A Mythology of Populism in Being There by Jerzy Kosiński Cover Image
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Mitologia populizmu w Wystarczy być Jerzego Kosińskiego
A Mythology of Populism in Being There by Jerzy Kosiński

Author(s): Mateusz Nieć
Subject(s): Political Philosophy, Novel, Government/Political systems, Crowd Psychology: Mass phenomena and political interactions, American Literature
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II - Instytut Jana Pawła II, Wydział Filozofii
Keywords: myth; politics; fiction; political novel; populism;

Summary/Abstract: In the article, the author presents his interpretation of Roland Barthes’s concept of mythology. Based on this concept, which he calls ‘political mythology,’ the author analyses two interconnected (according to literary critics and theorists) novels: Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma) by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz and Wystarczy być (Being There) by Jerzy Kosiński. The focus of the analysis is Being There, while Dołęga-Mostowicz’s work is considered as a background for the mythological interpretation of Kosiński’s book. The author discusses the latter in the context of the populist ideology which he associates with democratic refl žection. He also describes the emergence of a myth centered around the image of a garden.

  • Issue Year: 33/2020
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 313-335
  • Page Count: 23
  • Language: Polish