Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2001. [Vol. 7.] Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 27)

Studies - László Dányi: The Eccentric Against the Mainstream: William Styron, 75

by images, emblematical representations and figures, and shows how the contemporary American Southerners cultural awareness is related to the aforementioned Southern icons. Styron adapts, transforms and creates icons that are disposed towards or/and against the iconology of the South, a major part of which was created by Faulkner. In the 21st century the uniqueness of the writer's achievement will be assessed in the light of his Southern background. Styron's novels are historically situated and his characters culturally conditioned, at the same time I concede that the American ingredients of Styron's prose cannot be fully deduced from the writer's Southern legacy, not to mention the impact of obvious international influences. The greatest achievement of the author is that superimposed on the general themes, his work defines the constituent elements of the distinct quality of the South as a cultural region; it formulates the principles of the Southern content and form; and achieves the fictional creation of the Southern ethos; and it establishes new fictional space for the iconology of the South; consequently, Styron's art will keep the Southern literary tradition alive. WORKS CITED Abádi-Nagy, Zoltán. Mai amerikai regénykalauz (1970-1990). Budapest: Inter a Rt, 1995. Arms, Valarie Meliotes. "A French View of William Styron: Topicality vs. Universality." The Southern Quarterly. Vol. XXIX. No. 1. Fall 1990. Caputo, Philip. "Styron's Choices." Esquire. December 1986. Clarke, John Henrik, ed. William Styron's Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond. Boston: Beacon Press, 1968. Cologne-Brookes, Gavin. The Novels of William Styron. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. Core, George, ed. Southern Fiction Today: Renaissance and Beyond. Athens: Univ. of Georgia Press, 1969. Cowley, Malcolm. "The Faulkner Pattern." New Republic. 8 October 1951. Durham, Carolyn A. "William Styron's Sophie's Choice: The Structure of Oppression." Twentieth Century Literature. Vol. 30. No. 4. 1984. 19