MYTHOLOGIZATION OF THE WORD IN P.B. AUSTER`S NOVELS

Abstract

The article finds out that one of the key places in the novel work of the American novelist Paul Benjamin Auster is occupied by the mythologizing of а word. It has been traced that the linguistic exercises of Auster's heroes have a noticeable national coloring. It is about keeping diary entries, notes or notebooks, researching the meanings of words and concepts, clarifying difficult cases of proto-language, etc. Thus, the characters try to use words to assert themselves in history, leave behind a memory, and avoid oblivion. It is emphasized that the myth of the creation of America by the power of the biblical word has a noticeable influence on the formation of the writer's characters. In the minds of Americans, it not only gave impetus to the historical emergence of the state, but also determined its future. It is noted that P.B. Auster, as a typical representative of the American nation, considers the word to be a determining factor in the life of society. As for the heroes of his novels, most of them desacralize the word, although they try to use it to find the essence of certain concepts, to find out their meanings. Instead, they constantly feel that words in new conditions become insufficient to explain reality. The emphasis is on the fact that among speakers of the same language, mutual misunderstanding often arises due to the ambiguity of words: depending on the circumstances in which the characters act, they receive different semantic load. In his works, the writer makes an attempt to combine words and visual images as a way of conveying the meaning of things and concepts. He actively intersperses elements of painting, cinema, graphics, modern art, etc. But despite the visual means, the key for the writer always remains the word, which, in his opinion, formed the national essence of the country and determined the mentality of the American people.