SHEET AND CREST - mythologies of Russian and American consciousness

The study focuses on the problem of religious and philosophical concepts in national culture, their origins and ways of their concrete implementation. We are trying to trace in what form in the literature of the 20th century different writers present and manifest some universal paradigms of consciousness. Two of these numerous paradigms were chosen - Freedom and the Cross. Numerous myths about Freedom are created in the 19th and 20th centuries, three of which (Revolutionary Utopia, Russian Idea and American Dream) are considered by us through the works of B.Pasternak, T.Wolf and R.P.Warren. The study of our selected authors (representatives of different cultures) from this point of view allows us to more clearly identify the connection between national cultures and religious tradition (Pasternak with Orthodoxy, T. Wolf and R. P. Warren with Protestantism). The materials can be used and taken into account in developing a course of literature, cultural studies and country studies for secondary and higher schools.