The functioning of the aviator image in the literature of mature socialist realism (based on B. Polevoy’s “Story of a Real Man”)

The aim of the study is to reveal the mechanisms of the aviator image functioning in the literature of mature socialist realism. The article analyzes the stages of development of the positive pilot character, identifies specific features of the character within the framework of the specified artistic method, and determines the peculiarities of the image functioning in the literature of the socialist realist canon. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the first time, the image of the aviator in B. Polevoy’s “Story of a Real Man” was studied in structural-typological, culturological, and psychoanalytic aspects. The study established that the evolution of the character occurs in accordance with the laws of the parable narrative of the Soviet epic, and the "real" aviator combines the attribute of consciousness and specific fantastic qualities, the presence of which, in general, is also characteristic of the literature of the canon. However, the appearance of motifs of trickery, divination, shamanism, etc., indicates the formation of elements of playful poetics, highlighting the specificity of the aviator image within the culture of socialist realism.