Diaspora ir tautos istorijos populiarinimas : Kazio Almeno atvejis

Abstract

The historical adventure stories of the émigré Lithuanian writer Kazys Almenas embody the author‘s theory of cultural perseverance, with the addressee, i. e., the teenager, in the forefront. Orienting himself to the story‘s addressee, the author creates an intense dynamism of events, one sometimes slowed down by descriptions or excursions into other narratives, while he tries to convince the reader by reconstructing events from the past (whose authenticity is shown by the language used, the mentality of past times, and the dialectics of things) and by taking up the standpoint of an authoritative and trustworthy narrator. The dynamics of the narrative follows the logic of an adventure novel: the action alternately slows down and picks up again. The slowing down is exemplified by lengthy descriptions and excursuses, whereas the intensifying of the action is borne by hints about happenings and threats that still await and by references to other books in the Skomantas series. The adventure strategy is carried out on the level of history, in the past full of suspense, danger, and political turmoil, where the characters often are real historical figures. Seeking to convince the reader of the reality of the narrated history, the author tries to recreate the past epoch as faithfully as possible by emphasizing the language peculiar to it and the mentality as well as dialectical relationships expressed through it. The narrator of Almenas‘s historical adventure novels is omniscient (extra-heterodiegetic) and trustworthy; he tells the story from the perspective of time and frequently coincides with the presumed author; his presence, although varying, remains the highest. The addressee regards the information provided by such a narrator as authoritative; this heightens the novel‘s believability.