Jankesi i Konfederaci z wojny secesyjnej (1861-1865) w świetle amerykańskiej literatury pięknej

Abstract

From the very beginning of its existence the United States of America has been divided into two regions - the North and the South. After Abraham Lincoln's election for the post of the President of the USA, the southern states seceded from the Union and founded a new country - the Confederated States of America. In 1861, a civil war began between Yankee soldiers from the North and Confederate soldiers from the South. This paper explores the issue of how both armies have been presented in American literature. The paper is based on analysis of several texts by such authors as Albion Winegar Tourgee, Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, Margaret Mitchell, Stephen Crane, John Jakes and Charles Frazier. The study of these texts allows the comparison between the way Yankees and Confederates were perceived in the past and how they are presented nowadays.