Study of existential problems in the works about war by O. Dovzhenko and O. Kolomiyts

Abstract

Background. War is always an extremely cruel test in the life of not only every ordinary person, but also of the nation as a whole. During war, people clearly reveal both their best and worst traits. They are capable of powerful ups and downs of spirit and heroism, but they can also descend to deviant behavior, in particular betrayal. Therefore, O. Dovzhenko and O. Kolomiyets have always been concerned with the problems of human behavior in war. How does a person solve existential problems in these absurd conditions of inhuman trials: responsibility, duty, the meaning of life, choice, loneliness, etc.? In their works, artists depicted heroes as highly noble, courageous, glorifying their will to victory, indomitability, loyalty to duty, love of life.

Methods. To solve individual tasks, the research used methods: descriptive, comparative-historical, structural using the method of component analysis and elements of statistical analysis.

Results. During World War II, O. Dovzhenko was a war correspondent, he personally saw all the horrors of this disaster. His war-themed film scripts "The Tale of the Fiery Years" and "Ukraine on Fire" and the stories "Stop, Death, Stop!", "On Barbed Wire", "The Apostate", "Unforgettable", "Mother", "Will to Live" are filled with pain and suffering, but at the same time with faith in the victory of the Ukrainian people over their enemies. The film story "Ukraine on Fire" is the central work of O. Dovzhenko about the war. The author embodied his experiences, reflections, and beliefs in the thoughts and actions of his heroes. He focused on the suffering and resilience of the Ukrainian people, demonstrating the horrors of shelling, captivity, abuse and death, occupation and destruction. Through the images of the heroes, in particular the Zaporozhtsi family, the artist conveyed his inner pain and fierce anger towards the German-fascist invaders, emphasized the absurdity of war and its cruel consequences. The dramatic works of playwright O. Kolomiyets, who at the beginning of World War II volunteered to go to the front from the student ranks, are also distinguished by the depth of reflections on a person in war. These are such dramas as "Planet of Speranta", "Gorlytsia", "Blue Deer", "Kravtsov".

The works about the war by O. Dovzhenko and O. Kolomiyets are characterized by similar basic existential problems: the search for the meaning of life, identity, self-expression, moral choice, and personal freedom.

Conclusions. Even in the conditions of a totalitarian society and strict censorship, O. Dovzhenko and O. Kolomiyets continued the best traditions of Ukrainian literature, created artistic images of people who find themselves in absurd conditions of war and solve the issues of finding the meaning of life, identity and self-awareness, moral choice and personal freedom, etc. These are truly the best representatives of the Ukrainian people - highly noble, courageous, freedom-loving, indomitable, loyal to duty defenders of Ukraine from enemies.

O. Dovzhenko and O. Kolomiyets explored the human personality in deadly crisis situations, focused their attention on the existentials of death, fate, choice, resistance to a hostile environment, and the will to live. In the current realities of the Russian-Ukrainian war, all these existentials remain relevant, which is reflected in the literary works of modern writers about the war.