child. His wife, Joanna, was dissatisfied with life in the deserts of Arabia and eventually abandoned her husband and son and left for their homeland, in New England. So Ben had to raise his son - the earlier he did not do it.

Davy was not very good with his parents either. This is because he was always alone, no one was engaged in it. I think that he really lacked parental attention and suffered greatly from this. His father always spoke with him in a sharp tone and often scolded him. Davy at the age of ten felt very lonely and restless. This is because he saw: “his mother is not interested in him, and his father is an outsider, sharp and laconic, not knowing what to talk about with him in those rare moments when they were together.” And so, in order to somehow get closer to his son, Ben took him with him on a flight. They flew into the Shark Bay on the Red Sea. It was called that because there were a lot of these predators in it, and Ben decided to shoot here. He was offered a lot of money for this work, and so he decided to take a chance, although it is very dangerous. In addition, there was a large desert around the Shark Bay, and if anything had happened to them, no one could have come to the rescue. When they landed, Ben started preparing scuba gear and a movie camera, and Davy helped him. Father severely commanded his son, and his tone was very sharp: “Ben suddenly felt that he was talking to the boy as he was talking to his wife, whose indifference always provoked him to a sharp, imperative tone. No wonder the poor boy eschews both of them. ” And Davy himself was very silent. He was always afraid to incur the wrath of his father, so he always tried to do everything that he said, and not say too much.

When his father dived underwater for the first time, Davy felt very lonely, and was afraid that he might die if something happened to his father. Even when they had just arrived, Davy asked his father several times if they would be found here. Ben thought the boy was afraid that they would be arrested and replied that no one would find them here. It only scared the poor boy even more. He sat and looked at the sea: “Nothing was visible under the water, and in the burning silence, in solitude, which he did not regret, although he suddenly felt it sharply, the boy wondered what would happen to him if his father had never come up from the depths of the sea.

But for the first time, nothing happened to Ben - he shot the sharks on a movie camera, went ashore, and they sat down for breakfast. It turned out that the pilot did not guess to take water with him - only beer to himself. I think this is very clear evidence of Ben being inattentive to his own son. After they had breakfast, Ben took the bait - a horse's foot, went down under the water, tied it to the coral, and he began to take off sharks, which immediately attacked the meat. But Ben did not notice that he was stained with blood. But sharks always attack when they smell the blood. And the most dangerous - a catshark, attacked Ben. He began to fight back and barely escaped. When he got out of the water onto the sand, he fell unconscious from the loss of blood. When Ben woke up, it turned out that his legs and arms were so wounded that he could not walk and could not fly the plane. When he looked at his right hand, he “saw muscles, tendons, almost no blood. The left one looked like a piece of chewed meat and was bleeding badly.”

Ben realized that they would die, and there was only one way out: Davy should fly the plane. Once he taught his son how to fly a plane, and he managed to master many things. But he knew that the boy would be scared if you immediately told him that he would fly the plane. "It was necessary to gropingly find the way to the fear-embraced, immature consciousness of the child." Therefore, Ben began to gradually persuade his son: first, bandage the wounds, then help crawl to the plane, then help climb inside. Finally, when they got on the plane, Ben said: "You have to get down to business yourself, Davy." The father told his son what to do, and led the take-off. But when they took to the air, he lost consciousness. It is good that he managed to explain to his son what course to fly. Ben woke up when they were already flying up to Cairo. At the end of the flight, he again helped the boy - this time to land the plane. They were saved thanks to ten-year-old Davy and the courage of Ben, who even before his death (he thought he would die) thought only about how to save his son. Ben lost his left hand in the hospital - it had to be cut off, but survived. And most importantly - he was able to find a way to the heart of his son. After this incident, they became much closer to each other. I even think that they first fell in love with each other - like a father and a son. Now Ben decided that he would never let Davy go from him and would take care of his upbringing. He decided that he must grow him a real person.

Describing the episode of the boy overcoming the last inch, Aldridge reveals the horror and excitement that is stunned by the child. Devi's face is focused, attentive. He must do the work of a grown man. It seems that he himself has already matured. He developed a sense of responsibility for himself and for his father. So, indeed, the last inches often come or remain in life, and most importantly, Ben now has the whole life that his son gave him. James Aldridge repeatedly draws the reader's attention to descriptions of the sea, desert, and the behavior of heroes. Indeed, it was in these fragments of the work that the writer's thought about the purpose of man, about its spiritual beauty, appeared. The topic of responsibility is one of the most important, since man is the creator of his destiny. The writer emphasizes that he is a perfect work of nature and must be worthy of the place that it occupies in the natural world.

The English writer James Aldridge gained widespread fame not only in his own country, but also abroad.

“In my books, the main theme is always the same - choice,” Aldridge wrote. “Choosing a path, choosing an action, choosing a worldview.” ¹ The author adheres to this theme throughout his career, comprehending it at various levels. Often in his works, the problem of mutual understanding between people is considered.

So the novel “The Last Inch” attracts special attention of readers not so much by a combination of unusual circumstances (the hero, the pilot, takes up his own business: he goes down to the bottom of the Red Sea, where he carries out underwater shooting of marine predators for television at the risk of his life), but his inner drama. When you read this work, you get the feeling that you have an eyewitness account - with such certainty, such power of feelings, lines are penetrated, such accuracy and conviction sound in them.

We vividly imagine a man who didn't have a very successful life, at forty-three years old "was left with nothing, except for the indifferent wife, who did not need him, but his ten-year-old son ... a stranger to both of them." We imagine a boy “lonely and restless”, unhappy that at the age of ten he understands: “his mother is not interested in him, and his father is a stranger, sharp and laconic.” The writer reveals to us the whole path that father and son had to go through in a difficult situation. But the main thing is the path that they went towards each other - this is the path to mutual understanding and friendship.

Taking off sharks underwater and being attacked by one of them, Ben desperately entered the fray with a predator and eventually managed to get ashore. He was bleeding, did not feel arms and legs, but he only thought about one thing: you need to get out of here, save your son. The only way to return home is by plane. But Ben is not able to control him. This must be done by Davy. Having gathered his last strength, the father tried to find the right words, to behave in such a way as not to cause fear in the soul of the child. “The boy should not know that he will have to drive the car,” he thought. “To say it, it will scare him to death.” The father tried to stay alert, convincing his son that the plane would fly by itself, and that the "wind itself would bring" them home. Ben thought that the main thing was to hold out to Cairo and "show the boy how to land the plane." He tried to speak so that his words reassured the scared son. And here Davy showed all the strength of his character and did as his father taught. He did not lose his temper, he strictly followed all the instructions of Ben and brought the plane to its destination. They flew by. And survived.

The writer showed how in harsh conditions the characters' characters are revealed: they were able to forget about the secondary, feeling a great responsibility for the life and fate of a loved one. The character of Davy changes throughout the story is revealed more fully. The boy in front of our eyes becomes more decisive, firm, courageous, acquires self-confidence. Overcoming the test, the father changes, he begins to look at his son with completely different eyes. And gradually Davy's distrust of his father decreases to the "last inch." And Ben now knows that he will certainly be able to find a way to the heart of his son. Only time is needed. But now, for the sake of this boy, he is ready for anything: "it was worth the time."

In the novel “The Last Inch”, as in many of his other works, James Aldridge writes that he is close to himself, which is part of what he has experienced and experienced. In search of life and human ideals, the heroes of his works seek and find the main thing that makes it possible to change the world for the better. Aldridge talks about the problems of relationships between people, about mutual understanding, about overcoming loneliness and alienation, and these topics remain important and relevant today.

With this story, D. Aldridge taught us a wonderful lesson in courage, perseverance and faith in a person, in his unlimited possibilities.

Conlusion

Aldridge's truthful and meaningful coverage of significant social problems raised by reality is combined with the art of creating images that express the characteristic features of this reality.

The main characters in the works of Aldridge, telling about the Second World War, are humble heroes born of the trials of a just war, put forward by fierce struggle from the most native depths. The writer emphasizes their humanity, companionship, severity, and ruthlessness to the enemy. Their inherent weaknesses and weaknesses do not obscure from him their spiritual beauty, their civic feelings, awakening in the struggle. Following the best traditions of English literature, and especially the traditions of Byron and Shelley, Aldridge, along with the images of his compatriots, paints images of participants in the liberation movement of other countries - Greek, Italian patriots, courageous fighters against Hitlerism, full of hatred for the invaders.

The problems of the post-war world, significant events in the life of the English people also deeply concern Aldridge, who is actively involved in the struggle for peace. In one of his articles entitled “This is patriotism,” he wrote: “Before my eyes lay in all its charm the nature of England, its beautiful cities and villages. And I suddenly thought: in the event of war, these densely populated and closely located a friend of a city and a village, our islands are a cunning object for atomic bombings. It was only to imagine how little is left after several atomic explosions of all this beauty and human comfort - and any of these charming landscapes suddenly acquired a sullen, tragic color, as if reminding that only in the struggle for the preservation of peace on our land can we find genuine patriotism, that people who consciously endanger their peoples and their country must be branded as traitors ... The world will triumph because patriotism conquers, the sense of humanity conquers. our own country, we learn to love all other countries and want peace for all. " ¹