Abstract: The goal of this research is determination of specificity of the image of the heroine in the novel by a contemporary American writer Chuck Palahniuk “Cursed”. The article analyzes such aspects as the inner world of the character, relationship with parents, agemates and society in the two contrasting words: real world, during the lifetime of the heroine, and surreal, in hell, after her death. Detailed description of the character allows seeing two different guises of the heroine, while application of literary analysis allows analyzing the traits of the protagonist and place within the system of artistic world of Chuck Palahniuk’s prose. The paper presents a review of scientific pursuits of the Russian and foreign scholars dealing with the works of Chuck Palahniuk. The novelty of this research consists in determination of dual nature of the image of a teenager reflected in the two-world realm created by C. Palahniuk. The analysis demonstrated that in to contrasting worlds, the image of a teenager transforms and manifests differently. In the real world, it is a modest girl, with multiple feelings of inferiority, who has complicated relationships with parents and surrounding people. In the surreal world, she attains new traits, such as authoritativeness, courage, ability to maintain friendships. The conclusion is made that that Chuck Palahniuk creates two images of the heroine. Paradox lies in the fact that an unsuccessful individual in a real world becomes successful in the afterlife. Practical value of this article is defined by its contribution into the theory of literary image, particularly, future development of the methodology for studying the image of the character in transgressive prose.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the image of a modern American teenager described in John Green’s novel “Paper Towns”, which represents the coming-of-age story of a young man. The article analyzes the inner world of the protagonist, his relationship with patterns and friends, demonstrates the difficulties he faces on the path of becoming a new person. The theoretical framework contains the works of Russian (M. M. Bakhtin, A. V. Dialektova, Y. S. Kamardina, N. V. Osipova, N. S. Shalimova) and foreign scholars (C. Morgenstern, W. Dilthey, M. Hirsch, D. Buckley) dedicated to the history and theory of the novel. The research is conducted on the basis of literary method of analysis with the elements of linguistic. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that the author is first to analyze the image of a teenager and his personal becoming in John Green’s educational novel “Paper Towns”.  It is established that transformation of the inner world of the protagonist and moving into adulthood takes place under the influence of the feelings of love and trials associated with them. In the course of the research, the author determines the storyline elements reflecting such events in the character’s transition into adulthood as first love, wanderings and disappointments.