На этой странице находится топик по английскому по теме MY FAVOURITE WRITERS
ТОПИК 1
It’s common knowledge that reading foreign literature helps you to learn more about the life of people in other countries, their traditions and customs. As I study English, I try to read as many books by English writers as possible. The names of English writers and poets such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Bernard Shaw, Conan Doyle, Agatha Cristie, Oscar Wilde and many others are well-known to educated people all over the world.
It is very difficult for me to choose out of them one name as my favourite writer because I can’t say I’ve read enough and know enough about English literature to make the right judgement. Yet, when I think about it, the first name that comes to my mind is that of Charles Dickens.
Bom in 1812 in Portsmouth, he was the second of the eight children in the family. Although not poor by the standards of the time, the Dickens family lived through a series of financial crises. In 1823 facing a financial ruin, the family moved to London, where Charles began to work in a warehouse for six shillings a week. At that time his father was arrested for debt. Only at the age of twelve Charles was sent to school, where he did well, and at the age of fifteen he got a job in a legal firm. After learning shorthand, he became a reporter for the «Morning Chronicle» and soon wrote «Pickwick Papers». In 1836, when «Pickwick Papers» were published, he became the most popular living novelist in England and held this position until he died. The rest can be told in a few words. He published novel after novel— «Oliver Twist», «Nickolas Nickleby», «The Old Curiosity Shop», «David Copperfield», «Little Dorrit» and many others. Besides constantly writing novels he was editing newspapers and magazines, giving readings from his books to huge crowds of people.
There was no other novelist in England who had such a hold on all classes of people already during his lifetime. His books were read by all — by learned and simple people, by the rich and the poor alike.
The popularity of his books hasn’t diminished with time. The great-heartedness of the author appeals to the contemporary reader as much as it did a century ago. His kindly, understanding eye looks with tolerance on good and bad alike.
The last book by Ch.Dickens I’ve read is «Oliver Twist». It’s a very touching story about the hard life of English orphans in the workhouse. The miserable adventures of Oliver Twist can’t leave the reader indifferent. There is no better description of children’s suffering in the world of cruelty and greediness as there’s always a glimpse of hope for every character of his books, because Dickens believes in kindness and generosity of people. It’s not just a happy end that his books have, it’s a philosophy which gives optimism and faith to the reader.
ТОПИК 2
I’ve read several books by American writers. The first American writer who came my way was Jack London whose stories struck me by unusual situations and the courage of his heroes. I also admire the humour of Mark Twain. I’ve read some of his stories and, of course, «The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn». A few years later I happened to read «А Farewell to Arms» by Ernest Hemingway and since then I’ve been fascinated by this great American writer.
When I read his biography I was impressed by his personality. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His life was full of adventures and events that required courage, strong will and determination. He began his career as a brave war correspondent during the first world war. The scope of his interests was incredibly wide.
His war experience and adventurous life provided the background for many of his short stories and novels. He achieved success with «А Farewell to Arms», the story of a love affair between an American lieutenant and an English nurse during the first world war.
Hemingway actively supported the Republicans in the Spanish civil war. In his articles he denounced the fascist regime of Franco. «The Fifth Column» is a play about the Civil War in Spain.
In 1940 Hemingway completed the novel «For Whom the Bell Tolls». It’s a story about a young American teacher of Spanish who joins the Spanish partisans and gives his life for the cause of freedom.
In 1952 Hemingway finished his tale «The Old Man and the Sea». This story about an old Cuban fisherman is a hymn to human courage and endurance. Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
Hemingway is famous for his simple style, which has been widely imitated but never achieved by other writers. His heroes
show courage in the face of danger, the feature which Hemingway admired greatly and which he himself possessed. Unwilling to live with the grave physical disease, Hemingway committed suicide, as his father had done before him under similar circumstances.
ТОПИК 3
As far as Russian literature is concerned it’s hard to name one favourite writer and one favourite book especially if we talk about the 19th and the beginning of the the 20th centuries, known as the «golden» and «silver» periods in the Russian culture. Such giants of Russian literature as A.Pushkin, I.Turgenev, F.Dostoyevsky, L.Tolstoy, A.Chekhov and many others are known all over the world.
The writer who stands out of this list for me is Dostoyevsky. I look upon him not only as a great writer but a great philosopher as well. His ideas had an immense influence on the literature that followed and his deep penetration into the human soul and the motives of people’s behaviour impresses the modern reader as much as it did his contemporaries.
Dostoyevsky was bom in Moscow in 1821 into a many-children family of a doctor. Though the Dostoyevskies were a middle-class family the father was able to provide the best education for his sons. They studied at one of the most prestigious Moscow private schools of the time. After leaving school, F. Dostoyevsky entered the Engineering College in St.Petersburg. He started writing at the age of 25. His first publication was the novel «Poor People». In 1849 he was arrested for his political views and spent four years of his life as a convict.
Some years later Dostoyevsky and his brother Michael, who was his best friend throughout his life, started publishing a literary magazine «The Time». His world-famous masterpieces were all written between 1850 and 1880. For many years Dostoyevsky suffered from epilepsy and that caused his death in 1881.
Among his outstanding novels are «The Brothers Karamazov», «Humiliated and Abused», «Crime and Punishment», «The Idiot», «Demons». I’ve read all of them, but I think I am most impressed by «The Idiot».
In this novel Dostoyevsky wanted to depict a living ideal man. As he was deeply interested in religion and knew a lot about it, he was convinced that Jesus Christ was the only positive person in the history of mankind. That is why the main character of the novel, Pri nce Myshkin, resembles Christ in his qualities and intentions. Myshkin was Dostoyevsky’s favourite character. He comes back to Russia from Switzerland, but can’t find his place in the society of «the cult of money». He argues with other characters of the novel about beauty and morality. But like Griboyedov’s hero Chatsky he can’t change much about the world he lives in. Myshkin can’t be understood by the society which considers him «an idiot». Dostoyevsky contrasts two different approaches to human virtues and beauty. The main character says that beauty will save the world. But in the end he realizes that it is beauty that should be rescued. Unable to adjust to the cruel society he found himself in, he becomes mentally ill and is taken back to Switzerland.
Thus the eternal struggle between the good and the evil is lost by Dostoyevsky’s character, but the problems raised have not lost their significance. At the present time Dostoyevsky is still among the most widely read authors, whose contribution to the world literature can’t be overestimated. Although Dostoyevsky wrote about Russian people and the problems of the Russian society of his time, his genius made the problems raised international and vital for people of all nationalities and Dostoyevsky’s legacy belongs to the whole world.
