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As one of the central concepts of the American culture, small-town America has long been explored by various writers, among which Ray Bradbury and Stephen King stand out as extremely important figures in terms of the 20th century popular fiction and their contribution to the overall perceptions of the small town. This analysis therefore aims to present the characteristics of the small town as depicted in their work through the lens of human geography, concretely, Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Farewell Summer, and King’s ‘Salem’s Lot, It and Needful Things, while simultaneously looking back to the origination of such fiction in the form of Howard P. Lovecraft’s depiction of the subject in “The Dunwich Horror” and “The Shadow over Innsmouth”. Following a brief explanation of the commonly recognized attributes of small-town America, the analysis continues with the exploration of the respective writers’ treatment of place elements – location, physical patterns, people and time, as realized in the specific conditions of the small town. Ultimately, the analysis produces information which lead to the conclusion that there is a certain basis which can be recognized across considerably different depictions of the small town. On the other hand, the differences in the specific manifestations, or rather the individual writer’s inclination towards the positive or negative side of the concept, can be seen as valuable sources of insight into American feelings towards what is seen as uniquely theirs and defining them. Kao jedan od centralnih koncepata američke kulture tzv. „Amerika malih gradova” već dugo zaokuplja razne pisce, među kojima se Ray Bradbury i Stephen King ističu kao izuzetno važne figure u kontekstu popularne knjižvenosti dvadesetog stoljeća i njihovog doprinosa sveopćim shvaćanjima malog grada. Stoga je cilj ove analize prikazati karakteristike malog grada kakvim je predstavljen u njihovim djelima pomoću spoznaja humane geografije, točnije, u Bradburyjevim djelima Maslačkovo vino, Nešto nam se zlo privlači i Zbogom ljeto, i Kingovim Salemovo, Ono i Potrebne stvari, pri čemu se konstantno osvrće na izvore takve književnosti u vidu stvaralaštva Howarda P. Lovecrata i njegova prikaza koncepta u „Dunwichskom užasu” i „Sjeni nad Innsmouthom”. Nakon kratkog objašnjenja osobina koje se uobičajeno vežu uz Ameriku malih gradova analiza se nastavlja razmatranjem pristupa pojedinih pisaca elementima mjesta – lokaciji, fizičkim uzorcima, ljudima i vremenu, pri čemu se naravno uzimaju u obzir specifični uvjeti malog grada. U konačnici, analiza pruža informacije koje navode na zaključak o postojanju određene baze koju je moguće prepoznati kroz znatno različite prikaze malog grada. S druge strane, razlike u konkretnim manifestacijama, odnosno naklonjenost pojedinog pisca pozitivnoj ili negativnoj strani koncepta, mogu se smatrati vrijednim izvorima uvida u američke osjećaje prema onome što se smatra jedinstvenim za njihovo kulturno iskustvo i identitet. |
