Type of "little man" in Altai literature of the second half of XX and the beginning of the XXI centuries (on the example of the works by D. Kainchin and L. Kokyshev)

Abstract

The type of “little man” based on the works of Altai writers Lazar Kokyshev (the poem “Tuba”) and DibashKainchin (the stories “Daughter of the Black Taiga”, “Fence” and “On the Pass” translated by the author) is discussed in this article. The personal and moral characterization of characters from a new perspective is given here which is the difference from previous traditional studies by leading Altai literary scholars. The author notes that the theme of the “little man” in the writers' work left an indelible mark. There is a transformation of the image, a change in the author’s position and ways of expressing it (irony, comic, compassion). Meanwhile, the fate of their heroes merged with the fate of the people. The studied works show a tendency for writers to create their own typology of “little man”: a hunter, a shepherd, a tractor driver, an old retired woman (a former weaver). They are united by the fact that they are physically and morally weak people who have embarked on the path of humility and compromise.