Abstract The Russia in which Isaak Babel (1894-1940) wrote was one of deep seated anti-Semitic philosophies and prejudices, a place of pogroms and segregation. Literature of this era painted the Jew as a villainous, dishonest, and feeble minded foreign being within society. Traditionally, Russian literature used the Jew as a national scapegoat or a comical stock character ripe for ridicule. Babel’s contemporaries considered him to be a born writer with a gift for minimalism without the sacrifice of vivid description. His was an evocative style of brutal humanism, showing both character flaws and character virtues. The Odesskie rasskazy (Odessa Tales) epitomized this honest approach to human portrayal. The Jewish community of the Odesskie rasskazy boasted a variety of characters from all walks of life, rejecting the previously perpetuated stereotype. The Jew, as shown by Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, and Chekhov, was simply a caricature. Such characters were restricted to the role of the fool, the thief, and the opportunist. When Babel first described the community, people, and culture of his native shtetl, the previous stereotype of the Russian Jew became an antiquated relic of the past. This thesis will explore some examples of earlier depiction of Jews in literature and the humanized image of Russian Jewry that Babel created in his Odesskie rasskazy. The analysis will discuss how these depictions created a new, three dimensional characterization of the Jew.

Abstract The Russia in which Isaak Babel (1894-1940) wrote was one of deep seated anti-Semitic philosophies and prejudices, a place of pogroms and segregation. Literature of this era painted the Jew as a villainous, dishonest, and feeble minded foreign being within society. Traditionally, Russian literature used the Jew as a national scapegoat or a comical stock character ripe for ridicule. Babel’s contemporaries considered him to be a born writer with a gift for minimalism without the sacrifice of vivid description. His was an evocative style of brutal humanism, showing both character flaws and character virtues. The Odesskie rasskazy (Odessa Tales) epitomized this honest approach to human portrayal. The Jewish community of the Odesskie rasskazy boasted a variety of characters from all walks of life, rejecting the previously perpetuated stereotype. The Jew, as shown by Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, and Chekhov, was simply a caricature. Such characters were restricted to the role of the fool, the thief, and the opportunist. When Babel first described the community, people, and culture of his native shtetl, the previous stereotype of the Russian Jew became an antiquated relic of the past. This thesis will explore some examples of earlier depiction of Jews in literature and the humanized image of Russian Jewry that Babel created in his Odesskie rasskazy. The analysis will discuss how these depictions created a new, three dimensional characterization of the Jew.

The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of human nature in the writing of the British author Graham Greene and the ways it is revealed in his works. Two novels by G. Greene were subjected to analysis – The Heart of the Matter (1948) and A Burnt-Out Case (1960). The research method chosen for the study was textual analysis. The research demonstrated that according to Greene, it is impossible to draw a clear line between good and evil. The characters that seem to be failures – in comparison with what they wished and hoped to do – are seen as being nearer to God than those more successful in worldly ways and in the end the greatest sinners turn out to be the truest believers. The research also demonstrated that to reveal his vision of the human nature, Greene applied paradox mixed with severe irony and social satire. Further studies must be conducted in order to go deeper into certain aspects of the human nature in other G. Greene’s fictional works. / Savo kūriniuose britų rašytojas G. Greene‘as nagrinėjo daugybę socialinių, filosofinių bei religinių klausimų, tokių kaip nuodemė, išganymas ir pasmerkimas, blogis ir jo kilmė, išdavystė, fizinė ir dvasinė kančia, vaikystės nekaltumo praradimas, ir t.t. Tačiau labiausiai Greene‘ą traukė paslaptinga žmogaus prigimtis, vis kitaip pasireiškianti įvairiausiose situacijose bei santykiuose. Jo turbūt svarbiausias klausimas – Kaip gali žmogus, gyvenantis netobulame pasaulyje, išlikti sąžiningas bei išsaugoti garbę? – apibrėžia pagrindinį šio tyrimo klausimą: kas, pagal Greene‘ą, yra žmogaus prigimtis? Kaip ji pasireiškia jo kūryboje? Klausimo suformulavimas leidžia apibrėžti tyrimo tikslą – ištirti žmogaus prigimties sąvoką G. Greene‘o kūryboje ir tai, kaip ji atsiskleidžia jo kūriniuose. Analizei buvo pasirinkti du G. Greene‘o kūriniai – „Būties esmė“ (1948) ir „Neišdildoma žymė“ (1960). Šie romanai buvo pasirinkti dėl jų brandumo bei gylaus žvilgsnio į žmogaus prigimties gelmes. Norint pasiekti užsibrėžtą tikslą buvo numatyta:  ištirti G. Greene‘o filosofinius ir estetinius požiūrius, taip pat pateikti periodo po Antrojo Pasaulinio karo bendro istorinio ir literatūrinio fono analizę ir nustatyti, kokios įtakos turėjo minėti elementai žmogaus prigimties sąvokos pasireiškimui pairinktuose kūriniuose;  pateikti pasirinktų romanų analizę;  atskleisti G. Greene‘o žmogaus prigimties sąvoką;  nustatyti, kokios stilistinės bei kontekstinės priemonės buvo naudojamos žmogaus... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

La présente thèse se propose d’étudier la question de la littérature dans l’œuvre d’Adorno. Elle fait apparaître la fonction utopique que le philosophe attribue à la littérature en tant que celle-ci dessine l’horizon d’une « langue sans terre », ligne de fuite hors de la dialectique de la raison. Tandis que le discours philosophique a reproduit dans son appareil conceptuel la violence mythico-rationnelle à l’encontre du singulier non-identique, la langue littéraire semble en mesure d’indiquer la possibilité de parvenir par le concept au-delà du concept, ce qui constitue le désir utopique de la dialectique négative. L’enjeu n’est pas seulement épistémique : il est bien éthico-politique, lié à la possibilité d’établir des rapports à l’autre libérés de la contrainte de l’identité.Dans les œuvres littéraires dont il entreprend la lecture – qu’il s’agisse de celle d’Eichendorff, de Hölderlin, de Proust, de Valéry, de Beckett ou encore de Kafka – Adorno ne cherche cependant pas une figure concrète de l’utopie, mais la trace de « ce qui nous appartient en propre et qui a été laissé en blanc » – aussi bien dans les textes que dans l’Histoire. La littérature porte alors en creux ce possible impossible dont la puissance hante le présent entre ses lignes ; elle est de la réconciliation (Versöhnung) une image sans image, tout à la fois ressource de la critique radicale des conditions existantes et réserve du désir d’un autre à venir. / This dissertation proposes to study the question of literature in the work of Adorno. It shows the utopian function which the philosopher attributes to literature as it draws the horizon of a "language without soil", a line of flight from the dialectic of reason. While philosophical discourse reproduces in its conceptual apparatus the mythical-rational violence against the non-identical singular, the language of literature seems able to indicate the possibility of reaching beyond the concept with the help of the concept, which is the utopian desire of negative dialectics. The challenge is not only epistemic: it is ethical-political as well, related to the possibility of establishing relations with others which are freed from the constraints of identity.In the literary works which he studies – those of Eichendorff, Hölderlin, Proust, Valery, Beckett or Kafka –, Adorno does however not seek a concrete figure of utopia, but rather traces of "what is our own and has been left blank" - both in these texts and in History. In those blanks, literature contains the « possible impossible » which haunts the present ; it is the picture without picture of Reconciliation (Versöhnung), a resource for both a radical critique of existence and for the desire of the other to come.

Since the very moment of their appearance two recent works of Euphrase Kezilahabi- Nagana (1990) and Mzingile (1991)- hold a very special place in the whole development ofKiswahili literature, giving a lot of puzzles for the reader and a lot of material for the scholars of literature. I\' m going to dwell upon only one aspect of the book - its generic origin; for I think that this question will sooner or later arise. To this effect, I would dare first narrate - very briefly - the contents of the book I would refer to it as `the book´, although it actually consists of two parts - but these parts are so closely related to each other, that it seems possible to speak of Nagana and Mzingile as one piece of work. To what literary genre shall we ascribe the latest work of Tanzania` s leading writer? I would dare to come forward with such a question, because within the structure of the book there seem to be at least four more or less easily tangible stylistic plans. The first one I would call a folkloristic plan, for Kezilahabi uses widely and vividly the elements of African folklore - from mythological concepts to folklore plots, inserted into the narration. The second stylistic plan of the book can be called that of a parable - a parable in the sense of a self-contained story conveying didactic message to a reader or a listener. The book is full of such stories. The next stylistic plan one can call that of science-fiction - or, I would rather say, of antiutopia, for the author draws apocalyptic pictures of the world after the nuclear war, implyin the technique inherent to science-fiction novels. Finally, another stylistic plan of the book can be called realistic - for the author gives, for example, the descriptions of modern city, where the Msichana-Mwokozi dwells, or of an African village, when he tells about the childhood of the main character, using the traditions of east African realistic novel, portraying shortly but vividly urban and rural life. I would say that this realistic plan takes smaller place than the other three - but it is by no means less noticeable.

Since the very moment of their appearance two recent works of Euphrase Kezilahabi- Nagana (1990) and Mzingile (1991)- hold a very special place in the whole development ofKiswahili literature, giving a lot of puzzles for the reader and a lot of material for the scholars of literature. I\'' m going to dwell upon only one aspect of the book - its generic origin; for I think that this question will sooner or later arise. To this effect, I would dare first narrate - very briefly - the contents of the book I would refer to it as `the book´, although it actually consists of two parts - but these parts are so closely related to each other, that it seems possible to speak of Nagana and Mzingile as one piece of work. To what literary genre shall we ascribe the latest work of Tanzania` s leading writer? I would dare to come forward with such a question, because within the structure of the book there seem to be at least four more or less easily tangible stylistic plans. The first one I would call a folkloristic plan, for Kezilahabi uses widely and vividly the elements of African folklore - from mythological concepts to folklore plots, inserted into the narration. The second stylistic plan of the book can be called that of a parable - a parable in the sense of a self-contained story conveying didactic message to a reader or a listener. The book is full of such stories. The next stylistic plan one can call that of science-fiction - or, I would rather say, of antiutopia, for the author draws apocalyptic pictures of the world after the nuclear war, implyin the technique inherent to science-fiction novels. Finally, another stylistic plan of the book can be called realistic - for the author gives, for example, the descriptions of modern city, where the Msichana-Mwokozi dwells, or of an African village, when he tells about the childhood of the main character, using the traditions of east African realistic novel, portraying shortly but vividly urban and rural life. I would say that this realistic plan takes smaller place than the other three - but it is by no means less noticeable.