From Naturalism to Modernism : The Social Protest of Chester Himes

ISBN-13: 9783659272974 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 128 str.

William Rand

Opis

Marginalization typically refers to a group whose work is left out of the canon. Now it seems to mean limiting study to the biographical or a qualitative analysis of the value of the work. "From Naturalism to Modernism: the Social Protest of Chester Himes" presents a new approach toward the analysis of ethnic literature by examining the works of Himes from the mainstream perspective of literary modes. Instead of setting out to prove that Chester Himes is a good African-American writer, this study assumes his literary worth and considers the how and why of his use of Naturalism, Existentialism, Primitivism, Modernism and the Absurd in his short stories and novels. Chester Himes, a relatively neglected protest and detective writer, is compared favorably to Theodore Dreiser, Ernest Hemingway and others. This book shows how Himes is unique not only in his successful use of different literary modes throughout his career, but also in his original application of those modes within a context of the absurd. This study brings Chester Himes scholarship closer to mainstream analysis and should be beneficial to anyone interested in the use of literary modes in American literature.

O autorze

Dr. William Rand received his Master's degree in English from Iowa State University and his Ph.D. in literature and ESL from the University of South Florida. He has taught in the United States and Costa Rica. Dr. Rand now lives with his wife in Mexico where he teaches English and writes. ---Author photo by Liz Marbella Gallegos Gómez