B. Malamud and the search for identity in the context of american postmodernism

Summary

Writers of Jewish origin made a particularly significant contribution to the literature of the United States, especially in the 20th century. During that period, within the framework of world literature, English-language Jewish literature was developed, which is characterized, on the one hand, by common language, and on the other by the national affiliation of the authors, as well as the commonality of themes, problems, motifs, and images.

In English-language Jewish literature, which is linked with the Jewish tradition, the themes, motifs and images characteristic of the entire world literature, receives a specific content. The novel work of Bernard Malamud is an integral part of English-language Jewish literature, which manifests itself in the commonality of issues, the appeal to myth, and references to the work of Jewish authors writing in English.

The article analyzes peculiar ways of search for identity in English-language Jewish literature; highlights the problem of self-determination as the central theme of the works of Bernard Malamud in his literary tradition.

B. Malamud's "Jewish" novels are characterized by a unity of themes, problems, and motifs and images, which are actualized in different ways: in "The Assistant", the motif of suffering comes to the fore, in "The Fixer", the theme of freedom becomes central, in "The Tenants", the main problem is the Other, the theme of art, and in the novel "God's Grace" - the problem of responsibility, the motive of alienation is connected with the theme of anti-Semitism, which is present in all "Jewish novels" by Bernard Malamud.

In the twentieth century, social problems represented one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The absence of a family, divorces, violence and much more - everything is present in the work of B. Malamud, but his works also describe love as a way of rebirth and suffering as a way of purification.

His novels and short stories often present cooperation, assistance from implacable enemies and just opposites as the only way to survive and succeed.

Key words: postmodernism, national identity, ethnic awareness, self-determination, Jewish novels, Jewish English - speaking literature, artistic dominant.

Анотація

Вєдєрнікова Т.В. Б. Маламуд і пошук ідентичності в контексті американського постмодернізму

Письменники єврейського походження зробили значний внесок у літературу Сполучених Штатів, особливо у 20-му столітті. У цей період у рамках світової літератури розвивається англомовна єврейська література, яка характеризується, з одного боку, спільною англійською мовою, а з іншого - національною приналежністю авторів, а також спільністю тем, проблем, мотивів та образів. Романна творчість Бернарда Маламуда є невід'ємною частиною англомовної єврейської літератури, що проявляється в спільності проблематики, зверненні до міфу, посиланнях на творчість єврейських авторів, які створювали англомовні тексти. У статті розглянуті своєрідні шляхи пошуку ідентичності в англомовній єврейській літературі; висвітлюється проблема самовизначення як центральна тема творів Б. Маламуда в його літературній традиції. Для «єврейських» романів Б. Маламуда характерна єдність тем, проблем, мотивів і образів, які актуалізуються по-різному: у «Помічнику» на перший план висувається мотив страждання, у «Майстрі», центральною стає тема свободи, в «Орендарях» головною є проблема Іншого, тема мистецтва, а в романі «Божа ласка» - проблема відповідальності, мотив відчуження пов'язується з темою антисемітизму, який присутній у всіх «єврейських романах» Б. Маламуда. У двадцятому столітті соціальні проблеми були одним із найбільших викликів, що стояли перед людством. Відсутність сім'ї, розлучення, насильство і багато іншого - все присутнє у творчості Б. Маламуда, але в його роботах також описується любов як спосіб відродження і страждання як спосіб очищення. Його романи та оповідання часто представляють співпрацю, допомогу непримиренних ворогів і просто протилежностей як єдиний спосіб вижити та досягти успіху.

Ключові слова: постмодернізм, національна ідентичність, етнічна свідомість, самовизначення, єврейські романи, єврейська англомовна література, художня домінанта.

Statement of the problem in a general form and its connection with important scientific and practical tasks. Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) is one of the most prominent English-language writers of the 20th century. Bernard Malamud became the laureate of numerous awards for his contribution to literature (Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Gold Medal in the field of literature from the American Academy of Letters and Arts), was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the president of the American PEN Club. Since 1988, in memory of Bernard Malamud, the PEN Society has been awarding the best contemporary writers the B. Malamud Prize for short stories.

Creative literary heritage of Bernard Malamud is connected with the general problems of world literature: the problem of the Other, the problem of responsibility. Bernard Malamud's work conventionally consists of two parts: Jewish, related to Jewish tradition, and non-Jewish. Researchers have noted such a division, but a holistic analysis of Bernard Malamud's "Jewish novels" has not been conducted.

Analysis of the latest research and publications on this topic, selection of previously unresolved parts of the general problem. A number of scientific and critical works of domestic and foreign authors testify to the degree of study of B. Malamud's creative heritage in literature. Among the famous scientists and literary critics who studied the long-term history of the writer's work, it should be noted: E. Spivak, S. Kellman, E. Abramson, S. Richman, L. Fidler and others.

The surge of interest in B. Malamud's work, in his extraordinary personality, is taking on remarkable proportions today. Scientists and researchers, literary critics and biographers of England and the USA, returning to the creative and ideological heritage of the writer, strive to invent something new in it, to update the content, as well as the little-known hypostases of his extraordinary personality. Keeping a living sequence of views, worldview traditions, forms of philosophical understanding of the world, it is possible to revise the semantic content of the writer's works. Due to the revival of ideas, characters and personalities of the past, the aesthetic and artistic dominants are reinterpreted in the modern interpretation.

It is also important to note that in modern Ukrainian literature, the problem of finding identity in the works of B. Malamud almost did not become a subject of special study. In the works of foreign scientists, B. Malamud is considered an established figure, therefore the appeal to his work is usually limited to general evaluations and customary judgments, serving as material for the research. Obviously, he was one of the leading American postmodern writers, and his work was an important social and literary phenomenon of the middle of the 20th century, so generalizing knowledge about the peculiarities of his creative method, in particular about his most popular novels "The Assistant"(1957), "The Fixer" (1966), "The Tenants" (1971), "The God's Grace "(1982), short story collections The Magic Barrel"(1958), "Idiots First"(1963), "Pictures of Fidelman" (1969), "Rembrandt's Hat"(1974), "The People and Uncollected Stories" (1989), is appropriate and justified.

The purpose of the article. The relevance of the chosen topic is related to the increased interest in the new development of B. Mal- amud's work from modern scientific foundations and is determined by the need to study the novel work of B. Malamud in the context of the search for identity, which is a dominant characteristic of the literature of the 20th century. The purpose of the article is to investigate specific methods of depiction and analyze the main means of realizing the search for identity as an ideological and artistic dominant in B. Malamud's novel.

Presentation of the main material of the study with a full justification of the obtained scientific results

The problem of national identity was and remains one of the central problems of world literature. Options for actualizing the problem of self-determination are as diverse as world literature. This is a universal problem, but views on it change depending on the point of view.

English-language Jewish literature illuminates the problem of self-identification in a very special way. Literature written in the "Jewish" language (Hebrew or Yiddish) can be considered Jewish. But this approach makes the attitude towards writers who do not write in Hebrew languages unclear. They create works in non-Jew- ish languages, but at the same time they talk about Jews, their problems and development. The polemic on this issue was conducted on the pages of literary works (A. Roife, D. Rubin, H. Wirth-Nesher, T. Grauer, etc.) for many years.

According to D. Rubin, not only the language, but also the Jewishness of the author defines a Jewish author: "Jewish literature is literature written by Jews, according to some theories, for Jews. This is not always literature about Jews, as many Jewish writers "do not write about them, but at the same time remain Jewish writers"[1, p. 12].

D. Weber in the work states that "there is no and hardly ever will be unanimity on the issue of developing an acceptable definition of who is considered a Jew. The question of distinguishing Jewish literature is inextricably linked to the understanding of Jewish identity" [2, p. 234].

However, another researcher, J. Helterman, believes that such a "criteria approach raises questions rather than helping to answer them" The question "What do we mean by Jewish identity?" And "Why is identity so important?" There cannot and should not be an unequivocal answer, "the identity debates that, one way or another, occurred in the culture surrounding the authors of works of Jewish literature, became the subject of literature in themselves," and this is the uniqueness of Jewish literature "[3, p. 269].

Identity is formed from connections with historical memory, place of life or birth, family - all these connections are necessary for analyzing and understanding the text. We find confirmation of this opinion in the works of such researchers as T. Solotaroff, N. Rappoport, M. Lee Berkman, E. Marcus Starkman, M. Dickenstein, and M. Shechner. The search for an ideal place, identification with it, is an integral feature of Jewish identity, therefore, one of the most important themes of Jewish literature. The forementioned researchers agree that most of the works of Jewish writers tried to reflect their Jewish self-awareness, in an attempt to determine the relationship between personality and art.

The works of Jewish writers and Jewish writers by nationality (which, in fact, are not the same thing) - had a great resonance in the twentieth century. I.H.Buchen claimed that there is a single Jewish literature, which, due to historical reasons, is not literature in one language, but is represented in Russian, English, German, Yiddish and Hebrew. Such literature is characterized by thematic unity and continuity of images, since each of the mentioned literatures is related to the other: "Jewish literature existed and exists all over the world - it is different in different languages, in different forms. This is a normal process of changing languages, traditions and everything else among Jews due to the peculiarities of Jewish history" [4, p. 32].

Jewish English-language literature developed especially intensively in the USA in the period from the beginning of the twenties to the eighties of the last century, and then the center smoothly moved to Europe, more precisely - to Great Britain. Before the Second World War, emigration took place almost exclusively in the USA. There was no way for poor people to get to England. Entry and accommodation were too expensive, while America was positioned as a country of equal opportunities for all. Although in the nineteenth century it was English Jews who spoke on behalf of the Jewish public, for example, Montefiore, Rothschild. In addition, English society was not as multinational as American society.

After the Holocaust, America was the only place whose Jewish diaspora was not affected by the Nazis. Almost eighty percent of all European Jewry was destroyed. Those who survived did not know where to return: their houses were either burned or captured by the non-Jewish population. Thus, after the war, the only place of refuge was America.

The works written after the Second World War still reflect the characters' attempts to settle in an unfamiliar country. At the same time, the heroes of the works of S. Bellow, B. Malamud, and F. Roth become people who have been living in America for some time and have immigrant experience: "Malamud, Bellow and Roth wrote about Jews who took root in America, but all suffer from alienation. Like its predecessors, some of Malamud's main characters are immigrants, such as Morris Bober from "The Assistant". Beaver is not trying to succeed in America, he has already failed. In the middle of the century, writers like Malamud began to analyze the problems related to the experience of life in America" [5, p. 94].

B. Malamud gained wide popularity in 1957 after the publication of his second novel, "The Assistant"; his first novel "The Natural" (1952) remains virtually unnoticed by critics. After the publication of "The Assistan"t and further with the appearance of each subsequent work by Malamud and his nomination for various awards, the number of research works devoted to the writer's work also increases. We can especially single out the works devoted to the comprehensive analysis of the works of Bernard Malamud. The most complete monographs are E. Abramson's "All Bernard Malamud", E. Avery's "The Magical Worlds of B. Malamud" and S. Cohen's "Trials of Love". A distinctive feature of the studies is that they consider almost the entire corpus of the writer's works, including even the series "The People", which was published after the writer's death, and special attention is also paid to the details of the writer's biography.

The novel work of Bernard Malamud is divided into "Jewish" and "non-Jewish". "Jewish" creativity is connected with an appeal to the Jewish tradition. B. Malamud's "non-Jewish" novels have very little in common with "Jewish" novels in their content and thematic originality. The non-novel work of Bernard Malamud is represented by short stories in which the central themes of the novels are duplicated. In contrast to Western literature, Bernard Malamud's work is little studied in domestic literature. Currently, only a small part of his works have been translated into Ukrainian.

The issue of the search for identity by the characters in B. Malamud's novels is directly related to the attitude to the problem of self-determination of B. Malamud himself. B. Malamud did not agree when he was called a narrowly Jewish writer. B. Malamud drew attention to the fact that both S. Bellow and F. Roth also resisted when they were called only Jewish writers: " I'm an American, I'm a Jew, and I write for all men. A novelist has to or he's built himself a cage. I write about Jews, when I write about Jews because they set my imagination going... Sometimes I make characters Jewish because I think I will understand them better as people, not because I am out to prove anything... I was bom in America and respond in American life to more than Jewish experience. I write for those who read. Bellow pokes fun at this sort of thing by calling” Bellow- Malamud-Roth ' the Hart, Schaffner and Marx of Jewish-American literature" [6, p. 117].

Malamud's statement that "Every man is a Jew though he may not know it" generated a huge amount of controversy regarding the interpretation of the themes and ideas of his prose. L. Field noted that this phrase only means the relation of history to man, therefore, the Jewish images of Bernard Malamud's prose can be perceived as symbols of injustice, which, in one way or another, people face. Everyone encounters suffering, but the reaction to difficulties and suffering, the behavior of a person in a critical situation, according to B. Malamud, determines what a person will or will not become.

Bernard Malamud believed that his prose was universal and that any sensitive person could understand it. A reader need not be Jewish or belong to any other race or nationality to catch all the subtleties of a good writer's prose, even if the writer focuses on an ethnic group with a very rich and vibrant history. Still, echoes of Jewish history are clearly audible in B. Malamud's works, Jewish dramatics add depth to many images in his work, especially in his four novels ("The Assistant", "The Fixer", " The Tenants", "God's Grace") and stories. B. Lyons doubted whether Malamud took the modern world and the Jews in it as an artistic metaphor: "The Jews of The Magic Barrel and the Jews of The Assistant are not the Jews of New York or Chicago. They are Malamud's invention, a metaphor of sorts to stand for certain possibilities and promises, and I am further inclined to believe this when I read the statement attributed to Malamud which goes, 'All men are Jews'.In fact, we know this is not so; even the men who are Jews aren't sure they're Jews. But Malamud as a writer of fiction has not shown specific interest in the anxieties and dilemmas and corruptions of the contemporary American Jew, the Jew we think of as characteristic of our times" [7, p. 65].

In his late work, B. Malamud increasingly reflects on the extent to which a person is capable of becoming better than he is. In his works, there are too many unfortunate people who die under the pressure of the world around them (Morris Bober, investigator Bibikov, Shmuel), or are on the verge of death (Yakov Bock). However, for all his pessimism, Malamud still believes in the power of the human spirit, in 1979 he wrote: "I want my writing ultimately to be moving. If you move someone, there's the possibility he may change ... The more I experience life, the more I become aware of illusion as primary experience I have a tragic sense of life.. .but it s a source of stability, security. You're not kidding yourself. If you have a sense of where the darkness is, you also know where the light is. Life is a tragedy full ofjoy" [8, p. 47].

B. Malamud perceives life very tragically, but still he believes in humanity, admits that the human spirit is capable of overcoming many things. B. Malamud considered himself a writer who works for any reader, non-Jewish literary traditions mean no less to him:: "As a writer, I've been influenced by Hawthorne, James, Mark Twain, Hemingway, more than I have by Sholem Aleichem andI.L. Peretz'' [9, p. 147].

The concept of B. Malamud about the need for humanity and the impossibility of the existence of mankind without manifestations of mercy is realized in all the "Jewish" novels of B. Malamud. The main task that B. Malamud set himself as a writer is to draw people's attention to what is happening to the world and to what is happening to them.

To a remark about the strong influence ofYiddish on the language of B. Malamud (in his prose there are indeed idiomatic expressions from Yiddish, sometimes the order of words resembles Yiddish), the writer replied that perhaps this influence of Yiddish is just as much as it can be German or Latin Despite the fact that B. Malamud himself objected when he was called a Jewish writer, in his works there are many moments in which one feels not only respect, but also a direct appeal to Jewish or Old Testament texts. For example, in the novel "The Tenants", in almost every part, we find quotes from the Old Testament (I am not a brother to my brother, etc.) or a mention of Old Testament heroes: "Malamud has a devotion to Old Testament questions - Why should we be good, when there is no reward for goodness? How can we have faith, when there no signs to confirm our faith? How can we love, if our love is met only with scorn or violence?" [10, p. 13].

Jewish images in B. Malamud's prose are connected with his view of the nature of human suffering. Most of the troubles in the world fell on the share of the Jews, despite the fact that many peoples felt injustice. For B. Malamud, the Jews served as an example of how it is possible to accept the inevitability of suffering with love, pity, not always humility and often meekly. Not only the Jew, but also all mankind can feel this way about the very fact of the inevitability of trials. Those who learn life lessons, according to B. Malamud, will be able to be reborn or reborn, as, for example, Frank Alpine from the novel "The Assistant" was able to do.

Malamud's characters are both typical Jews and simply suffering people, regardless of their nationality. The problem of their personal and Jewish self-identification ultimately boils down to the common human problem of finding oneself and defining one's place in the world and relating to people who are different from everyone or simply others, although in fact the conversation is about the attitude of an individual to another person and the rights to respect and self-determination not only in society, but also in the state system.

So, in the early novels of Bernard Malamud, the problem of self-determination is central. In the novel, the assistant main characters are the Italian Frank Alpine and the Jew Morris Bober. Frank Alpine does not look like Morris Bober at the beginning of the novel, but by the end of the work Alpine is practically transformed into Bober. The evolution of Frank Alpine is his development as an assistant. First, he is an assistant to Ward Minogue in the robbery, then to Morris Bober, and after the death of Morris, Frank voluntarily takes care of Helen and her mother.

The opposition "father - son" is important for the novel: Sam Pearl - Nat Pearl, Julius Korop - Louis Korop, detective Minogue - robber Ward Minogue. In the end, Frank replaces the old man's deceased son - Ephraim, and Morris pushes the image ofthe only possible and ideal father - the image of Francis of Assisi - out of Frank's head. The main motive in the novel is the motive of suffering. According to B. Malamud, suffering is inevitable. It changes a person, teaches people to appreciate and protect each other. People should help those who are nearby, such a Jewish law in the understanding of Morris Bober, it is a universal law. B. Mal- amud turns to the history of the Jewish and Christian understanding of suffering. In his early novels, B. Malamud refers to the books of the prophets Amos and Job from the Old Testament, and there are allusions to the history of Christ, B. Malamud also refers to the life and philosophy of Francis of Assisi. B. Malamud tried to show that the main thing for everyone is to observe universal ethical norms.

The motif of the border is of great importance for the novel, Morris Bober's bench appears as a threshold. Morris spends all his time in the store. He leaves her only when an "ambulance" takes him away. Frank Alpine is initially afraid of being stuck in the store forever, but then he voluntarily stays there. He simply stops looking at the bench as a place of imprisonment, and begins to perceive it as a place of life.

The image of Shlemiel becomes important for the novel "The Fixer". Shlemiel in the novel is Jacob Bock. Yakov is an outcast. He feels uncomfortable in the Jewish town and goes to Kyiv in search of a different life. Those around him hate him because he is a Jew. For Jacob himself, his Jewishness is not important. After Jacob is accused of ritual murder and imprisoned, he rethinks his views on life. Yakov Bok makes a choice in the cell. He chooses to keep his human face against offers to plead guilty to something he did not do.

The theme of suffering is closely related to the theme of theodicy, which is very important in the context of the search for identity. The central images of the novel "The Assistant" are the image of Morris Bober and the image of Frank Alpine. The first is an actualization of Shlemiel's method and is closely related to the image of Job, the second intersects with the image of Francis of Assisi, who performs connecting functions in the novel.

The image of Shlemiel in the novel is not revealed to the end, Shlemiel in the novel "The Assistant" personifies a passive sufferer, a "poor man", who humbly accepts everything that falls to his lot. In the novel "The Fixer", this image receives a different content, Shlemiel becomes a symbol of a strong person, unhappy, but capable of serious actions. The formation of his ideological and artistic concept can be traced on the material of Bernard Malamud's early novels. The problem of finding an identity is not yet raised, but the theme of self-determination is already central.

In the artistic world of B. Malamud, Jacob Bok's nationality is a metaphor, a convention, any person could be in Jacob Bok's place. Bernard Malamud pushes the boundaries of the image: in his interpretation, this is a person who, despite difficult circumstances, makes a choice that makes him a human in the sense of existentialists.

Research conclusions and prospects for further research in this scientific direction. The heyday of Bernard Malamud's work fell on the second half of the 20th century. In the twentieth century, social problems represented one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The absence of a family, divorce, violence and many other things are all present in B. Malamud's work, but his works also describe love as a way of rebirth and suffering as a way of purification. In his novels and short stories, cooperation, cooperation between irreconcilable enemies and just opposites are often presented as the only way to survive and achieve success.

One of the main tasks that the writer set before himself was the task of drawing the attention of mankind to himself, his behavior and the consequences of this behavior.

The problems of Bernard Malamud's novel work are inextricably linked with the problems of English-language Jewish literature. Among the main problems, themes and motives of English-language literature, the following stand out: the motive of suffering, the motive of alienation, the image of Shlemiel becomes central - the image of a suffering person, the image of the Other, the problem of the Other, the problem of finding identity, the theme of anti-Semitism, the theme of freedom, etc. Suffering is the central motif of B. Malamud's early novels. Suffering in the novels "The Assistant" and "The Fixer" genetically related to Tanachic suffering, also to examples of suffering people in the history of Christianity.

B. Malamud's appeal to the experience of human history, to the annals of human suffering, is necessary for posing the main problems of his work. The theme of suffering is closely related to the theme of self-determination in Bernard Malamud's early novels and the problem of finding identity in his later works. For B. Malamud, Jewish history is indicative, so it becomes the central element of his novels. B. Malamud emphasized that "chosenness" means nothing more than "showmanship".

At the initial stage of creativity, B. Malamud is more interested in the behavior of a person in a border situation, the ability of others to show humanity, which he puts above national and professional differences. Belonging to the Jewish people or to any other nationality acts only as a figurative means, a metaphor.

In fact, we are talking about a person and his existence within the framework of moral and ethical norms. In this regard, the appeal to biblical themes and motifs plays such an important role in the text of early novels. For now, the question about the meaning of the world and the place of man in the world is just brewing. Important for answering this question is the problem of responsibility and the problem of the Other. B. Malamud wrote that no matter where a person is, the problems he faces are universal. The search for identity by a person living in Russia or America is a variant of the search for identity in general.

The creativity of Bernard Malamud cannot be included in the framework of only one national literature, such a limitation quite seriously narrows the problematic of B. Malamud's works. The wider the context in which his work is considered, the more clearly visible are the global and modern problems that B. Malamud wrote about, which makes his work relevant to this day.

References

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3. Helterman, J. Understanding Bernard Malamud. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. 153p.

4. Buchen, I. H. Malamud's God's Grace: Divine Genesis, Mortal Terminus. Studies in American Jewish Literature. 1991. № 10. P 24-34.

5. Stafford, W. T. The Black and White Continuum: Some Recent Examples in Bellow, Malamud, and Updike. Books Speaking to Books: A Contextual Approach to American Fiction. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991. 335 p.

6. Siegel, B. Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Malamud's Painful Views of the Self. The Fiction of Bernard Malamud. Oregon State University Press, 1977. 245p.

7. Lyons, В. K. American-Jewish Fiction Since 1945. Handbook of American Jewish Literature: An Analytical Guide to Topics, Themes, and Sources. Wesport: Greenwood, 1988. 385 p.

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9. Avery, E. G. Remembrances of Malamud: 1972-1986. Conversations with Bernard Malamud Edited by Lawrence M. Lasher. Jackson and London: University Press of Mississippi, 1991. 380 p.

10. Benson, J. J. An Introduction: Bernard Malamud and the Haunting of America. The Fiction of Bernard Malamud. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1987. 275 p.

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