Английская Википедия:Comrades: A Story of Social Adventure in California
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox book Comrades: A Story of Social Adventure in California is a 1909 novel by Thomas Dixon, Jr. It deals with the establishment of a socialist commune on a Californian island and its subsequent unraveling. Widely reviewed, it was later adapted as a play and as a film.
Plot summary
Colonel Worth, a Confederate veteran, lives in San Francisco, California with his guardian Elena and his son Norman.[1] At the outset of the novel, Col. Worth talks about the Battle of Manila of the Spanish–American War in the Philippines, especially Admiral George Dewey's damage done to the Spanish fleet.[1] Meanwhile, his guardian and son go to a socialist meeting.[1] Indeed, his son Norman becomes infatuated with Barbara Bozenta, a socialist figure, and hosts a socialist meeting at Col. Worth's country house near Berkeley on July 4, American Independence Day.[1] The meeting is canceled when Norman attempts to put up the Red Flag as opposed to the American flag.[1]
Worth buys the island of Ventura for his son Norman.[1] Located off the coast of Santa Barbara, it is meant for Norman to establish a socialist commune there.[1] When his socialist friends fail to work, law and order needs to be restored.[1] However, Comrades Herman and Catherine Wolf take over as heads of the commune, and sentence Norman to work in the stables, under the threat of the lash.[1] Productivity falls as workers know they must work nine hours a day, and thus work slowly.[1] When Norman finds a way to find gold on the beach, the device is stolen by Wolf.[1] Wolf's wife Catherine then leaves for Santa Barbara, deeming family life to be too capitalistic.[1]
Eventually, Norman reaches out to his father and to the Governor of California, who liberate the island.[1] The Red flag is replaced with the American flag.[1]
Main themes
The book deals with the Bolshevik threat to the United States.[2] It has been described as 'a treatise against communism' by biographer Anthony Slide.[1]
Critical reception
A review published in The New York Times on February 6, 1909, suggested the characters were badly portrayed.[1] In April 1909, critic H.L. Mencken criticized the novel, describing it as 'intolerably amateurish' and a 'stupid quasi-novel.'[3] He added, 'towards the end the very badness of the book began to exercise a nefarious fascination.'[3] He concluded that the novel was a reflection of 'every weakness, fault, misdemeanor known to prose fiction, from incredible characterization to careless proofreading, and from preposterous dialogue to trashy illustrations.'[3]
Reviewer R. E. Bisbee in the July 1909 issue of Arena suggested the caricature of socialism made Dixon come across as an 'irrational teller of tales.'[1] More recently, biographer Anthony Slide criticized the novel, saying 'the writing appears as rushed as the novel's conclusions.'[1] He went on to add that the character were 'not sufficiently drawn out.'[1]
The novel has been compared to 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell in its ability to show the ineptitude of socialism.[1] However, Slide suggests it is a parody of the socialist novels of Upton Sinclair.[1] Moreover, it has been suggested that the character of Barbara Bozenta was based on anarchist Emma Goldman.[4]
Theatrical and cinematic adaptations
The novel was adapted as a play entitled The Red Dawn.[1] However, the characters have different names and the plot varies slightly.[1] Its first performance took place on August 6, 1919, at the 39th Street Theatre in New York City.[1]
Furthermore, the novel was adapted into a film in 1919.[2] It was entitled Bolshevism on Trial.[1] The film strayed from the plot of the novel, as it was set in Palm Beach, Florida as opposed to San Francisco.[1]
References
External links
Шаблон:Authority control Шаблон:Thomas Dixon Jr.
- ↑ 1,00 1,01 1,02 1,03 1,04 1,05 1,06 1,07 1,08 1,09 1,10 1,11 1,12 1,13 1,14 1,15 1,16 1,17 1,18 1,19 1,20 1,21 1,22 1,23 1,24 1,25 Anthony Slide, American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon, Louisville, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2004, pp. 127-141 [1]
- ↑ 2,0 2,1 Cary D. Wintz, 'Introduction', in Thomas Dixon, The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan, M.E. Sharpe, 1941 , p. xv [2]
- ↑ 3,0 3,1 3,2 H.L. Mencken, 'The Way to Happiness,' in H.L. Mencken's Smart Set Criticism, Regnery Gateway, 1987, p. 158 [3]
- ↑ Laura Hapke, Labor's Text: The Worker in American Fiction, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2001, p. 150 [4]
- Английская Википедия
- 1909 American novels
- American novels adapted into films
- American novels adapted into plays
- Books about socialism
- Socialism in California
- Novels set in San Francisco
- Novels by Thomas Dixon Jr.
- Страницы, где используется шаблон "Навигационная таблица/Телепорт"
- Страницы с телепортом
- Википедия
- Статья из Википедии
- Статья из Английской Википедии