Kategoria BISAC: Literary Criticism >> American - General

The interplay between solitude and society was a particularly persistent theme in nineteenth-century American literature, though writers approached this theme in different ways. Poe explored the metaphysical significance of isolation and held solitude in high esteem; Hawthorne viewed the theme in moral terms and examined the obligation of each individual to the larger community; and Emerson maintained that the contradictory states of self-reliance and solidarity are fundamental to human happiness. Herman Melville emerged with an ontological response to this issue. Questioning the nature of...

African American writers have created a rich literature that reflects their experiences and achievements. In many instances, whites figure prominently in these works, frequently portrayed as oppressors. Through a careful examination of works by black writers, Davis constructs a typology of white images in the African American imagination. The book argues that these images repeatedly occur in works by black writers. Some of these stereotypes include the overt bigot, the hypocrite, the liberal, and the good-hearted weakling.

While black writers are often explicit in representing the...

The dazzling, romantic fiction of F. Scott Fitzgerald manages to captivate each new generation of readers. This critical introduction, written specifically for students, offers insightful yet accessible literary criticism for five novels: DEGREESUThis Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and DEGREESUThe Last Tycoon. A full chapter is devoted to examining each of these works, with an indepth discussion of character development, thematic concerns and plot structure. The introduction to each novel traces its genesis and the critical...

Unlike the current works of literary criticism available on Nathaniel Hawthorne, which are written for specialists and more sophisticated readers, this critical introduction is designed to meet the needs of high school students and general readers for accessible yet challenging literary criticism. It features a biographical chapter that relates his life to his work, a chapter on his career and contributions to American literature, and chapters that analyze his most important short stories and novels in turn. Examined are his best known and most frequently anthologized tales, and the...

Louise Erdrich, following in the Native American narrative tradition has, crafted enduring tales of homecomings. Her widely acclaimed debut novel "Love Medicine" garnered prestigious awards, and quickly made its way onto bestseller lists and into readers' hearts. In this full-length critical volume, Stookey uncovers the layers of wisdom and humor embedded in Erdrich's engaging writing. Stookey, analyzing each novel in turn, examines the characters and themes that recur in Erdrich's canon of interconnected stories. This insightful analysis helps students and lovers of fine literature...

Barbara Kingsolver wears the feminist mantle with joyful pride, and her spirited embrace of political themes is contagious. Responding to richly-drawn heroines along their journeys to do right by family and community, readers embrace Kingsolver's political novels, making them bestsellers. From the haunting Arizona landscape of Kingsolver's early trilogy of novels, to the lush African jungle that sets the scene in her latest, "The Poisonwood Bible," Kingsolver weaves colorful tapestries with vivid prose, exceptional intelligence, and unexpected humor. DeMarr's comprehensive treatment covers...

During the short history of the United States, war has marked the stages of the nation's journey, and imaginative literature has reflected and shaped an understanding of that journey. To study the war literature of the United States, then, is to study not only the representation of individuals at war but also creative renderings of the American experience. Until now, the treatment of American war literature has been handicapped by the absence of a single-source reference that can be the foundation for significant inquiry. This book addresses that need by presenting succinct, authoritative...

One of the most controversial American authors of the twentieth century, Truman Capote is best known as the author of "In Cold Blood" (1966), a work of literary journalism that recounts the slaughter of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. But he also wrote numerous short stories, dozens of nonfiction pieces for popular magazines, several other novels, and some works for Hollywood and Broadway. Unlike "In Cold Blood, " many of his earlier works were criticized for their focus on character at a time when other writers were using fiction to explore historical events and social and...

Gertrude Stein's works encompass a variety of genres. She explicitly called many of her works plays, operas, or novels intending her works to be read with certain generic expectations in mind, be it only to have them undermined. Although many writers depart from generic norms, Stein's generic transgressions are radical and are related to gender-specific traits of her writing. This work examines Stein's questions about gender hierarchies, classifications, and categories, and brings to light the direct relationship between gender and genre in her works. Gygax looks at a number of Stein's...

London's adventure tale "The Call of the Wild" explores the complex relationships between man and nature, and animals' struggle with their own nature in man's world. In this interdisciplinary study, a rich collection of primary documents point out the many issues that make this story as poignant and pertinent today as when it was written nearly a century ago. Compiled here for the first time is documentation from sources as varied as century-old newspaper accounts, legislative materials, advertisements, poetry, journals, and other startling firsthand accounts. The story's historical...

Born in rural Mississippi, the grandson of slaves, Richard Wright overcame every social obstacle, including poverty, racism, and limited education to achieve literary recognition as the creator of some of America's most powerful Black literature. Written with unprecendented candor, Wright's works changed the cultural landscape by challenging old stereotypes and myths about race. Wright scholar Robert Felgar has written a critical volume to help students appreciate the literary significance of such groundbreaking works as Native Son and the autobiographical Black Boy. This...

As a distinct area of literary study, Asian American literature now enjoys a level of critical recognition that was unimaginable when academic interest in the field began modestly some 25 years ago. Part of this recognition stems from the increasing contributions of Asian American novelists, whose works continue to capture growing levels of popular attention. By the early 1970s, anthologies of creative writing by Asian Americans began to appear, and there are now almost two dozen of them. Since then, numerous Asian American writers, such as Amy Tan, Michael Ondaatje, and Bharati Mukherjee,...

Women writers have been traditionally excluded from literary canons and not until recently have scholars begun to rediscover or discover for the first time neglected women writers and their works. This reference includes alphabetically arranged entries on 58 American women authors who wrote between 1900 and 1945. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and discusses a particular author's biography, her major works and themes, and the critical response to her writings. The entries close with extensive primary and secondary bibliographies, and the volume concludes with a list of works...

The contributions of Edgar Allan Poe have withstood the test of time; his best poems and fiction are more popular and carry greater significance now than they did during his own era. This highly readable introduction to the life, times, and major works of Poe offers fresh interpretations of timeless masterpieces like The Raven and The Purloined Letter. Carefully considering important thematic elements as well as genre, this book organizes the works of Poe into four significant groupings: the poetry, Vampiric love stories, tales of psychological terror, and the detective stories. Close...

Africa has long captured the Western imagination as a land shrouded in danger and mystery. British and American novels written before World War II established popular conventions and stereotypes about Africa that have been increasingly challenged by contemporary American novels set in Africa. Kuhne's book overviews the ways in which Africa has been employed as a powerful setting for American novels written since World War II. Kuhne argues that contemporary American novels with African settings are largely didactic, that these novels convey specific lessons about Africa and Africans, and...

Few contemporary writers are as enigmatic as J. D. Salinger. Best known for "The Catcher in the Rye," which continues to be read and discussed by secondary school students, undergraduates, and scholars, Salinger also wrote numerous shorter works. This reference covers his entire oeuvre. Since Salinger's life figures prominently in his works, an introductory essay considers autobiographical elements in his writings and foregrounds the chapters that follow. Subsequent chapters examine each of his major works, or a collection of related writings.

Included are discussions of such topics as,...

Dashiell Hammett's writing career began with the publication of The Parthian Shot, a tiny short story in "The Smart Set" in 1922, and virtually ended when he published 3 outstanding stories in "Collier's" in 1934. During this period, he published 60 short stories, 5 novels--including "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Thin Man"--a few minor poems, some nonfictional prose, and a series of astute book reviews. Though he lived until 1961, he wrote little after 1934 and suffered from alcoholism, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. His influence on other writers, however, and on movies and...

Like so many other ethnic groups, Chicanos and Chicanas have suffered from political, social, and economic oppression in the United States. In addition to the problems they endure as a consequence of their ethnicity, Chicanas are further subordinated because of their gender. As women, they are treated inequitably by a culture in which authority is invested primarily in men, to the point that they are relegated to a separate social class. The experiences of Chicanas are presented in the works of contemporary Chicana writers who explore the inequitable power relations that adversely affect...

In the past ten years, literature by U.S. Latinos has gained an extraordinary public currency and has engendered a great deal of interest among educators. Because of the increase in numbers of Latinos in their classrooms, teachers have recognized the benefits of including works by such important writers as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and Rudolfo Anaya in the curriculum. Without a guide, introducing courses on U.S. Latino literature or integrating individual works into the general courses on American Literature can be difficult for the uninitiated. While some critical sources for...