Alcala 1958

thi s when we se e ple asure represe nted as gr ati fic at ionof the senses , suc h a gra tifi ca­ tion as ha s no though t of las tin g plea sure or rew ard . Fo rever Am be r,Th e Re vo lt of Ma mi eSt ov er an d Ra in tre e Count y, bes ide s many oth ers , appear to de light in red uc ing ma n to su ch a cond itio n. It ha s be gun to look as if ma ny cur ren t aut hor s wis h to low er ma n to the an imal level and to ign ore h is hum an sid e. I fee l tha t th is is never mo re tru e tha n wh en the aut hor emplo ys the ps ycho log ica l app roa ch. Th e sum tota l of all the se fac tor s bri ngs abou tthe mo st distre ssi ngand far -re ach ing chara cte ris ticof wr itin gin our da y. That is a tende nc y to inc rea se alr eady exist ing emoti ona lstr ess rath er than to gi ve rele ase . Af ter re ad ingsome ofour cur ren t literatu re one fee ls mo re ten se than rel axe d. How to jud ge a book? Well, as we see , the re are de fin itestandard sthat ha ve bee n dev elopedover the yea rs. We ack now led ge tha t per son alex pe rie nc ean d taste can and do est ablish a sup pleme nta ryset of rule s. Th e 20t h-c ent ury lite rar y wor ld ha s pro­ duced the gr ea tes tamount of cri tic al com­ me nt ev er kn own to ma n. Su ch comme nt, cou ple d wi th the indivi du al jud gment s vo ice d by ind ependentreader s, has been abl e to brin g abo ut a tec hn ica llyfin erlitera ­ ture than ha s ev er be en kno wn be for e. The pictur e will be com ple te if in sub seq uent year s our lite ra ry jud gment sare ab le to rele ase ma n from a pre occ upa tion with him sel f. e te tification , tifica- t i g . r ber, lt ie er i tre County, i s s, t ing ition. t s i l i e. l i l ys ological roach. l s s t s ing - eaching cteristic iti g . ncy se i g al s s . i g of t literature ls s d. , i ite rds l ped s. ledge al rience li l ntary s. tury y l - test ti al - n n. nt, l d dual ents d e dent s, i g about ically - e. !l e l te uent s ry ents l se man fro ation self.

T in Roof are proo f of the pu dd ing. They lack any sem bla nceof com ic re lie f. Va n Wy ck Bro oks in Th e W ri te r in Am er ica is con cer ned ov er this deve lop­ ment. He , how ever, see s this gloom in wr itin gas not just an American pro blem but a univer sal on e. He sa ys :"H av e we not rec ent ly see n it expres sedals o in Fr an ce? Th ere ,in a sym­ po siumof the youn ges tgen era tio n,va rio us con trib uto rs commen t on the wr iter sof the pre sen t and what the y dep ict— ma n as a der elic tbe ing, wit hou twon der ,pur pos e, or ide als , bat hed in an atm osp her e tha t is sin iste r,opp res siveand bla ck. . . . "Thes e writ ers gi ve you th, wh ich ha s alw ay s had the sen se of a bet ter da y to com e, no thing wh ate ver now to att ach its ho pes to ; and me rel y re fle cti ngan act ual wor ld in wh ich all be lie fs ha vegon e by the board,- the y conv ey no fa ith whate ver in con stan t val ues ." 7 Pre sent-d ay au tho rs seem com pel led to pro be the inn erm ostrec esses of their cha r­ act ers ' m ind s.Th e mo st inn oce ntof act ion s app earto stemfrom the mos t comp lica ted of ps ycho log icalmo tivati on s. He rman Wo uk, Willi amFau lknerand Ro bin sonJe ffe rsare he av y wit h thi s appro ach . Man as fou nd in cur ren twr itin gsappea rs no lon ger int ere stedin the en ds of hi s act s an d de eds but rat her in th eir immedia te res ults . We bec ome mo st ke en ly aware of 7 Van Wyck Brook s, Th e Writ er in Am eric a (New Yor k: Dutto n, 19 52) . ing. They l nce ic li f. s e riter erica ned - . , , s iti g l sal . : e tly sed a ce? , - gest tion, i us ;to·~- com ent n s t i - li t i , t , ose, l , here r, res ive .. e s t , i s s s e, i ver to ; ly l cting l i li fs have ey i in c t ." 7 ay rs l ed ost ss s - ' inds. nt o i s t licated ological i ations. an , i l er i son f rs y ach. t iti gs rs sted s s te lts. e ly 7 iter in eri a i f

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Backward Natio n From Lon don come sthe sto ry of the Hu ngari anCommunistof fic ia lwho wa s sen t to Br ita in on a gov ernme ntmiss ion by the Re d re gim e. Check ingin at the Sa vo y, he ask ed the des k cler k: "Wh at tim e is the elec tricityshu t o ff ?" "I t isn 't shut off at all , sir ,"he wa s told . "It's on all the tim e." "W ell, when is you r steamhe at shu t o ff ?" "Tha t,too , is on all the time." "A ndis ther erunn ingwa ter in my ro om ?" "H otand co ld, sir , dayan d night ." "T hi s is inde ed a backward cou ntr y,"said the Hu ng arian ."You 're back where we wer e in 19 39 ." s arian C nist ial s i i ent mi io i e. ing y, l k: "What l tricity f ?" , , . . el , te m t f ?" t, , e ing w ?" , , ay a ight." is e y," arian. " 're

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