In this thesis, I explore depictions of fascism in 1930s American literature. Specifically, I analyse William Faulkner’s Light in August, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Sinclair Lewis’s...Show moreIn this thesis, I explore depictions of fascism in 1930s American literature. Specifically, I analyse William Faulkner’s Light in August, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. The former two novels do not explicitly engage with fascism, but aspects of the texts were linked to fascism by their authors. Faulkner retroactively referred to the character Percy Grimm from his book as a fascist, and Steinbeck linked the agriculture sector in California, which features heavily in his novel, to fascism. Lewis engages with fascism directly in It Can’t Happen Here as he envisions a fascist dictatorship in the United States. These texts are relevant today as fascism is not a concept of the past. They can be used to discuss visions of fascism in 1930s American Literature and what fascism may look like in the United States. I use a combination of close reading and the theory provided by Robert O. Paxton in The Anatomy of Fascism, as well as additional sources for necessary historical context to analyse each of the novels. I will argue that while only one of the novels explicitly engages with fascism, all three texts portray fascism to some extent and can be used to identify possible bases of fascist action.Show less
Ralph Waldo Emerson is nowadays known as one of the foundational philosophers of individualism, mostly in the United States of America (though he has also influenced thoughts on individualism in...Show moreRalph Waldo Emerson is nowadays known as one of the foundational philosophers of individualism, mostly in the United States of America (though he has also influenced thoughts on individualism in Europe, e.g., Nietzsche). Common misinterpretations of Emerson’s self-reliance position him as promoting egocentric ideas of individualism. Examples of this can be found in the works of scholars Cary Wolfe (1993; 1994) and Myra Jehlen (1986). In this thesis I will examine the criticisms of Emerson and refute these by reading Emerson’s work through the lens of “individualism-collectivism”, as introduced by Wagner and Moch (1986). It is in this cooperation between the self and the other, the individual and the collective, that I will show Emerson can in fact be read as promoting collectivism alongside individualism. The introduction will give a brief overview of this thesis, including some background on critical scholars both within the field of literary analysis on Emerson, as well as providing the reader with some basic background information on individualism-collectivism-scholarship in philosophical and sociological research fields. Chapter one will focus on criticism of Nature and my reinterpretation of the essay where Emerson operates in the individualism-collectivist dimension. Chapter two will focus on “Self-Reliance” and how this truly individualist work can still be found to represent the collective in society. In the conclusion I will not only give the reader an overview of arguments made in this thesis, but also consider how this reading of Emerson can be relevant in contemporary society.Show less
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is often praised for the way it encourages women to chase their own dreams and break out of the rigid gender norms that often confine them. However, simultaneously...Show moreLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott is often praised for the way it encourages women to chase their own dreams and break out of the rigid gender norms that often confine them. However, simultaneously, the novel also seems to value and even encourage nineteenth-century ideals and gender roles, and encourage women to be selfless. The question then becomes how the novel is able to promote these seemingly contradicting values alongside each other, and what effect this has on its message. This thesis set out to find an answer to this question by examining in detail how both self-fulfillment and selflessness are being promoted in Little Women. Doing so showed that the novel actually approaches both ideas with incredible nuance. Women are generally encouraged to pursue self-fulfillment, regardless of societal expectations and gender norms, but only when selflessness is part of this self-fulfillment. Similarly, selflessness is encouraged as long pursuing it does not happen at the expense of personal happiness and fulfillment. The novel shows that the two ideas are, in fact, more complicated than they seem, and that though self-fulfillment and selflessness appear to be two opposing values, they are actually not mutually exclusive.Show less
During the turbulent years of de-Stalinization a lot changed in the Soviet society. Tensions of the Cold War eased and the publication of contemporary foreign literature was possible again. The...Show moreDuring the turbulent years of de-Stalinization a lot changed in the Soviet society. Tensions of the Cold War eased and the publication of contemporary foreign literature was possible again. The American novel 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger made quite and impression on the Soviet reader. This thesis discusses the reception of this American youth novel in Soviet Russia through letters and documents found at the Russian Archive of Literature and Art.Show less
Master thesis | Theology and Religious Studies (Master)
open access
This thesis aims to document how the development of faith can be seen in the literary work of a person, who moved from belief and participation in a certain religion to skepticism and...Show moreThis thesis aims to document how the development of faith can be seen in the literary work of a person, who moved from belief and participation in a certain religion to skepticism and excommunication. In what follows the focus will be on Brian Evenson, author of Horror and Science Fiction, who was an active member of the Church of Latter Day Saints until he asked for his excommunication in 2000 in order to pursuit his art. Evenson’s literary output ranges over a time when he was faithful, holding a church office as a lay bishop and working for the Mormon Brigham Young University until the present day where he is very critical towards specific aspects of the LDS church and of the concept of religion in general. Brian Evenson has published 15 works of fiction in the genre of Horror and Science Fiction, thereby providing a big body of work to concider. The work of Evenson will be divided into three different parts, to better track his development; the writing published before his decision to leave the LDS church, the book that was written alongside Evenson’s choice to be excommunicated and everything written thereafter. In the pursuit of the question, how Evenson’s position to his religion and faith is displayed in all his writing a very particular focus is placed. His conflict with the church and his struggle with faith can be traced through specific reoccurring topoi in his stories and the themes, which dominate his writing. Further Evenson has repeatedly discussed how his personal life influences his writing in interviews, essays and epilogs of his books; thereby allowing to draw a connection between his religious development and writing.Show less
This thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as...Show moreThis thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as its angle of inquiry. Most criticism concerning Lilith’s Brood fails to adequately address the discursive tension in the work between these two competing discourses: posthumanism and the neo-slave narrative. The alien invasion in Dawn for example is figured in highly contradictory terms. On the one hand it is cast in the historically grounded and emotionally charged, racialized terms of American slavery and oppression, on the other hand it is embraced as an occasion for a long overdue, radical transformation of the humanist subject into a posthuman one. The question of how these two discourses conflict and interact with each other is one that this thesis engages at length by analyzing the way Lilith’s Brood reconfigures three foundational concepts that are found in humanist philosophy – rationality, autonomy, and authenticity. According to posthumanism these virtues on which the humanist subject is founded delineate a narrow and exclusionary concept of the human. In Lilith’s Brood however they are reconfigured in order to extend to non-human creatures as well. At the same time this reconfiguration of subjectivity also more accurately describes the human condition when it is exposed in the light of posthumanism and stripped of its humanist pretentions. Each chapter takes one of the novels in the trilogy and demonstrates how it deconstructs one of these foundational concept: autonomy, authenticity and rationality. At the same time the themes of slavery and subjection run as a red thread throughout the work, at times corroborating Lilith’s Brood’s posthumanist message, at times problematizing it. In keeping these themes foregrounded the trilogy gives full expression to the struggle and danger that accompanies change, bravely acknowledging troublesome conclusions such as the inevitable inequality that haunts all power relations and the necessity of sacrifice.Show less
This MA thesis discusses the depiction of President Nixon and the Watergate Affair in various works of popular culture. During the Watergate Affair Nixon committed various crimes, such as the...Show moreThis MA thesis discusses the depiction of President Nixon and the Watergate Affair in various works of popular culture. During the Watergate Affair Nixon committed various crimes, such as the obstruction of justice and the abuse of power. He resigned on August 9 1974, the only American President ever to have done so. His successor, President Ford, pardoned him for these crimes. Nixon has never been convicted for them, to the dismay of many Americans. By now Nixon has become a controversial figure in American history. He is and will be always be remembered for the Watergate Affair. He also dragged out the American involvement in Vietnam for several years, resulting in massive anti-war protests and outpourings of great hatred against him. However, Nixon was also the American President who succeeded in achieving a détente with the Soviet Union, normalising relations with China and initiating the first SALT-treaty to limit nuclear arms. Moreover, he bettered the plight of Native Americans and steered through Congress important environmental legislation. Nixon, whose fate was essentially a tragic one, has inspired writers, poets, playwrights, directors and musicians to produce very interesting works of art. Philip Roth wrote ‘Our Gang’, a political satire depicting Nixon, amongst other things, as chief devil. Gore Vidal wrote a play about him, ‘An Evening with Richard Nixon’, as well as the historical novel ‘Burr’ about Aaron Burr, another villain in American history, which displays interesting parallels with Nixon and his time. The film ‘All the President’s Men’ is by far the most well-known work discussed in this thesis, dealing with the two young reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the ‘Washington Post’, who played an important role in uncovering the affair. Robert Altman’s ‘Secret Honor’ and Oliver Stone’s ‘Nixon’ not only portray Nixon, but also examine his cultural significance. The same is true for ‘The Assassination of Richard Nixon’, in which Nixon is not an actual character, but the figurehead of a sick and dishonest society. Ron Howard’s ‘Frost/Nixon’, the most recent work discussed in this thesis, paints a more positive and humane picture of Nixon. This is in accordance with a general tendency, within works of popular culture, to depict Nixon with much more depth, with more attention to Nixon as a human-being, and in a more balanced and positive way.Show less
