Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - László Dányi: Nat Turner: History that Fiction Makes, or Fiction that History Makes?

which is our common experience, and our deeds only make sense in relation to it

4

0 Mihály Vajda, Hungarian philosopher, assumes that history can be interpreted in lots of ways, and different interpretations might be valid, but there is not one single interpretation which should be valid.

4

1 Styron himself did not consider his book as a historical novel, and he attached the revealing phrase "meditation on history" to the title, which implies his own rejection of omniscience. Styron's Turner does not want to be a part of history. Instead he says that he was "propelled ... into history."

42 Perhaps James Baldwin's words vindicate an element of the truth of Styron's fictional interpretation related to history: "He has begun the common history

—ours."

4

3 4

0 Milan Kundéra, A regény művészete (Budapest: Európa Könyvkiadó, 1992) 54—56. 4

1 Mihály Vajda, A posztmodern Heidegger (T—

Twins Kiadó, Lukács Archívum, Századvég Kiadó, 1993) 189. 4

2 Styron, 81. 4

3 Styron, back cover. 43