“A WRITER — A NERVE CELL OF THE NATION”: SPECIFICITY OF THE AUTHOR’S NATIONAL SELF-IDENTITY IN THE “DIARIES” OF OLES GONCHAR

Abstract

The article is devoted to researching of “Diaries” written by Oles Gonchar through the prism of the author’s national self-identity. The first diary entry is dated June, 1943 and the last entry dated July, 1995. The Ukrainian national features are found out to be revealing in a diary prose of Oles Gonchar both at the content and the form levels through the system of interrelated dominants; the signs of these specific
dominants can be traced in the reflection of its characteristics in the writer’s chronological notes. The author of the paper has conducted an analysis of the main motives revealed in the diary entries being realized in the image palette, archetypes, place names — all these are combined with ethnic specificity. The author summarizes the writer’s ideological viewsthat identifiedthe genesis of popular perception of reality incorporating sincere apologetics of socialism in prewar time, romantic passion (enthusiasm) for European revolutionary ideas throughout losses, tragedies, frustrations and failures of war, gradual awareness of the essence of the Soviet power, Stalin’s bloody crimes against his own peopleas well as the genuine admiration for a short “Khrushchev Thaw” elimination of which in Brezhnev “stagnation period” convinced Gonchar in the necessity of democratization of society. The results of the conducted research determinesome factorssuch as: the Chernobyl disaster, degeneration of national spirituality, displacement of the Ukrainian language on the margins of being — all these key factorsmade Gonchar a leader of spiritual revival of Ukraine.

In this article the author also highlights the idea that Gonchar’s diary recordscan be the key to profound knowledge of Oles Gonchar as a personality of high spiritual energy; a sincere and a principle person; a true patriot of his native land. It is highly recommended for further researching in the field of literary genre as well
asthe author’s style of artistic self-reflection in memoir literature.