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

LÁSZLÓ DÁNYI THE ECCENTRIC AGAINST THE MAINSTREAM: WILLIAM STYRON, 75 William Styron (1925- ) has simultaneously been considered as one of the most controversial and the most admired authors in the United States. He has always resisted swimming with the current of postmodernism, and even during the heydays of that ephemeral mode of writing he achieved unprecedented recognition by the reading public. Styron will celebrate his 75th birthday in 2000, and the coincidence of the two significant figures instantly invites the question of appreciation. The latest approach to Styron's work and life, has been provided by James L. West III, who meticulously explored the multitude of dimensions that reveal the meaning and significance of Styron's art. So the unavoidable questions are: what comprises the Styron legacy for the generations of the 21st century, and what is the definition of the author's place, and what is his contribution to American literature? In the search for the answers to the questions, first, I will identify the major thematic patterns in Styron's works, then I will summarize major critical approaches to his. oeuvre and explore the Faulknerian heritage in his novels. What are the social icons that can be traced in Styron's works, and what are the major thematic patterns that constitute his novels? The first of the novels is his poetically written Lie Down in Darkness (1951) which portrays a Southern family crumbling into bits in the shadow of the mixed Southern ethical inheritance. The characters who act out the tragedy of this family are Peyton Loftis, the daughter, whose suicide commences the meditation over the estrange9