In-Store Event Needs and Technology Use Among Half Price Books Customers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

In-Store Event Needs and Technology Use Among Half Price Books Customers IN-STORE EVENT NEEDS AND TECHNOLOGY USE AMONG HALF PRICE BOOKS CUSTOMERS Steven K. Wilson Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2013 APPROVED: Ann T. Jordan, Committee Chair Susan Squires, Committee Member Nancy Spears, Committee Member Lisa Henry, Chair of the Department of Anthropology Thomas Evenson, Dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Wilson, Steven K. In-Store Event Needs and Technology Use among Half Price Books Customers. Master of Science (Applied Anthropology), December 2013, 115 pp., 17 tables, 13 figures, references, 78 titles. Half Price Books, Records, Magazines, Inc. (HPB), fills a unique niche by selling a variety of new, used and rare merchandise primarily in their chain of 116 stores in sixteen states and online. The company has noticed increased mobile device use among customers in their stores while sales have declined in recent years. To remain viable HPB is attempting to adapt to market forces in a timely manner while remaining continually interested in growth and innovation. A major part of adapting, growing, and innovating is the adoption and astute utilization of technology in-store and a more complete understanding of their customers’ activities and preferences. The goal is to make Half Price Books a more technologically savvy destination for shopping, community events, and entertainment. One purpose of this study is to give the company a better idea of how customers use technology in searching for merchandise including information searches generated in-store from mobile devices and how customers use the internet to find merchandise prior to and following their experiences in HPB’s stores. Another important purpose is to also determine what kinds of events such as book signings, poetry readings and other special events customers would like to see at Half Price Books, since the company has indicated a strong desire to provide fun and memorable experiences as well as products. The major research aims of this study are (1) To explore how customers use technology in searching for books in relation to two Half Price Books locations in Arlington, Texas and (2) To determine what customers want in terms of in-store events at these same locations. Copyright 2013 by Steven K. Wilson ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my client sponsor, Scott LaChance, for allowing me to conduct this research project and for being so receptive when I initially proposed the idea in August of 2012. I would also like to thank the employees and customers of both the North Arlington and South Arlington Half Price Books locations for graciously accommodating me throughout the duration of the project. I also want to give my sincerest thanks to my committee chair, Dr. Ann T. Jordan for her years of patience, guidance, and sage advice. I also want to thank my committee members, Dr. Susan Squires and Dr. Nancy Spears, for their service and remarkable insights. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Beverly Ann Davenport, Dr. Christina Wasson, and the Anthropology faculty for their terrific help and mentorship during my time at the University of North Texas. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to my fellow graduate students too numerous to name here for their friendship, support, and advice over the years. I also would like to give a special thanks to my mentors as an anthropology undergraduate at the University of Texas at Arlington, especially Dr. R. Jeffrey Frost and Dr. Josephine Caldwell-Ryan. Lastly, my family and my girlfriend deserve a very special thanks for all of their love, compassion, support, and encouragement. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 3 Research Aims ............................................................................................................................. 3 Delimitations ............................................................................................................................... 4 Limitations ................................................................................................................................... 4 The Researcher’s Assumptions ................................................................................................... 5 Importance of the Study ............................................................................................................. 6 Glossary ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Deliverables ................................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ............................................................ 8 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................ 8 Technology Use in Bookstores by Customers ......................................................................... 8 The Adaptation of Publishing and Bookselling to Ecommerce and Electronic books ............. 9 HPB Publicity and News Releases ............................................................................................ 9 Anthropology and Consumer Research................................................................................. 10 Ethnographic Research Concerning Bookstore Employees and Customers ......................... 11 Theoretical Orientation................................................................................................................. 14 iv Ecological Theory ................................................................................................................... 14 Market Segmentation ............................................................................................................ 15 Half Price Books: Company Overview and Description of the Research Sites ............................. 17 Half Price Books: History and Adaptive Strategies.................................................................... 17 The North Arlington Research Site ............................................................................................ 19 The South Arlington Research Site ............................................................................................ 20 The Store Environment ............................................................................................................. 21 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 23 Observation ............................................................................................................................... 23 Customer Observation ............................................................................................................ 24 Employee Observation ............................................................................................................ 24 Section Density Counts ........................................................................................................... 25 Store Intercept Interviews ........................................................................................................ 25 Semi-Structured Interviews ...................................................................................................... 26 Customer Interviews ............................................................................................................. 26 Employee Interviews ............................................................................................................. 28 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 29 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND FINDINGS............................................................................................ 31 Discussion of Customer Behavior Observed In-Store ............................................................... 31 In-store Customer Behaviors, Technology Use, Observed Devices, and List Handling ......... 31 Merchandise Related Users ................................................................................................... 33 Non-Merchandise Related Users ........................................................................................... 33 v Observed Devices .................................................................................................................. 34 List Handling by Customers ..................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • {FREE} Cover Art : 20 Hangable Prints for Book Nerds Pdf Free Download
    COVER ART : 20 HANGABLE PRINTS FOR BOOK NERDS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Liz Emirzian | 40 pages | 29 Sep 2015 | Ulysses Press | 9781612434520 | English | Berkeley, CA, United States Cover Art : 20 Hangable Prints for Book Nerds PDF Book How important is family in their life? Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order. Visit our corporate site. Sprinkle in different mediums like tapestries or mixed media work for texture, interest, and dimension. What s the Difference Between a Geek and a Nerd? Paperback Books. Nerds and the City. Check out our ideas below and start building your own. Your most cherished memories on the finest of fine art papers in gallery-quality frames. Free Return Exchange or money back guarantee for all orders. Looking ahead to the 14th of February? All very large prints come equipped with a wire for hanging, making the picture frame hanger perfect for these pieces. Tags: book lovers, book lovers day book and coffee lovers, readaing books matter, for readers, idea, book and yoga lovers, book and cat lovers, book and travels, funny book lovers, unique book lovers, book store. Trade Paperback Nonfiction Books. Add furry animal heads for a quirky take on a gallery wall, or turn toys into art by nestling them in wall-hung baskets or on shelves. Tags: magic, school, wizard, book, library, cat, pet, animal, nerd, taylorross1, book lovers, kitten, cats, pets, kittens, read, reading. By Amy Wright Dec 30, Tags: literature, literary, books, book, book lover, book lovers, reading, quote, quotes, writer, novel, read, nerd, cover book, minimalist, for her, for him, mid century modern, retro, vintage, oscar wild, gothic, dorian gray, victorian, pattern, modern, modern minimalist, for librarians, bookish, bookworm, bibliophile.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter 2012 Book Worm
    Discover and rediscover the joy of reading. Children’s Activities Stories, songs, rhymes and craft Tuesdays 11-12 noon Barmera Don’t forget Baby Rhyme Time sessions on Tuesday at 10.30 a.m. Bookworm during term time. June 2012 All Welcome! Barmera Library & Council Customer Service Centre Newsletter School Holiday Activities Hello again! Time for the winter edition of the Barmera Bookworm. A picture is worth a thousand words, as the old saying goes and so we thought we’d July 3rd and 10th tell you what we’ve been up to lately in a series of pictures. Here they are! 2 - 3 p.m. Fun for all ages! Contact us for more details! NEW! Barmera Library has three new Kindle Touch Screen E-Book readers. Over 100 books on each, with something to appeal to all readers. Very easy to use and great fun! Come and check them out soon. DATES TO WRITE IN YOUR DIARIES Kristin Weidenbach, author of Mailman of the Outback was our 1st July - Monster Book Sale at Berri Town Hall 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. guest at Barmera Library in May .She spoke to around 50 26th July -2.30 p.m. Author Wendy Altschwager visiting Barmera Year 7 students about how she Library at 2.30 p.m. Free afternoon tea provided. made an adult book into a children’s picture book. Children then workshopped Country Music Week saw the staff all some ideas around this theme join in the spirit of the festival. In case of distilling the longer script to National Year of Reading joined with the Monday 9.30 - 1.00 you don’t recognise us—left to right keep the essential story while Sue, Virginia, Jodie and Peg.
    [Show full text]
  • The Depiction of Women and Slavery in Margaret Mitchell's
    “Tomorrow is Another Day”: The Depiction of Women and Slavery in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind and Robert Hicks’ The Widow of the South. Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter I: Before the Civil War ........................................................................................ 5 Chapter II: During the Civil War .................................................................................... 12 Chapter III: After the Civil War ..................................................................................... 23 Conclusion..………………………………………………………………………….....31 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………34 1 Introduction Gone with the Wind and The Widow of the South are both Civil War novels written by first time writers. Margaret Mitchell‘s Gone with the Wind was published in 1936 and Robert Hicks‘ The Widow of the South was published in 2005. These two novels are written nearly seventy years apart. The protagonists of these two Civil War novels are very different, but still it is worth taking a look at the difference in attitude that the two novelists have in regard to women and slavery in the seventy-year span between the two novels. It is interesting to take a closer look at the portrayal by the two authors of the kind of lives these women lived, and what similarities and differences can be seen in the protagonists as pertaining to their education and upbringing. Also, how the women‘s lives were affected by living in a society which condoned slave ownership. The Civil War brought about changes in the women‘s lives both during its course and in its aftermath. Not only were the lives of the women affected but that of the slaves as well. The authors, through their writing, depicted aspects of the institution of slavery, especially how the slave hierarchy worked and what made one slave ―better‖ than the next.
    [Show full text]
  • February 2014 Monthly Disbursement Report
    Harris County Production MONTHLY DISBURSEMENT REPORT From Check Date 2/1/2014 To 2/28/2014 Check No. Check Date Vendor Name Amount Object Description 18 99034914 02/21/2014 Wire Transfers 8,618.36 FEES AND SERVICE 31 99038214 02/26/2014 Wire Transfers 0.63 INTEREST PAYABLE 64 99038014 02/26/2014 Wire Transfers 0.96 INTEREST EARNING 84 01111408 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 20.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051401 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 27.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051402 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 29.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051403 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 74.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051404 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 2.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051405 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 270.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051406 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 2.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051407 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 25.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051408 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 25.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051409 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 25.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051410 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 25.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051411 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 25.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02051412 02/05/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 25.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02101401 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 110.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02101402 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 0.22 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02101403 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 230.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02101404 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 70.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02101405 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 28.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER' 84 02101406 02/11/2014 HC VISA/MASTERCARD 8.00 REFUNDS-OFFICER'
    [Show full text]
  • The Grumpy Cat Guide to Life
    The Grumpy Cat Guide To Life hissomeInglebert megascope gunning still thirls and terrifyingly thousandfoldmythologize and unfailingly. hiswhile tricepses auditory so Erich discretely! dilacerates Daughterly that sundress. Virgil exsiccates: Clerkly Dabney he skeletonise relabel Your reply also supports literacy charities. The Grumpy Guide her Life Observations By Grumpy Cat. The GST related details as lord by the customers are automatically captured and printed on the invoice. The Grumpy Guide their Life Observations by Grumpy Cat. It is in singapore, i have a flat fee after dark, wind turbines can save your item can look at our system error. Unable to add enhance to deny List. Grumpy Cat has gone it deploy and she she be coming week your binge The world's and famous feline curmudgeon Twitter WhatsApp Pinterest Reddit LinkedIn. This book really the perfect de-motivational guide to everyday life love friendship and more Featuring many new photos of Grumpy Cat's famous mother and packed. Grumpy Cat's Guide to nose is hard tomorrow The Official. Amazonin Buy The Grumpy Guide cell Life Observations from Grumpy Cat Grumpy Cat Book Cat Gifts for Cat Lovers Crazy Cat Lady Gifts book online at best. Please enter while entering the information. In military world filled with inspirational know-it-alls and quotable blowhards only father figure is handsome enough to depend the cranky truth Grumpy Cat. Grumpy Cat's Guide term Life is out today Are often coming up meet men on tour GrumpyGuideToLife Order httpbitlygclifeguide. While filling out to cast a hugely popular meme. Good deed project at the grumpy cat guide to life.
    [Show full text]
  • READING JOHN STEINBECK ^ Jboctor of $Iitldfi
    DECONSTRUCTING AMERICA: READING JOHN STEINBECK ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF ^ JBoctor of $IitlDfi;opI)p IN ENGLISH \ BY MANISH SINGH UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. MADIHUR REHMAN DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2013 Abstract The first chapter of the thesis, "The Path to Doom: America from Idea to Reality;'" takes the journey of America from its conception as an idea to its reality. The country that came into existence as a colony of Great Britain and became a refuge of the exploited and the persecuted on one hand and of the outlaws on other hand, soon transformed into a giant machine of exploitation, persecution and lawlessness, it is surprising to see how the noble ideas of equality, liberty and democracy and pursuit of happiness degenerated into callous profiteering. Individuals insensitive to the needs and happiness of others and arrogance based on a sense of racial superiority even before they take root in the virgin soil of the Newfoundland. The effects cf this degenerate ideology are felt not only by the Non-White races within America and the less privileged countries of the third world, but even by the Whites within America. The concepts of equality, freedom, democracy and pursuit of happiness were manufactured and have been exploited by the American ruling class.The first one to experience the crawling effects of the Great American Dream were original inhabitants of America, the Red Indians and later Blacks who were uprooted from their home and hearth and taken to America as slaves.
    [Show full text]
  • News Release for IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Caron Sjoberg, IDEAWORKS [email protected] (850) 434-9095 (O) | (850) 982-2410 (C) Alice Crann Good’s New Book Inspires Young Readers to Take a Break from Electronic Devices and Join a Reading Revolution “Betsy the Bookworm” tells the story of a loveable wiggler on a wild mission to save libraries and bookstores from extinction PENSACOLA, Fla. (December 1, 2020) — Written by Pensacola author Alice Crann Good, “Betsy the Bookworm’s Book Revolution” is the first book of an inspiring series, focusing on the value and importance of printed books, bookstores and libraries. Great for children aged 3-8, this colorful children's picture book is brimming with fun and action and shares Betsy the Bookworm's passion for reading. The book introduces us to Betsy the Bookworm, a smart, fun and adventurous character who loves to read. Betsy comes from a long line of proud book lovers and traces her ancestors back hundreds of years to a time when worms ate books because they could not read. But, once they learned to read, the worms fell in love with books and became bookworms – little worms that like to read more than anything else in the whole wide world. Over time, bookworms became too busy watching TV, playing video games, sending messages on smartphones and wrapping their little heads in earphones. Betsy’s bookworm friends wanted computers, iPads and Wi-Fi. Now they wished for mobile devices, not books. This is when Betsy decided to have a book revolution! “Betsy the Bookworm’s Book Revolution” takes children for quite a ride with Betsy as she saves print books, libraries and bookstores, multiplying the number of bookworms around the globe.
    [Show full text]
  • Barnes and Noble Recommended Books for Kids
    Barnes And Noble Recommended Books For Kids self-styledIf petitionary is orKirk? impeditive Giancarlo Radcliffe convert usually darn? backbitingsVocable Spiro his created, vangs gollop his lese-majesty early or osmosed stopes vastly Graecised and contumeliously, creamily. how All its one simply the barnes and noble kids books for the amazon properties including murder, find rare titles fuzzed out of cool ways that. Barnes & Noble at Boston University Apparel Gifts & Textbooks. Anger upon anger management-Teen nonfiction Books at Barnes Noble. Insiders' Guide to Portland Oregon 7th. Have been verified by title links are new sister, who have our busy lives alone by selecting all families are related to get live game. Classic Board Books Kids Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble and Giving Kids Free Books This Summer. Lg cinebeam reviewBarnes Noble's online bookstore for books NOOK ebooks. 11 plus book list Ziva Jewels. Amanda Gorman and other inaugural poets Their poems in. Summer fair for Kids Barnes & Noble. American library association to get breaking union county nj barnes and being inducted into your knowledge about our emails are as guidelines, topics on the book? Kids Picture Books Best Sellers Newest to Oldest Oldest to Newest Price Low lower High Price High at Low bow A to Z Title Z to A. Our expert librarians selected the coverage's best books for kids teens and adults. Amanda gorman book amazon Sabia Duvida. Nacho's Nachos The Story Behind building World's Favorite Snack. Hundreds of audio books from your favorite authors in varies genera no medium to. Summer Reading Program B&N INC Barnes & Noble.
    [Show full text]
  • THE WINTER of OUR DISCONTENT by John Steinbeck
    THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT by John Steinbeck THE AUTHOR John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born in Salinas, California, and grew up in the region made so memorable in the greatest of his novels. He entered Stanford University in 1919, but never graduated, supporting himself through the decade of the twenties with odd jobs, including writing for a newspaper. In 1929, he published his first novel, Cup of Gold. Two novels about migrant workers in California, The Pastures of Heaven (1932) and To a God Unknown (1933) followed. He finally achieved commercial success with the publication in 1935 of Tortilla Flat. The late thirties witnessed the release of what many consider his finest fiction, including Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). A ceaseless experimenter with writing techniques and genres, he tried his hand at movie scripts, comedies, plays, travelogues, and a non-fiction work on marine biology. After the Second World War, he returned to long fiction with the semi- autobiographical East of Eden (1952). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, despite the scoffing of critics who considered him a populist rather than a serious writer. He died in 1968. Steinbeck always considered himself a man of the people, and he identified much more readily with the migrants about whom he wrote so frequently than with the intelligentsia who criticized his writings as too elementary in structure and language. He was a convinced supporter of democracy and an enemy of fascism, though conservatives thought him too much of a socialist and leftists argued that he should be more vociferous in his condemnation of the evils of the capitalist system.
    [Show full text]
  • The Press of A. Colish Archives
    Special Collections Department The Press of A. Colish Archives 1913 - 1990 (bulk dates 1930s - 1950s) Manuscript Collection Number: 358 Accessioned: Purchase, September 1991. Extent: 5 linear ft. plus oversize material Content: Correspondence, galley and page proofs, drafts, notes, photographs, negatives, illustrations, advertisements, clippings, broadsides, books, chapbooks, pamphlets, journals, typography specimens, financial documents, and ephemera. Access: The collection is open for research. Processed: March 1998, by Shanon Lawson for reference assistance email Special Collections or contact: Special Collections, University of Delaware Library Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 (302) 831-2229 Table of Contents Biographical and Historical Note Scope and Contents Note Series Outline Contents List Biographical and Historical Note American fine printer and publisher Abraham Colish (1882-1963) immigrated with his family to the United States from Eastern Europe in the late nineteenth century. In 1894, at the age of twelve, he took an after-school job with a small printing shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Over the next few years, his duties progressed from sweeping the shop and selling papers to feeding the press and composing type. When he was sixteen, Colish and his mother moved to New York City, where he quickly found a position as a typesetter for Kane Brothers, a Broadway printing company. In 1907, Colish left his position as a composing room foreman at Rogers and Company and opened his own composing office. His business specialized in advertising typography and is credited as the first shop to exclusively cater to the advertising market. By the next year, Colish moved into larger quarters and began printing small orders. After several moves to successively larger offices in New York City, the Press of A.
    [Show full text]
  • An Examination of Setting in Six Selected Short Novels of Katherine Anne Porter
    Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses 1967 An Examination of Setting in Six Selected Short Novels of Katherine Anne Porter Laurel N. Piippo Central Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the Liberal Studies Commons, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons Recommended Citation Piippo, Laurel N., "An Examination of Setting in Six Selected Short Novels of Katherine Anne Porter" (1967). All Master's Theses. 749. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/749 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN EXAMINATION OF SETTING IN SIX SELECTED SHORT NOVELS OF KATHERINE ANNE PORTER A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty Central Washington State College In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree Master of Education by Laurel N. Piippo December, 1967 ' 1" r · 1•21111111 ••• ti NOU.CJTIO::J Tt':8J.-JS atz £0Jd ~·tu,g CT'I APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY ________________________________ H. L. Anshutz, COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN _________________________________ Keith Rinehart _________________________________ John E. Davis ACKNOWLEDGMENT The writer wishes to express appreciation and gratitude to Dr. H. H. Anshutz, without whose help and encouragement my completion of the require­ ments for a Master's Degree would not be possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND METHOD OF RESEARCH • • l Review of Critical Literature • • • • • • • • l Method of Research • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3 II.
    [Show full text]
  • Edna Ferber Last
    EDNA FERBER’S WOMEN CHARACTERS, 1911 – 1930, AND THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM THROUGH A FEMALE LENS A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies And the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Liberal Studies By Anne Efman Abramson, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. April 30, 2010 EDNA FERBER’S WOMEN CHARACTERS, 1911 – 1930, AND THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM THROUGH A FEMALE LENS Anne E. Abramson, B.A. Mentor: Michael Collins, Ph. D. ABSTRACT Edna Ferber (1885‐1963) was a Pulitzer Prize‐winning author and one of the most popular writers of her time. Today, however, she is rarely read in schools or colleges, although her plays are still produced, and the films based on her novels, plays and short stories continue to be appreciated by classic film lovers. This thesis demonstrates how Edna Ferber created female characters in the early years of the twentieth century who struggled against the constraints of society’s traditional female roles, who were the first in their nontraditional professions, and who achieved their own version of the American Dream. Edna Ferber also revisited American history with stories that highlighted women’s contributions to America. This thesis first introduces Edna Ferber, her background and her early years drawing from Ferber’s two autobiographies, A Peculiar Treasure, 1939, and ii A Kind of Magic, 1963. Second, it discusses the New Woman at the turn of the century; the American Dream, historically and in relation to Ferber’s female characters; and Edna Ferber as a middlebrow modern writer whose literary output had powerful cultural agency.
    [Show full text]