Muckraking traditions in G. Talese’s literary nonficition

Abstract

   The paper deals with the impact of muckraking on of the American writer and journalist Gay Talese’s creative work, based on his literary nonfiction book “Thy Neighbor’s Wife”. This book is one of the most representative pieces of writing in the framework of muckraking traditions in American literary nonfiction of the second half of the 20^th century.

   The relevance of the article is based on the role that muckrakers played in the formation of the national tradition of fiction and nonfiction synthesis in American literature.

   However, the traditions of muckraking in American literary nonfiction have not yet become the subject of a comprehensive literary analysis. We believe the 20^th century literature in the USA developed three typologically similar phenomena, which were in close connection with each other: muckraking of the turn of the centuries, New Journalism of the 1960–1970s and New “New Journalism” of the 1980–1990^s. G. Talese, in line with other New Journalists, created literary nonfiction, which combined factual documentary basis and fictional means of its representation, following the traditions of muckrakers. We have come to the conclusion that this writer’s work synthesizes such features of muckraking as sensationalism, social orientation, the author’s personal participation in the “investigation” and depiction of urban space peculiarities.