Lietuva ir lietuvis XXI a. užsienio literatūroje : stereotipiniai įvaizdžiai

Abstract

Recently the issue of the image of Lithuania and Lithuanians in foreign literature has become more frequent in the works by comparative literature scholars: Algis Kalėda, Nijolė Kašelionienė, Irena Buckley, and Sigutė Radzevičienė discuss it in Polish, French, and Swedish literature. Though the issue has been a constant concern for the Lithuanians, it has become a topic of special interest in 2012 with the second publication of the novel “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair (including the commentaries by Lithuanian literary scholars and Valdas Adamkus, the Former President of the Republic). Written at the beginning of the 20th century Sinclair’s novel depicts the harsh destiny of the Lithuanians of the first wave of emigration to the USA. Some books about Lithuanians and their lives inspire the discussions on the image of Lithuanians abroad, the understanding of small country, its realities, and their artistic interpretation. The reasons for the writers to take upon the Lithuanian theme are historical and socio-cultural: during different specific periods the increased Lithuanian emigrants’ flows or “waves” to other countries made it possible for the people of these countries to get acquainted and communicate directly with the Lithuanians, as well as to learn more about Lithuania.[...]