A variation of the archetypal plot «deal with the devil» in D. Keyes' novel «Flowers for Algernon»

the presented article examines the transformation of the archetypal plot «deal with the devil» in world literature, in particular, in the novel by D. Keyes «Flowers for Algernon». The analysis of the plot and compositional organization of the novel allows us to conclude that the architectonics of the work contains the archetypal plot «deal with the devil», which is also semantic. In addition, the identification and analysis of the archetypal basis of the novel, as well as the specifics of the transformation of this archetypal plot in the work, reveal the presence of other archetypal plots (the plot of human creation, the plot of «descent into hell»). The elements of the text that are axiomatically present in the structure of the archetypal plot itself are considered: the acute desire of the protagonist Charlie Gordon to acquire new abilities, the conclusion of an agreement with the devil, personified by images of false scientists, the subsequent realization of the disastrous consequences of such a deal and the experience of his fall. Special attention is paid to the complex of motives traditionally associated with a deal with evil spirits (the motive of a sick soul, the motive of fear, the motive of violence and the motive of blood), as well as the mythological images of the labyrinth and the flower as cosmological models of the universe.

plot, composition, architectonics, archetypal plot, contract with the devil, D. Keyes