Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon

The problems presented in Flowers for Algernon (1966) the novel by American writer Daniel Keyes (1925-2014), fall within the realm of existential questions of the 20th century: the meaning and purpose of human life, family and interpersonal relationships, the place of a deviant personality in societ...

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Main Authors: Antonina V. Samoylova, Olga V. Spachil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2024-12-01
Series:RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/viewFile/42294/24346
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author Antonina V. Samoylova
Olga V. Spachil
author_facet Antonina V. Samoylova
Olga V. Spachil
author_sort Antonina V. Samoylova
collection DOAJ
description The problems presented in Flowers for Algernon (1966) the novel by American writer Daniel Keyes (1925-2014), fall within the realm of existential questions of the 20th century: the meaning and purpose of human life, family and interpersonal relationships, the place of a deviant personality in society, the ethics of experimental science and medicine, empathy and compassion, and the role of science and knowledge, among others. The novel has been included in lists of the greatest books of our time, has become a modern classic, and the story of the same name from 1959 is mandatory reading for schoolchildren in the USA and Japan. This represents the first study of the category of artistic time in the novel. This consideration is relevant not only due to its significance as one of the main structural elements of the text, but also from the perspective of its importance in constructing an event sequence through the lens of the author’s unique vision and the formation of the intratextual psychomental paradigm of the protagonist. The relevance of the work is further substantiated by the interdisciplinary nature of the study, which combines linguistic and literary criticism approaches, aimed at understanding the functional capabilities of the category of time as a universal tool. This tool plays a key role in works of complex genre, including Keyes’s novel. The study identifies the main guidelines for developing the novel’s temporal structure design: “zero chronotope”, dichotomy “past vs present”, introduction of reminiscences as temporal catalysts of psycho-emotional outbursts and self-reflection. Time serves as the central construct within the text of the novel, intricately weaving together all plot lines and embodying a conceptual framework.
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spelling doaj-art-973d8af46fd84f0aa91b0cf37003b0212025-01-09T07:50:12ZengPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism2312-92202312-92472024-12-0129474775610.22363/2312-9220-2024-29-4-747-75621096Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for AlgernonAntonina V. Samoylova0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9047-0772Olga V. Spachil1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6474-5907Kuban State UniversityKuban State UniversityThe problems presented in Flowers for Algernon (1966) the novel by American writer Daniel Keyes (1925-2014), fall within the realm of existential questions of the 20th century: the meaning and purpose of human life, family and interpersonal relationships, the place of a deviant personality in society, the ethics of experimental science and medicine, empathy and compassion, and the role of science and knowledge, among others. The novel has been included in lists of the greatest books of our time, has become a modern classic, and the story of the same name from 1959 is mandatory reading for schoolchildren in the USA and Japan. This represents the first study of the category of artistic time in the novel. This consideration is relevant not only due to its significance as one of the main structural elements of the text, but also from the perspective of its importance in constructing an event sequence through the lens of the author’s unique vision and the formation of the intratextual psychomental paradigm of the protagonist. The relevance of the work is further substantiated by the interdisciplinary nature of the study, which combines linguistic and literary criticism approaches, aimed at understanding the functional capabilities of the category of time as a universal tool. This tool plays a key role in works of complex genre, including Keyes’s novel. The study identifies the main guidelines for developing the novel’s temporal structure design: “zero chronotope”, dichotomy “past vs present”, introduction of reminiscences as temporal catalysts of psycho-emotional outbursts and self-reflection. Time serves as the central construct within the text of the novel, intricately weaving together all plot lines and embodying a conceptual framework.https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/viewFile/42294/24346daniel keysflowers for algernonartistic timefictionchronotopetemporal structurelinguo-stylistic means
spellingShingle Antonina V. Samoylova
Olga V. Spachil
Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon
RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism
daniel keys
flowers for algernon
artistic time
fiction
chronotope
temporal structure
linguo-stylistic means
title Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon
title_full Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon
title_fullStr Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon
title_full_unstemmed Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon
title_short Artistic time in D. Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon
title_sort artistic time in d keyes novel flowers for algernon
topic daniel keys
flowers for algernon
artistic time
fiction
chronotope
temporal structure
linguo-stylistic means
url https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/viewFile/42294/24346
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