There is no shortage of works on the theme of World War II. This is quite understandable: many authors have experienced all the horrors of that time. Therefore, writers share their feelings. But stories, novels and stories about the exploits of people who fought with the enemy were created in the Soviet period and on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
These books are practically unfamiliar to domestic readers of that time, since they were not published in the Soviet Union. Famous American authors include James Ramon Jones. His work is worth attention.
The beginning of literary creativity
The biography of the future writer began in 1921 in Robinson, a small town in Illinois. The boy was born on November 6. Childhood fell during the Great Depression. Later, the author did not call this period happy. Almost immediately after James finished school, the war broke out.
In 1939 the young man was drafted into the army. He served in the infantry. They sent a young fighter to a Hawaiian island. Together with his comrades, the guy toiled from idleness in Scofield, learning all the "joys" of life in the barracks. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ships was followed by an attack on Oahu airfields. James was shocked by the number of soldiers injured.
Together with Jones's company, he sailed to the Guadalcanal Islands in 1942. He fought the enemy more than once. Only by November did the enemy realize the futility of his attempts to regain control of the Cape Lunga airfield. The enemy troops retreated. In the battles for Mount Austin in December-January 1942, they had to act in an impenetrable jungle. The injured Jones was awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
The corporal was sent to the United States for treatment. In July 1944 he was demobilized. At home, James decided to complete his studies at the university.
His literary debut was the novel From Now and Forever. The large-scale composition was published in 1951. The premiere was successful. The National Book Award, a prestigious prize, was awarded to James in 1952. He nominated alongside Herman Vouk with Pulitzer Prize-winning Rebellion on Kane and Jerome Salinger with The Catcher in the Rye. The authoritative jury liked the work of the author, so far unknown to anyone.
Confession
In his debut opus, Jones described his own impressions of the bombing experience. The success of the book was easily explained by the fact that from the pages of the book, many Americans, who received notifications about the deaths of their family members, learned about the last days of the lives of their sons, husbands, and brothers. The veterans were glad that, finally, the truth about their experiences without embellishment would be revealed to their compatriots.
The concept of an army or a war novel in American prose appeared in 1895, after the publication of The Scarlet Sign of Valor, a work by Stephen Crane. New works dedicated to the military who found themselves in war conditions became a real discovery for readers in America of that time.
For the most part, all writings showed an anti-militarist attitude. Faulkner, Hemingway, Passos adhered to this very point of view. Jones' work was different from them. His novel describes the existence of the "pineapple army", enjoying all the joys of life in Hawaii. The main character, Private Robert Lee Pruitt, had a chance to successfully pursue a boxing career before serving.
The guy all narrative adheres to pacifist views. However, after an attack on his regiment, this soldier, even wounded, seeks to return to fight the enemy. In the new novel "And They Run Up" in a veiled form, the writer told about his own life after returning to his hometown.
In 1958, the work was filmed by Vincent Minnelli. The main roles were played by Shirley McLaine, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and four Oscars. In 1962, James's books were reprinted in considerable editions. Soon, the writer presented his fans with a new work "The Thin Red Line".
Summarizing
The peculiar continuation of his debut composition turned the author into a worthy heir to Hemingway and Faulkner. The novel was filmed twice. For the first time, a picture of the same name was filmed in 1964 by Andrew Marton.
In 1998 Terrence Malik created a second version with the participation of Sean Penn, John Travolta and Nick Nolte. The work was awarded the prize of the Berlin Festival. But the picture did not receive a single Oscar. The writer felt that due to deteriorating health, he would not be able to complete the essay "Just Call."
The prose writer talked about the tragedy of those who returned from the war. The homeland accepted them indifferently, becoming a foreign country. The novel is distinguished by a bright anti-war orientation, sharp denunciation of the military. The last chapters were written by Willie Morris as directed by Jones. The army trilogy, composed of From Now and Forever and The Thin Red Line and Just Call, was completed. Jones passed away in 1972.
In the writer's personal life, there were enough ups and downs. The family had two children. Gloria Jones, the writer's wife, gave birth to daughter Kylie in 1960. She inherited her parent's literary gift.
In 1990, Kylie Jones published a novel about the life of her own family in the sixties in Paris, entitled "A soldier's daughter never cries." The book was filmed. The release coincided with the premiere of "The Thin Red Line" and became a reason for the growing interest in the writer's work.
James Jones gave a true account of the lives of American Pacific Front soldiers during World War II. He wrote about how people who have been to the war actually feel, and not about what is customary to say. Both his works and films based on them are included in the rating of the most significant works of the last century, created in the United States. This is why it is worth getting to know them.
