MODELS OF WORLD CAPITALS IN THE PROSE OF THE XXI CENTURY

Abstract

The paper dwells on the topical problem of modern literary criticism – the study of the creation of a literary image – a model of the capitals of the world in prose of the 21st century. The article also engages the following socially important issues, such as city life, a little man the city, the problem of loneliness, aloofness of an individual.The work is directly connected with the actualization of urban theme in literature at the beginning of the third millennium. The article begins with a review of the theoretical literature on matters under investigation. The methodological basis of the research is the works by the scholars, such as M. Beville, A. Wessels, P.Torkamane, S.V. Pirogov, V. V. Tsurkan, T.I.Vasilieva, N.L. Karpicheva and others. The following postmodern novels are the object of research – Just Together (2004) by  French writer Anna Gavalda, The Book Without Photos (2011) by Russian prose writer Sergei Shargunov, White Orda  (Ақ Орда) (2005) by  Kazakh author Dukenbay Doszhan. Using hermeneutic analysis of the selected literary works which depict the world capitals such as Paris, Moscow and Nur-Sultan, we have identified the following models of the capital: 1. «Capital – a chronotope»; 2. «Capital – a beautiful city»; 3. «Capital is a city of memories»; 4. «Capital is an Orthodox city»; 5. «Capital is a city of career»; 6. «Capital is a symbol of a new country».