What is adventure literature. World of Adventure Literature

I can't help but say a few words about fantasy. Actually, science fiction is not a genre, but a concept that includes such genres as science fiction, fantasy is its Native sister, mysticism and even fairy tales, myths, sagas ....
Pushkin and Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin and Dostoevsky, Alexei Tolstoy and Bulgakov gave the best examples of Russian science fiction, in particular. Remember the story of A. S. Pushkin “A secluded house on Vasilyevsky”, and “ Queen of Spades"Isn't that fantastic? Remember Lermontov's "Shtoss", the story of A. K. Tolstoy "Amen" and A. N. Tolstoy "Count Cagliostro", I. S. Turgenev "Ghosts", A. P. Chekhov "The Black Monk", Bryusov, Kuprin, Grin , Platonov, Zozulya ... The list is endless ...
Arkady Strugatsky said: "FANTASTIC IS THE FOREMOTHER OF ALL TYPES OF LITERATURE"
I fully agree with our great writer and, without fear of any accusations of being too categorical, I follow him in saying that world science fiction is the foremother and contemporary of all types of literature. Probably, for many, what has been said will be a kind of revelation. Previously (yes, probably even now), science fiction was considered, perhaps, and is considered, a frivolous genre. A kind of "poor relative" in the backyard of literature, light reading for people who don't really like to strain their brains.
I want to be honest: I prefer science fiction to all types of science fiction. Perhaps someone considers the sf genre boring, teeming with technical details, "mired" in scientific terms, without the beloved by young people, and not only by young people, action. And someone, perhaps, even considers it an endangered genre... Believe me, you are wrong. And rumors of death are greatly exaggerated.
NF did not appear out of nowhere; elements can be found in Greek mythology(the myth of Daedalus and Icarus). But he was the first to write what later became known as " Science fiction" Jules Verne. And his younger contemporary Wells showed that science fiction can be not only informative and entertaining reading material, but also serious, “big” literature. Usually, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who left us a vast literary legacy, including several sf works, the most famous of which is The Lost World.
A phrase from a critical review: “I didn’t like one thing. The story is written according to the classical canons of the National Philosophy” (!).
What can you say? Sadly!
More than once I have heard (and not only heard, but also read) that science fiction is literature, or rather, under-literature, which crooks write for the weak-minded on the topic "you fly my rocket."
"I do not believe! Why does he scare me?" - Someone yells, having hardly overcome the "Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin". And at that moment, over his head, two hundred kilometers away, dead and vigilantly, shining unbearably in the sun, a fighter satellite armed with a deadly laser and stuffed with nuclear explosives glides. "I do not believe! I don't want to live in this future!" - he is tearing himself up, having overcome several chapters of the Andromeda Nebula. "Don't ve ..." - he begins, scrolling diagonally " Shagreen leather”, But he immediately catches himself: he was taught at school that Balzac is a great writer.
“Fiction is literature for children and youth, designed to tell in an exciting way about the prospects for the development of science and technology, and most importantly, to play an educational and patriotic role.” Modern NF is distinguished by a large “degree of freedom”. Authors working in this genre are willing to experiment, combine, look for new forms. Sometimes it turns out better, sometimes worse, sometimes the authors themselves cannot decide on genre affiliation their creations. It is quite likely that the result will be (or has already been?) an entirely new kind of fiction that has yet to be named, and for which the future lies.

"Adventure" is a translation of the concept of "adventure" (from the Latin adventura), which means "an unexpected incident" or "a bold enterprise." In Russian, the word "adventure" is used in a negative sense - as a designation for unprincipled and dishonorable deeds. Therefore, two names were formed: adventure literature and adventurous literature - respectively for its two (high and low) varieties.

One of ancient works- Homer's poem "The Odyssey" already had the features of adventure literature: a path through dangers. That is why the name of the Homeric poem has become a household word, synonymous with wanderings and adventures.

Medieval heroic songs and chivalric romances they told about the wanderings of valiant knights in the name of deeds, about their adventures (“The Death of Arthur” by T. Malory; “Amadis of Gal” by R. Montalvo). The knights took part in battles, fought giants and dragons, fell into enchanted forests and enchanted castles, fought each other. But there were also books whose characters were no longer knights, and they were distinguished not by valor, but by cunning and roguery, which is why these narratives themselves were called picaresque (“Life of Lazarillo from Tormes ...”, 1554).

When the days of chivalry ended, luck and wealth became the goal pursued by the characters of adventure stories. Among them stands out the novel "Extraordinary and amazing Adventures Robinson Crusoe" English writer D. Defoe, who showed a man in the fight against incredible circumstances. The sailor Robinson Crusoe, thrown by a storm on a desert island and lived on this island for twenty-eight years, became the personification of stamina, the power of the human mind.

Shortly after Defoe's novel, a book by his compatriot J. Swift, Lemuel Gulliver's Travels to Various Remote Countries of the World, appeared, which was conceived as a parody of all kinds of "travels and adventures."

The alternation of entertaining incidents - the most important feature adventure storytelling. The adventure novel taught writers to tell interesting stories. But, of course, not only the change of extraordinary events makes us follow the adventures. In the course of the adventure, a person is revealed. The story of Robinson Crusoe contains a story not only about adventures, but also about the formation of a personality. The novel is built as a confession and is also an educational novel.

Continuing to adhere to the outline of adventures, many writers paid more and more attention not to incidents, but to experiences - the psychological side of things, they described in more detail the character of the hero, human relationships, environment. Novels in which adventures still played an important role and even appeared in the titles (for example, "The Adventures of Oliver Twist" by C. Dickens) were psychological, everyday, social, historical novels. Such are the works of W. Scott and W. Hugo.

And the literature of adventure remains true to high romance, calls to distant, unexplored lands, to exploits, puts forward active, strong in spirit heroes, depicts dramatic and tense moments of the past. The brightest master of the adventure genre is Alexandre Dumas, the author of numerous novels, of which The Count of Monte Cristo (1845-1846) and especially The Three Musketeers (1844) with their continuation - Twenty Years Later (1845) acquired true immortality. ) and Vicomte de Bragelonne (Ten Years Later, 1845-1850). Unlike Walter Scott, he arranged a kind of historical masquerade, a game of history, but a fascinating game. “His novels,” A.I. Kuprin wrote about Dumas’ books, “despite almost a hundred years of age, live contrary to the laws of time and oblivion, with the same unfading strength and the same kind charm.”

Another adventure singer who has survived to this day was Mine Reid, who himself experienced or at least saw much of what he described in his books, among which the most famous is The Headless Horseman (1866). Like the novels of Dumas, the works of Mine Reed are full of energy, action, in them strong characters collide under exceptional circumstances, the narrative unfolds in distant, unusual places- in the prairies, tropical forests, on distant, then unexplored continents. Mine Reed was a Republican in his political convictions, took part in the national liberation struggle, his ideal is worthy, free personality, a person who takes up arms only for noble purposes.

Some of the results of the development of the adventure genre were summed up by the wonderful storyteller R. L. Stevenson, who best books wrote specifically for youth. Stevenson himself has been a regular reader since childhood. adventure books, these books called him to distant lands, and he traveled a lot. He produced a sort of archetype of the travel novel Treasure Island (1883) and the historical adventure novel The Black Arrow (1888).

Not only for children, but also about children were written famous novels M. Twain "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884). Tom is a little Don Quixote, who, like the hero of M. Cervantes, has read adventure books and strives to bring what he has read to life. His friend Huck reminds me of Sancho Panza, the squire of the La Manche unfortunate knight: a waif who has already been taught something life experience, he looks at things much more sensibly than the dreamer Tom, a boy from a wealthy family.

IN domestic literature the romance of adventure is beautifully realized in the works of A. N. Tolstoy (“Aelita”, “The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin”), A. S. Green, V. A. Kaverin, A. N. Rybakov, A. P. Gaidar, V. P. Kataev and others.

adventure literature brought to life by the discovery of the unknown. Mankind, having inhabited the globe, mastered the air, escaped into space: aren't these themes for adventure works? However, literature has its own pace of development. The Age of Discovery, which began as early as the 15th century, produced truly great works of travel and adventure many years later. In principle, there is no doubt that outer space will also serve as a setting for wonderful adventure books that can captivate both adults and young readers.

one of the types fiction, prose, the main content of which is a fascinating, exciting story about real or fictional events. The signs of adventure literature are a dynamic plot, the sharpness of situations, the intensity of emotions, the motives of mystery, abduction, persecution, crime, travel, etc. Within adventure literature, several stable genres can be distinguished, differing in two ways: in what setting the action takes place and what is the main plot content. So, adventure literature includes detective stories, the main content of which is the investigation of a crime. E. Poe, A. K. Doyle, A. Christie and others were masters of detective stories. Often the author creates detective novels and stories with one through character - a professional or amateur detective (Father Brown in G. K. Chesterton, Sherlock Holmes in Conan Doyle, Hercule Poirot at Christie's, etc.). The reader's interest is maintained by trying to find the criminal, whose name is usually found out at the very end. Fantasy adventure literature tells about fictional creatures, their adventures, or about fictional events that happen to people. Action fantastic works can be transferred to other planets, to the past or future of the Earth; aliens, fabulous creatures, etc. operate in them. Notable authors fiction - G. Wells, R. Bradbury, S. Lem, K. Bulychev, A. and B. Strugatsky. The amusement of fantasy adventure literature is based on the depiction of unusual creatures and mechanisms, as well as extraordinary events that happen to them. Historical adventure literature tells about some era remote from the author and the reader, trying to restore the details of life and furnishings as accurately as possible. V. Scott, A. Dumas père, V. Hugo worked in this genre. IN historical novels usually fictitious protagonists act, and real historical figures are episodic heroes (for example, the main characters of the novel The Three Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan - are fictional by the author, but Cardinal Richelieu, the king and queen of France are real). Also, the amusement of adventure literature can be associated with the exoticism of various peoples and tribes, nature different countries- such are the novels of F. Cooper, J. London, R. L. Stevenson, J. Verne, T. M. Reed, J. Conrad, G. R. Haggard. The author can depict life side by side with such tribes (like T. M. Reed, who describes life in the USA and introduces Indians into his works). The leading motive in such works may be the motive of travel, as, for example, in G. R. Haggard.

Along with the selected types of adventure literature, there are works that do not belong to any of these groups, but nevertheless belong to adventure literature due to their amusing and exciting plot (for example, A.P. Gaidar's stories about the adventures of teenagers or M. Twain about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn).

In Russian literature, A. S. Grin worked in the genre of adventure literature (“ Scarlet Sails”), V. A. Kaverin (“Two Captains”), A. N. Tolstoy (“Aelita”, “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid”), A. P. Gaidar (“Timur and his team”, “R.V. S.", "Chuk and Gek"), A. R. Belyaev ("Professor Dowell's Head"), V. P. Kataev ("The lonely sail turns white"), the Vainer brothers ("The Era of Mercy"), etc.

adventure literature

Adventure literature

One of the types of fiction, prose, the main content of which is a fascinating, exciting story about real or fictional events. The signs of adventure literature are a dynamic plot, the sharpness of situations, the intensity of emotions, the motives of mystery, abduction, persecution, crime, travel, etc. Within adventure literature, several stable genres can be distinguished, differing in two ways: in what setting the action takes place and what is the main plot content. So, adventure literature includes detectives, the main content of which is the investigation of a crime. The masters of detectives were E. By, A. K. Doyle, A. Christie and others. Often the author creates detective novels and stories with one through character - a professional or amateur detective (H.K. Chesterton's Father Brown, Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Christie's Hercule Poirot, etc.). The reader's interest is maintained by trying to find the criminal, whose name is usually found out at the very end. Fantasy adventure literature tells about fictional creatures, their adventures, or about fictional events that happen to people. The action of fantastic works can be transferred to other planets, to the past or future of the Earth; aliens, fabulous creatures, etc. act in them. Famous authors of science fiction - G. wells, R. bradbury, WITH. Lem, TO. Bulychev, A. and B. Strugatsky. The amusement of fantasy adventure literature is based on the depiction of unusual creatures and mechanisms, as well as extraordinary events that happen to them. historical adventure literature tells about some era remote from the author and the reader, trying to restore the details of life and furnishings as accurately as possible. In this genre, V. Scott, A. dumas father, IN. Hugo. Historical novels usually feature fictitious main characters, while real historical figures are episodic characters (for example, the main characters of the novel The Three Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan - are fictionalized by the author, and Cardinal Richelieu, the king and queen of France - are real). Also, the amusement of adventure literature can be associated with the exoticism of various peoples and tribes, the nature of different countries - these are the novels of F. Cooper, J. London, R. L. Stevenson, AND. Verna, T. M. reed, J. Conrad, G. R. Haggard. The author can depict life side by side with such tribes (like T. M. Reed, who describes life in the USA and introduces Indians into his works). The leading motive in such works may be the motive of travel, as, for example, in G. R. Haggard.

Along with the selected types of adventure literature, there are works that do not belong to any of these groups, but nevertheless belong to adventure literature due to their amusing and exciting plot (for example, the stories of A.P. Gaidar about the adventures of teenagers or novels by M. Twain about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn).
In Russian literature, in the genre of adventure literature, A.S. Green("Scarlet Sails"), V. A. Kaverin(“Two Captains”), A.N. Tolstoy(“Aelita”, “Hyperboloid of engineer Garin”), A.P. Gaidar (“Timur and his team”, “R.V.S.”, “Chuk and Gek”), A.R. Belyaev("Professor Dowell's Head"), V.P. Kataev(“The lonely sail turns white”), the Weiners brothers (“The Era of Mercy”), etc.
The works of many authors of adventure literature have become classics children's literature.

Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Under the editorship of prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .


See what "adventure literature" is in other dictionaries:

    Modern Encyclopedia

    Artistic prose, subordinated to the task of entertaining narration of incidents; it is characterized by the rapidity of the development of the action, the variability and severity of the plot (plot) situations, the intensity of emotions, the motives for the abduction and ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    adventure literature- ADVENTURE LITERATURE, fiction, where the main task of the narrative is an entertaining message about real or fictional incidents. It is characterized by the rapidity of the development of action, changeability and sharpness ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Cover of Jules Verne's novel "Michael Strogoff: Royal ... Wikipedia

    adventure literature- a concept that does not have strict boundaries. Applies to many literary genres and refers to works that tell about intense conflicts of personal and public life. Heading: genres and genres of literature Synonym: adventure genre Other ... ...

    Fiction, subordinated to the task of entertaining narration of incidents; it is characterized by the rapidity of the development of the action, the variability and severity of the plot (plot) situations, the intensity of emotions, the motives for the abduction and ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    ADVENTURE LITERATURE- ADVENTURE LITERATURE, fiction, where the main task of the narrative is an entertaining message about real or fictional incidents. Associated with science fiction, fantasy, detective fiction and travel. ... ... Literary Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Fiction, where the main task of the narrative is an entertaining message about real or fictional incidents, and the analytical, didactic and descriptive elements are absent or have a deliberately secondary ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

    adventure literature- see adventure literature ... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism

    Adventure (adventurous) literature typical and very recognizable literary genre; throughout storyline, the author places the hero in risky problematic situations, from which he gets out before the eyes of the reader; follows ... ... Wikipedia

So what is adventure fiction? Does the legacy of Jack London, for example, apply to it? (by the way, my favorite writer). A similar question is raised by "Don Quixote", "Robinson Crusoe", "Gulliver's Travels". Not only individual works, but entire genres are arguing for their right to be called adventure literature.

"By modern concepts, adventure literature is a combination of several prose genres that give priority to action over character, chance over the everyday course of life, and dynamics over descriptiveness.

It is customary to refer to adventure literature as detective, travel novel, science fiction, adventurous (actually adventure) novel. From "serious" literature, adventure differs in the type of conflict, which is especially "conflict" here. Often exaggerate the dignity of the hero, as well as the significance and "size" of his actions (feat).

Too often adventure fiction is populated by simpletons whose naive reasoning sets off the insight of intellectuals (Porthos or Dr. Watson as a favorable backdrop for d'Artagnan and Sherlock Holmes).

Yes, the adventure is a game, but it is also a drama, because its hero is invariably tested - and moreover, by genuine danger, and not by a trained situation. The response of the reader is a great emotional and intellectual tension. After all, the adventure game fights are fought on the very edge of the abyss. The hero usually overcomes all obstacles and everything, as a rule, ends with a happy ending, but in principle happy ending he is not guaranteed adventures.

The works of the first adventure wave are identified with serious literature: Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Adventures, novels by Walter Scott and Fielding. Dumas, Poe, Jules Verne, Stevenson, Conan Doyle - these are the authors of the second "wave", under whose pen adventure literature takes on a modern look.

In fact, the line between adventure and "serious" literature is very arbitrary. Some works of the year before last, the past, and current centuries have, as it were, dual citizenship, belonging simultaneously to one and the other. Remember at least "Robinson Crusoe" or V. Bogomolov's novel "The Moment of Truth".

Among the most important representatives of Soviet, Russian adventure literature are A. Tolstoy and A. Green, V. Kataev and V. Kaverin, A. Belyaev and I. Efremov, br. Strugatsky, A. Rybakov, Yu. Semyonov and A. Adamov. Their best adventure works are included in the golden fund of youth reading and are regularly published under the title of adventure publications.

Foreign adventure literature only of the 20th century can boast of such notable names as Sabatini with his novels about Captain Blood, science fiction writers Bradbury, Asimov, Sheckley, detectives John Dixon Kar, Christie, Simeon and others.

Adventure seems to be frivolous, carefree. But behind this mask is an urgent concern: (maybe it will seem too pretentious to someone) to establish in the mind of the reader a high moral ideal. Adventure literature, no matter how paradoxical such a statement may sound, is instructive, instructive, educative.

Young authors often ask: “Where is this “educating” moment in my story (story, novel), if I don’t put much meaning into my opus, but simply describe invented or heard adventures somewhere?” Meaning, which means "educating moment" in such works is always present. The author often does not realize it himself. Remember how, after reading a book or watching a movie, you suddenly want to become at least a little like the main character or heroes - to become as strong, courageous, noble ...

I can't help but say a few words about fantasy. Actually, fantasy is not a genre, but a concept that includes such genres as science fiction, fantasy - its sister, mysticism and even fairy tales, myths, sagas ....

Pushkin and Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin and Dostoevsky, Alexei Tolstoy and Bulgakov gave the best examples of Russian science fiction, in particular. Remember the story of A. S. Pushkin "A Secluded House on Vasilyevsky", and "The Queen of Spades" - isn't that fantasy? Remember Lermontov's "Shtoss", the story of A. K. Tolstoy "Amen" and A. N. Tolstoy "Count Cagliostro", I. S. Turgenev "Ghosts", A. P. Chekhov "The Black Monk", Bryusov, Kuprin, Grin , Platonov, Zozulya ... The list is endless ...

Arkady Strugatsky said: "FANTASTIC IS THE FOREMOTHER OF ALL TYPES OF LITERATURE"

I fully agree with our great writer and, not being afraid of any accusations of being too categorical, I follow him in saying that world science fiction is the foremother and contemporary of all kinds of literature. Probably, for many, what has been said will be a kind of revelation. Previously (yes, probably even now), science fiction was considered, perhaps, and is considered, a frivolous genre. A kind of "poor relative" in the backyard of literature, light reading for people who don't really like to strain their brains.

I want to be honest: I prefer science fiction to all types of science fiction. Perhaps someone considers the sf genre boring, full of technical details, “mired” in scientific terms, without action loved by young people, and not only by young people. And someone, perhaps, even considers it an endangered genre... Believe me, you are wrong. And rumors of death are greatly exaggerated.

NF did not appear out of nowhere; its elements can be found in Greek mythology (the myth of Daedalus and Icarus). But the first to write what later became known as "science fiction" was Jules Verne. And his younger contemporary Wells showed that science fiction can be not only informative and entertaining reading material, but also serious, “big” literature. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who left us an extensive literary legacy, including several sci-fi works, the most famous of which is The Lost World, is usually referred to as the "pioneers".

A phrase from a critical review: “I didn’t like one thing. The story is written according to the classical canons of the National Philosophy” (!).

What can you say? Sadly!

More than once I have heard (and not only heard, but also read) that science fiction is literature, or rather, under-literature, which crooks write for the weak-minded on the topic "you fly my rocket."

"I do not believe! Why does he scare me?" - Someone yells, having hardly overcome the "Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin". And at that moment, over his head, two hundred kilometers away, dead and vigilantly, shining unbearably in the sun, a fighter satellite armed with a deadly laser and stuffed with nuclear explosives glides. "I do not believe! I don't want to live in this future!" - he is tearing himself up, having overcome several chapters of the Andromeda Nebula. “I don’t know…” he begins, flipping through “Shagreen Skin” diagonally, but then he catches himself: he was taught at school that Balzac is a great writer.

“Fiction is literature for children and youth, designed to tell in an exciting way about the prospects for the development of science and technology, and most importantly, to play an educational and patriotic role.” Modern NF is distinguished by a large “degree of freedom”. Authors working in this genre are willing to experiment, combine, look for new forms. Sometimes it turns out better, sometimes worse, sometimes the authors themselves cannot decide on the genre of their creations. It is quite likely that the result will be (or has already been?) an entirely new kind of fiction that has yet to be named, and for which the future lies.


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