DOCSLIB.ORG

Postmodern Identities and Consumerism in the New Novel of Manners Bonnie Mclean Marquette University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Postmodern Identities and Consumerism in the New Novel of Manners Bonnie Mclean Marquette University Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects A Single Man of Good Fortune: Postmodern Identities and Consumerism in the New Novel of Manners Bonnie McLean Marquette University Recommended Citation McLean, Bonnie, "A Single Man of Good Fortune: Postmodern Identities and Consumerism in the New Novel of Manners" (2015). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 507. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/507 A SINGLE MAN OF GOOD FORTUNE: POSTMODERN IDENTITIES AND CONSUMERISM IN THE NEW NOVEL OF MANNERS By Bonnie McLean, B.A., M.A. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2015 ABSTRACT A SINGLE MAN OF GOOD FORTUNE: POSTMODERN IDENTITIES AND CONSUMERISMIN THE NEW NOVEL OF MANNERS Bonnie McLean, B.A., M.A. Marquette University, 2015 In my dissertation, I argue that the novel of manners, while sometimes considered a moribund genre, presents itself as a genre relevant to contemporary criticism of social change from consensus politics to privatization both at governmental and domestic levels. I establish both key terms, cultural and theoretical trends, and define the novel of manners in context as a historical genre and a contemporary one. I further explore the novel of manners as a commentary on social and moral problems, particularly in tensions between social morality and individual morality that emerge when manners break down, a concept originally highlighted by Henry James. I interrogate the interplay between nostalgia, manners, and national identity, highlighting the recreation of moribund social and moral values as a means of exerting authority over the family unit and generating profit out of national heritage. Finally, I highlight the means by which literary texts cast consumerism as literal and figurative pornography that transforms the citizen into a consumer. I specifically examine the breakdown of manners through scenes of pornography and material consumption that illustrate moral depravity at the individual and national levels. The seven texts selected for my study in the new novels of manners—Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), Jeffery Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot (2011), Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty (2004), Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989), Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time (1987), Martin Amis’s Money (1984), and Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho (1991)—engage with neoliberalism and its social effects on individuals. Because citizens were redefined as consumers during the 1980s in both the United States and Britain, I contend that the novelists and novels in my study formulate a critique of social amorality in the same way Henry James’s literary criticism established in the novel of manners’ early study: in viewing the domestic as a politicized space, we can better understand the tensions between social morality and individual morality when the manners of a society break down in public or private spaces. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Bonnie McLean, B.A., M.A. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” When I first read the opening lines of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) as a middle-school student, I had no idea that my adolescent passion for Jane Austen would lead me, almost 18 years later, to a doctoral degree and a commitment to academic research and education. Many others besides Ms. Austen have helped me in this academic quest, and I am deeply indebted to all of them. First thanks go to John J. Su, my dissertation director, whose tireless feedback and critical guidance have been vital in shaping this project from its inception as a seminar paper in his ENGL 6500 course to its current form. I am deeply grateful for his help and encouragement in shaping my argument and contributing to my field. My committee has also provided feedback, questions, and encouragement, which have propelled this project towards the finish. Sarah Wadsworth is a careful, concise reader, and her excitement about being involved in my research has been a boon from beginning to end. Gerry Canavan’s engagement as a reader, as well as his efficiency and enthusiasm, has also provided insight into focusing my argument. I would like to thank my wonderful colleagues from Marquette University for their support during my doctoral program. John Curran and Heather Hathaway have both provided encouragement and guidance during their respective tenures as Director of Graduate Studies. Angela Sorby has been instrumental in my professional development, as well. Dear friends and colleagues have also made this work seem lighter: Sareene Proodian, Katy Leedy, Tyler Monson, Bridget Kapler, Megan Swanson, Kathleen Burt, and Katie Sterr have been there during the good, the bad, the ugly, and to them I am deeply indebted. Special thanks go to my dissertation partner, Carolyne Hurlburt, whose wisdom, realism, and insight have given me impetus to finish this project. My Milwaukee “family” has also been instrumental in sheltering me during coursework and beyond. Marianne Kordas and Clara Meyer (neé Logan) opened their home to me during my years of coursework, enabling me to focus on my studies. The hospitality and love of my beloved Paulsen-Burris family—Jodari, Tommi, Alexander, and Aviana—has been a blessing and joy. I am also deeply indebted to the faculty and friends at Andrews University and Western Michigan University, where I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. You are all too many to name, which makes me one rich woman. But special thanks to Monique Pittman, Beverly Matiko, Doug Jones, and Meredith Jones Gray at Andrews University, and to Gwen Tarbox, Chris Nagle, Jonathan Bush, and Todd Kuchta at Western Michigan University, for their support of my postgraduate work. To the late Drs. Gary Land and Barbara Reid I owe a debt that I can never repay. Beyond academic encouragement, I have been incredibly lucky to find dear friends who have encouraged and fed me throughout this doctoral journey. My pastor, Jenniffer Ogden, and my church young adult group leader, Liz Marrero, have been instrumental in their mental and spiritual support, along with the dear friends in my ii young adult group. Cheers to the funny and insightful women and men in my book club, who have helped me rediscover my love of reading throughout this process. Special thanks to Shellie Kuebler and Fawn Scherencel for helping me prepare for my Doctoral Qualifying Exam. I thank my family for their love and encouragement. My brother Tim and sister Sara have cheered me on with funny videos, text messages, and hugs. My in-laws, Randy and Carolyn Ferguson, have graciously supported and loved my efforts, including a writing spree during Christmas Eve 2014. My parents, Joe and Molly McLean, have shown their support for my education and academic ambitions in ways I can only begin to note. Their endless love and cheer, as well as providing books and music, has made even the darkest days seem bright. My dad was especially influential in helping me consider a PhD when I was just a naïve freshman in college. My sister, Erin McLean, has been instrumental throughout this entire process. She has listened to my ideas and responded with questions of her own, making her the “right hand” of this dissertation. Her contributions to my thinking on my fourth chapter are especially invaluable. I hope her book club forgives her someday for having them read Money. This dissertation is dedicated to my husband and “left hand,” Justin Ferguson. He has lived with this project and sustained my dream of receiving a doctoral degree. He has cheerfully abandoned many a dissipated Saturday night so that I could write, and he has fed me with jokes, gossip, music, and many a baked good. There are no words that can contain the extent to which his sacrifices and unselfishness have fueled this dissertation and this degree. Like Frodo Baggins, I can only say, “I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things...” Finally, I send eternal thanks to my Lord and Savior, through whom all things are possible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………………………i CHAPTER I. WHAT HAPPENED TO SILAS LAPHAM? : DEFINING AND DEFENDING THE NOVEL OF MANNERS IN PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE…………..1 II. A JAMESIAN RELUCTANCE: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DOMESTIC MANNERS IN THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY AND TWO CONTEMPORARY TRANSFORMATIONS…………………………………..49 III. “A REPOSITORY OF COLLECTIVE FANTASY”: NOSTALGIC MANNERS IN KAZUO ISHIGURO’S THE REMAINS OF THE DAY AND IAN MCEWAN’S THE CHILD IN TIME……………………………….123 IV. ‘I AM ADDICTED TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY’: MANNERS, MORALS AND THE PORNOGRAPHIC DOMESTIC IN MARTIN AMIS’S MONEY AND BRET EASTON ELLIS’S AMERICAN PSYCHO………………………………………………..203 V. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………….268 1 Chapter 1: What happened to Silas Lapham? : Defining and Defending the Novel of Manners in Past, Present, and Future My study of the new novel of manners began when I compared usage of the literary genre “comedy of manners” in the back cover copy of two late twentieth-century British novels. The back cover blurb for Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia (1991) asserts that the novel is a “high-spirited comedy of sexual manners and social turmoil.” A similar phrase, excerpted from Anthony Quinn’s review in The New York Times Sunday Book Review appears on the back cover of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty (2004): “Although it gathers ominously in mood, “The Line of Beauty” [sic] feels more blissful than baleful in its anatomy of the era because it is, among other things, a magnificent comedy of manners” (par.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Excellent Women
    EXCELLENT WOMEN: THE NOVELS OF BARBARA PYM AND ANITA BROOKNER Elizabeth Susanna van Aswegen B.A. (Bib!.), M.A. A thesis accepted by the Faculty of Arts, Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Boer Onderwys, in fulfilment or the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR LITTERARUM Promoter: Prof. Annette L. Combrink, M.A., D.Litt., U.E.D. POTCHEFSTROOM April 198'l ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I .wish to thank: my promoter, Professor Combrink, for her painstaking and valued guidance, as well as for her help and encouragement to this long-distance writer; the staff of the Ferdinand Postma Library and the Cape Technikon Library for their assistance; Cathy Coetzee and Brenda Bodde for their encouragement; Jenny Zinn for her impeccable typing; my daughter, Lisa, who faced the ordeal of a scrivening mother with patience and good nature. iii TABLE OF CONTimTS INTRODUCTION 2 A SURVEY OF CRITICISM: BARBARA PYM 11 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 The early novels 14 2.3 The early published novels 16 2.4 Critical acclaim 20 2.5 "The novelist most touted by one's most literate friends" 23 2.6 Criticism: 1977 to date 26 2.6.1 Some Tame Gazelle 27 2.6.2 Excellent Women 29 2.6.3 Jane and Prudence 37 2.6.4 Less than Angels 40 2.6.5 A Class of Blessings 43 2.6.6 No Fond Return of Love 48 2.6. 7 An Unsuitable Attachment 54 2.6.8 Quartet in Autumn 61 2.6.9 The Sweet Dove Died 63 2.6.10 A Few Green Leaves 68 2.6.11 Crampton Hodnet 73 2.6.12 An Academic Question 79 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Critical Impact of Transgressive Theatrical Practices Christopher J
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2011 (Im)possibilities of Theatre and Transgression: the critical impact of transgressive theatrical practices Christopher J. Krejci Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Krejci, Christopher J., "(Im)possibilities of Theatre and Transgression: the critical impact of transgressive theatrical practices" (2011). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3510. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3510 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. (IM)POSSIBILITIES OF THEATRE AND TRANSGRESSION: THE CRITICAL IMPACT OF TRANSGRESSIVE THEATRICAL PRACTICES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Theatre by Christopher J. Krejci B.A., St. Edward’s University, 1999 M.L.A, St. Edward’s University, 2004 August 2011 For my family (blood and otherwise), for fueling my imagination with stories and songs (especially on those nights I couldn’t sleep). ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, John Fletcher, for his expert guidance. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Ruth Bowman, Femi Euba, and Les Wade, for their insight and support.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychology: an International 11
    WOMEN'S STUDIES LIBRARIAN The University ofWisconsin System EMINIST ERIODICALS A CURRENT LISTING OF CONTENTS VOLUME 13, NUMBER 3 FALL 1993 Published by Phyllis Holman Weisbard Women's Studies Librarian University of Wisconsin System 430 Memorial Library / 728 State Street Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (608) 263-5754 EMINIST ERIODICALS A CURRENT LISTING OF CONTENTS Volume 13, Number 3 Fall 1993 Periodical literature is the cutting edge of women's scholarship, feminist theory, and much ofwomen'sculture. Feminist Periodicals: A Current Listing of Contents is published by the Office of the University of Wisconsin System Women's Studies Librarian on a quarterly basis with the intent of increasing pUblic awareness of feminist periodicals. It is our hope that Feminist Periodicals will serve several purposes: to keep the reader abreast of current topics in feminist literature; to increase readers' familiarity with a wide spectrum of feminist periodicals; and to provide the requisite bibliographic information should a reader wish to subscribe to ajournal or to obtain a particular article at her library or through interlibrary lOan. (Users will need to be aware of the limitations of the new copyright law with regard to photocopying of copyrighted materials.) Tabie of contents pages from current issues of majorfeminist journals are reproduced in each issue ofFeminist Periodicals, preceded by a comprehensive annotated listing of all journals we have selected. As pUblication schedules vary enormously, not every periodical will have table of contents pages reproduced in each issue of IT. The annotated listing provides the following information on each journal: 1. Year of first publication. 2. Frequency of pUblication.
    [Show full text]
  • What Literature Knows: Forays Into Literary Knowledge Production
    Contributions to English 2 Contributions to English and American Literary Studies 2 and American Literary Studies 2 Antje Kley / Kai Merten (eds.) Antje Kley / Kai Merten (eds.) Kai Merten (eds.) Merten Kai / What Literature Knows This volume sheds light on the nexus between knowledge and literature. Arranged What Literature Knows historically, contributions address both popular and canonical English and Antje Kley US-American writing from the early modern period to the present. They focus on how historically specific texts engage with epistemological questions in relation to Forays into Literary Knowledge Production material and social forms as well as representation. The authors discuss literature as a culturally embedded form of knowledge production in its own right, which deploys narrative and poetic means of exploration to establish an independent and sometimes dissident archive. The worlds that imaginary texts project are shown to open up alternative perspectives to be reckoned with in the academic articulation and public discussion of issues in economics and the sciences, identity formation and wellbeing, legal rationale and political decision-making. What Literature Knows The Editors Antje Kley is professor of American Literary Studies at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. Her research interests focus on aesthetic forms and cultural functions of narrative, both autobiographical and fictional, in changing media environments between the eighteenth century and the present. Kai Merten is professor of British Literature at the University of Erfurt, Germany. His research focuses on contemporary poetry in English, Romantic culture in Britain as well as on questions of mediality in British literature and Postcolonial Studies. He is also the founder of the Erfurt Network on New Materialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Coalescence and the Fiction of Iain Banks
    Études écossaises 12 | 2009 La Science Coalescence and the fiction of Iain Banks David Leishman Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/etudesecossaises/208 DOI: 10.4000/etudesecossaises.208 ISSN: 1969-6337 Publisher UGA Éditions/Université Grenoble Alpes Printed version Date of publication: 30 April 2009 Number of pages: 215-230 ISBN: 978-2-84310-138-0 ISSN: 1240-1439 Electronic reference David Leishman, « Coalescence and the fiction of Iain Banks », Études écossaises [Online], 12 | 2009, Online since 30 April 2010, connection on 08 September 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ etudesecossaises/208 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/etudesecossaises.208 © Études écossaises David Leishman Université Stendhal – Grenoble 3 Coalescence and the fi ction of Iain Banks Iain Banks’s second novel, Walking on Glass, seems to be ideally suited for the 2007 SAES conference theme of “l’envers du décor” or “behind the scenes”, since it is preoccupied with the exploration of literature’s mechanisms and workings and with the frontiers of fi ctional worlds. All this is foregrounded in the novel’s incipit. The opening paragraphs are dominated by the colour white as if to reaffi rm the ultimate liminality of the text, the presence of the blank page that lies permanently beneath (p.11). Meanwhile, an incongruous character has opened up a service hatch in the (white) fl oor and is scrabbling about inside with a torch, the unfamiliar conduit leading to hidden levels and unimagined apparatus that defamiliarise the surface reality and challenge its seamlessness. The text precisely specifi es the time as being “3:33” and this trinity is pre- sented by the narrator as a “good omen”, portentous of “a day events would coalesce” (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Brexit-Tales from a Divided Country: Fragmented Nationalism in Anthony Cartwright’S the Cut, Amanda Craig’S the Lie of the Land, and Jonathan Coe’S Middle England
    Brexit-Tales from a Divided Country: Fragmented Nationalism in Anthony Cartwright’s The Cut, Amanda Craig’s The Lie of the Land, and Jonathan Coe’s Middle England Emma Linders, S2097052 Master thesis: Literary Studies, Literature in Society: Europe and Beyond University of Leiden Supervisor: Prof. Dr. P.T.M.G. Liebregts Second reader: Dr. M.S. Newton Date: 01-02-2020 (Zaichenko) Emma Linders 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1 – Strangers in a Familiar Land: National divisions in Anthony Cartwright’s The Cut ......... 10 Outsider Perspective ......................................................................................................................... 10 Personification .................................................................................................................................. 11 Demographic Divides ........................................................................................................................ 11 Foreign Home Nation ........................................................................................................................ 13 Class Society ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Geography ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Language
    [Show full text]
  • Novels Inspired by the Life and Works of Jane Austen
    Dearest Cousin Jane Definitely Not Mr. Darcy Jill Pitkeathley Karen Doornebos Eliza is determined to remain indomita- Chloe Parker, a thirty-nine-year-old ble, unpredictable, and unfettered. And divorced mother and lifelong member Novels Inspired it is this passionate spirit that she brings of the Jane Austen Society, auditions to a simple English country parsonage for a Jane Austen-inspired reality da- to influence the life, the work, and the ting show set in 1812 and competes world of her unsuspecting cousin . a with eight women to snare Mr. by the Life quiet and unassuming young writer named Jane Aus- Wrightman, the heir to a gorgeous estate, along ten. with a $100,000 prize. and Works of Mr. Darcy’s Secret Undressing Mr. Darcy Jane Odiwe Karen Doornebos Shortly after their marriage, Elizabeth Vanessa Roberts enjoys her thor- Jane Austen begins to find evidence that Darcy may oughly modern life..When she takes have something to hide -- old love on public relations for a very private letters hidden in a book and a young man from England who's written a man of questionable parentage, to book called My Year as Mr. Darcy, start. Caroline Bingley and George she's not "excessively diverted," as Jane Austen Wickham begin to besmirch Darcy's good name and would say; until she sees Julian Chancellor take his sow seeds of discontent, but while Darcy and Eliza- tight breeches off. But can this old-fashioned man beth are already at odds, revelations of past conduct find his way into her heart without so much as a emerge that threaten to destroy their happiness.
    [Show full text]
  • Hollinghurst, Alan (B
    Hollinghurst, Alan (b. 1954) by Raymond-Jean Frontain Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Entry Copyright © 2006 glbtq, Inc. Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com Alan Hollinghurst. Photograph by Robert Alan Hollinghurst has been as warmly celebrated for his elegant prose style and subtle Taylor. representations of moral ambiguities, as he has been criticized by gay and straight Image courtesy readers alike for his frank representations of casual gay sex. In recent years he has Bloomsbury USA. emerged as the most important gay novelist in Great Britain since E. M. Forster. Hollinghurst extends the narrative tradition inaugurated by Christopher Isherwood and developed most significantly by Edmund White in which a character's gayness is simply a given in the novel, forcing the reader to adjust his or her expectations accordingly. Hollinghurst neither idealizes nor melodramatizes his characters' experiences, but dares to present the emotional complexities of everyday gay life in all of their mundanity. Hollinghurst possesses a sharp eye for social excesses and for the individual's propensity for self-delusion. His satiric impulse is tempered by a lyrical gift that renders many passages poems in prose. In Hollinghurst's novels, an exquisite aesthetic sensibility is conjoined with what Hollinghurst himself terms an acceptance of sex as "an essential thread running through everything . in a person's life." Were Marcel Proust or Ronald Firbank able to impose his style upon the subject matter of Jean Genet, the result would read like Hollinghurst's fiction. Biography Hollinghurst was born on May 26, 1954, into an economically comfortable, politically conservative household in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
    [Show full text]
  • Hilary Mantel Papers
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8gm8d1h No online items Hilary Mantel Papers Finding aid prepared by Natalie Russell, October 12, 2007 and Gayle Richardson, January 10, 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © October 2007 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Hilary Mantel Papers mssMN 1-3264 1 Overview of the Collection Title: Hilary Mantel Papers Dates (inclusive): 1980-2016 Collection Number: mssMN 1-3264 Creator: Mantel, Hilary, 1952-. Extent: 11,305 pieces; 132 boxes. Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: The collection is comprised primarily of the manuscripts and correspondence of British novelist Hilary Mantel (1952-). Manuscripts include short stories, lectures, interviews, scripts, radio plays, articles and reviews, as well as various drafts and notes for Mantel's novels; also included: photographs, audio materials and ephemera. Language: English. Access Hilary Mantel’s diaries are sealed for her lifetime. The collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. Publication Rights The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
    [Show full text]
  • Narrative Topography: Fictions of Country, City, and Suburb in the Work of Virginia Woolf, W. G. Sebald, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Ian Mcewan
    Narrative Topography: Fictions of Country, City, and Suburb in the Work of Virginia Woolf, W. G. Sebald, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Ian McEwan Elizabeth Andrews McArthur Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 © 2012 Elizabeth Andrews McArthur All rights reserved ABSTRACT Narrative Topography: Fictions of Country, City, and Suburb in the Work of Virginia Woolf, W. G. Sebald, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Ian McEwan Elizabeth Andrews McArthur This dissertation analyzes how twentieth- and early twenty-first- century novelists respond to the English landscape through their presentation of narrative and their experiments with novelistic form. Opening with a discussion of the English planning movement, “Narrative Topography” reveals how shifting perceptions of the structure of English space affect the content and form of the contemporary novel. The first chapter investigates literary responses to the English landscape between the World Wars, a period characterized by rapid suburban growth. It reveals how Virginia Woolf, in Mrs. Dalloway and Between the Acts, reconsiders which narrative choices might be appropriate for mobilizing and critiquing arguments about the relationship between city, country, and suburb. The following chapters focus on responses to the English landscape during the present era. The second chapter argues that W. G. Sebald, in The Rings of Saturn, constructs rural Norfolk and Suffolk as containing landscapes of horror—spaces riddled with sinkholes that lead his narrator to think about near and distant acts of violence. As Sebald intimates that this forms a porous “landscape” in its own right, he draws attention to the fallibility of representation and the erosion of cultural memory.
    [Show full text]
  • Addition to Summer Letter
    May 2020 Dear Student, You are enrolled in Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition for the coming school year. Bowling Green High School has offered this course since 1983. I thought that I would tell you a little bit about the course and what will be expected of you. Please share this letter with your parents or guardians. A.P. Literature and Composition is a year-long class that is taught on a college freshman level. This means that we will read college level texts—often from college anthologies—and we will deal with other materials generally taught in college. You should be advised that some of these texts are sophisticated and contain mature themes and/or advanced levels of difficulty. In this class we will concentrate on refining reading, writing, and critical analysis skills, as well as personal reactions to literature. A.P. Literature is not a survey course or a history of literature course so instead of studying English and world literature chronologically, we will be studying a mix of classic and contemporary pieces of fiction from all eras and from diverse cultures. This gives us an opportunity to develop more than a superficial understanding of literary works and their ideas. Writing is at the heart of this A.P. course, so you will write often in journals, in both personal and researched essays, and in creative responses. You will need to revise your writing. I have found that even good students—like you—need to refine, mature, and improve their writing skills. You will have to work diligently at revising major essays.
    [Show full text]
  • Austenland Free
    FREE AUSTENLAND PDF Shannon Hale | 196 pages | 27 May 2008 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781596912861 | English | New York, United States Austenland () - Rotten Tomatoes Forgot your password? Don't have an account? Sign up here. Already have an account? Austenland in here. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policiesand to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. We want Austenland hear what you have to say but need to Austenland your Austenland. Just leave us a message here Austenland we will work on getting you verified. Despite an intriguing premise and fine performances from a talented cast, Austenland succumbs to outworn romcom cliches and slapstick Austenland. Rate this movie. Oof, that was Rotten. Austenland, it passed the Austenland. So Austenland Absolute Must See! You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket. Cinemark Coming Soon. Regal Coming Soon. By opting to have your ticket verified Austenland this movie, you are Austenland us to check the email address Austenland with your Rotten Tomatoes account against Austenland email address associated with a Fandango Austenland purchase for the same movie. Simply Austenland smiling, [Russell] robs one of the will to live. Charlotte O'Sullivan. So actively inept and so horribly precarious that it becomes curiously engrossing, like watching a monkey spin some plates Austenland a blindfolded dog attempting to ride a unicycle. Xan Brooks. For a while, the film gets by on Austenland alone. But in the end, it all amounts to no more than a sniggery guilty pleasure.
    [Show full text]