Vol.9, No 1, 2011 pp. 41 - 46
UDC 821.111(73).09-32 Baldwin J.
THE INHERITANCE OF NATURALISM IN JAMES BALDWIN'S SHORT FICTION
Mirjana Knežević
Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, Serbia
E-mail: pubebe@sezampro.rs
The paper analyzes James Baldwin's short fiction in relation to the literary movement of naturalism. Its aim is to identify the elements of naturalistic poetics in Baldwin's short stories illustrating them with appropriate examples, as well as to determine the extent to which they influence and color the tone of Baldwin's fiction. Since naturalism has many different aspects, mainly depending on the period and the region of its development (it originated in Europe and then passed on to America, where it kept its vitality deep into the twentieth century), the essay discusses only the viewpoints which can be applied to the literature in question, using the observations by theorists and critics such as Louis J. Budd, Donald Pizer and Charles Child Walcutt. In addition, though it might, initially, seem rather disadvantageous to subject the writer's complex mode of expression to such inherited simplification, the paper will prove the opposite, that not only can Baldwin's literature be viewed in such constricted literary terms, but it can also contribute to the contemporary effort to further understand and appreciate this literary phase of American fiction which, although it emerged at the turn of the twentieth century, still plays a significant role in American literary history.
Key words: James Baldwin, short fiction, naturalism
NASLEĐE NATURALIZMA U KRATKIM PRIČAMA DŽEJMSA BOLDVINA
Ovaj rad razmatra kratku prozu Džejmsa Boldvina u odnosu na književni pravac naturalizma. Cilj je da se identifikuju elementi naturalističke poetike kod Boldvina i da se ilustruju sa pogodnim primerima, kao i da se odredi stepen do koga njegova kratka proza utiče i daje ton celokupnom Boldvinovom stvaralaštvu. Budući da naturalizam poseduje više različitih dimenzija koje zavise od perioda stvaranja i regije u kojoj se razvijao (započeo je u Evropi, prešao u Ameriku i tamo sačuvao svoju vitalnost sve do poznog dvadesetog veka), u ovom ogledu govoriće se jedino o pozicijama koje se mogu primeniti na literaturu tog tipa i koristiće se saznanja teoretičara i kritičara kao što su Luj Bad, Donald Pilcer i Čarls Čajld Volkot. Pored pomenutog, iako se može činiti u početku neprikladnim, ovaj rad će pokušati da pokaže i suprotno, t.j. da ne samo da se Boldvinovo stvaralaštvo može videti u tako omeđenom prostoru, već i da ono doprinosi savremenim pokušajima da se bolje razume takav period u američkoj literaturi se pojavio na početku dvadesetog veka još uvek igra značajnu ulogu u američkoj književnoj istoriji.
Ključne reči: Džejms Boldvin, kratka proza, naturalizam