English Language and Literature Commons^™

A Man Of This Time: Memory And Sheriff Bell’S First-Person Narratives In Cormac Mccarthy’S No Country For Old Men, Marie-Reine Pugh

BYU English Symposium

Critics often focus on the violence in Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. But the function of memory in Sheriff Bell’s first-person narratives has yet to be examined. Bell may claim to be defeated by the events of the story and the changing times, but the structure of the novel bespeaks a greater importance: his voice marks the beginning and ending of the novel, of each new chapter. His narratives reveal the struggle between his collective and personal memories. In the end, Bell is able to settle in a less conflicted place mediated by his closest relations—his family—where he …

Seeing And Not Believing: A Critique Of Post-Civil War America’S Loss Of Faith Through A Spectral Medium, Alan J. Hickey

BYU English Symposium

This paper examines the use of ghosts in three pieces of post-Civil War American literature, namely, Herman Melville's Clarel, Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, and Robert Frost's "Ghost House." Specifically, I use Srdjan Smajic's critical theories on ghosts to formally analyze how these authors use aspects of ghost-seeing to critique science's dependence on empirical evidence. I find that ghosts in these pieces of literature serve as a tool to question the maxim, "seeing is believing," showing that empirical evidence should not overshadow faith.

Memory—Midnight’S Children’S Locus Of Truth, Brittany Strobelt

BYU English Symposium

This paper explores truth as it applies to Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, particularly how memory--a fallible human reconstruction of experience--conveys truth. I do so by drawing a parallel between memory and philosophy; whereas the French philosopher Alain Badiou sees philosophy as a locus for truth, I see memory as a locus for truth. Both philosophy and memory as locii of truth create spaces in which truth can expand, can go beyond fact, and can be deeper. I further strengthen the importance of imperfect memory's usage as a locus for truth by relating it to Rushdie's use of magical realism.

The Blind Can See: Revisiting Disability In Jane Eyre, Gina Schneck

BYU English Symposium

Scholars have often criticized Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre for its antiquated approach to disability. However, these scholars tend to focus on physical or biological disability without delving into the possibility of metaphorical disability (such as Jane's naiveté). By looking at disability as both literal and figurative, we can see how both Jane and Edward are blind, and that their story is one of learning to see through breaking down the binaries associated with blindness and disability.

Rhetorical Leadership: Intentionality And Communication, Katherine L. Neish

BYU English Symposium

This presentation aims to explore how intentionality factors into effective communication and the importance of this communication in the role of rhetorical leaders. Rhetorical leaders have an ethical responsibility to their followers to create a space in their conversations for constructive feedback, and rhetorical followers have an ethical responsibility to provide that feedback in a constructive manner. When both rhetorical leaders and rhetorical followers intentionally fulfill these responsibilities, they stand the best chance of being understood and furthering the pursuit of truth.

Images Of Horror: Tracing Frankenstein’S Fear-Myth Through Comic Books And Graphic Novels, Audra Coleman

BYU English Symposium

When compiling information for my presentation, I found that there were many different visual representations of Frankenstein’s monster. While these differed in a few ways, each depiction of the monster’s physical body still traced its roots back to the original novel. Each new artist still attempted to create a bodily image that invokes a specific fear: mainly that what we fear the most are our own bodies. In my essay, I explore these various ways the visual representation of Frankenstein’s monster both represents this fear-myth and creates new images for the monster. Due to their heavy visuals and tradition of …

What Of "Kubla Khan"?, Pablo I. Tapia

BYU English Symposium

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, "Kubla Khan," tends to avoid interpretation. Years of scholarship have approached the poem differently, and many critics have dismissed Coleridge's "Preface" to the poem, stating it is merely an explanation for the poem's incompleteness. This paper looks over several popular interpretations of the poem, but it attempts to establish the the "Preface" has become part of the poem, not only for its description of the conditions the poem was written in, but also for Coleridge's process of creating poetry. Although some of the popular approaches shed light on bits and pieces of the poem, they fail …

American Masculinity, Corinn Pratt

BYU English Symposium

This paper explores Walt Whitman’s “Children of Adam” and contends that the writer and his work are an embodiment of American masculinity. Within our current culture neither Whitman nor his work would be perceived as masculine, let alone the epitome of it. However, a review of historical information within Whitman’s time period, particularly Dr. Fowler’s book of creative and sexual science, gives a unique view of masculinity and of Whitman. Taking this information into consideration Whitman’s “Children of Adam” takes on new meaning. This paper concludes that a historical reading leads one to realize that Whitman believes himself to be …

Kenneth Burke's Poetic Metaphor And Obama As Poet, Devon S. Cook

BYU English Symposium

This essay connects Kenneth Burke’s briefly used poetic metaphor with his theories on the use of “poetic” language in the essay “Semantic and Poetic Meaning.” What results from this synthesis is a critical tool for rhetorical analysis which allows for the discussion of style as a vehicle for communication about ethics and morals in public discourse. Obama’s The Audacity of Hope is used as the example of a text which uses “poetic” language in order to discuss moral and ethical issues in a national arena. Obama ultimately dramatizes his own synthesis of values, putting himself in the position of a …

A Holler To My Sisters On Welfare: Mothers In The Works Of Shakur And Hughes, Wesley Turner

BYU English Symposium

For the purposes of this paper, I will juxtapose the work of Tupac Shakur with Langston Hughes in order to reveal Shakur’s engagement with African American literary history. Both Hughes and Shakur have recurring maternal relationships in their works. However, both artists incorporate these relationships very differently. Hughes primarily discussed mothers and children in order to show how far African Americans have come in gaining equal rights in their country. His mother-child relationships are ones that hope for continued steps towards equality and a breakdown of the black/white color line. Shakur, however, discusses children and mothers in the context of …

You Grow This Way: An Analysis Of Mother And Daughter Selves In Anne Sexton’S Poem “Little Girl, My Stringbean, My Lovely Woman", Kennerley Roper

BYU English Symposium

The maternal speaker in Anne Sexton's poem “Little Girl, My Stringbean, My Lovely Woman” speaks to her maturing daughter about the wonders of the female body by revising the literary tradition that already exists about the female body. What the speaker ultimately conveys to her daughter is the power the body has through the use of parallel body and earth imagery. However, the daughter is distanced from this notion through a contrasting image: the string bean. The speaker uses that distance to show the mixed images of entanglement and separation of mother and daughter in order to expound wisdom to …

Religion In Young Adult Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Natasha B. Mickelson

BYU English Symposium

Young adult contemporary realistic fiction attempts to portray real life, and readers of these novels should be able to relate to the characters therein. While many YA novels deal with controversial topics in an attempt to be realistic, one aspect of life still largely considered a literary “taboo” is religion.

Through examining studies done and looking at a sample of novels in the YA contemporary realistic fiction genre I found that most of these books either mention nothing about the religious beliefs and backgrounds of their characters or religion is portrayed negatively. Since this genre attempts to portray real-life teenagers, …

The Castle Of Otranto As A Christmas Ghost Story, Conor Hilton

BYU English Symposium

The seasonal Christmas ghost story tradition pre-dates Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but the narrative is filled with holes. Some place The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole within this narrative, striving to fill the gaps that exist. Despite the novel’s publication on Christmas Eve and note in the preface that it is part of the canon of the Church of St. Nicholas, the evidence is too thin to make a definitive claim that Otranto was written as a Christmas ghost story. In fact, examining newspaper archives from the eighteenth century surrounding the publication of Otranto, delving into …

Oz: A Reflection Of America, Monica D. Allen

BYU English Symposium

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was one of America’s first fairy tales. As such America is embedded, as well as outright discussed, in the book. It is quite clear that around the turn of the century Baum saw the need for a change in America involving the economy and leadership, and noted that this change was beginning to take place. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz reflects this and in his book, Baum brings two conflicting ideas of what America was becoming—the Emerald City—and what he thought America should be like—the rest of Oz, specifically the Munchkin …

Pay No Attention To That Man: Government Crimes In The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Isaac Lyman

BYU English Symposium

L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" demonstrates the deeper motivations behind his editorials on the treatment of Native Americans in the 19th century. Specifically, the principal kingdoms and rulers of the novel mistreat and endanger their constituents in the same way that 19th-century governments marginalized and oppressed the scarcest and weakest of their country's denizens. The Winged Monkeys of Oz exhibit the characteristics of a society of "noble savages," words Baum used to lament and encourage the extermination of the Native Americans, amid heated cultural concerns about the safety of white settlers after the Wounded Knee Massacre. The …

Baum's Dorothy And The Power Of Identity, Camille Pay

BYU English Symposium

L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz portrays a relationship between Dorothy as an individual and Oz as a whole; however, this relationship has been viewed by critics as solely political. Dorothy penetrated Oz deeper than political interference, though: she enabled those around her by helping them in personal ways. When Dorothy first entered Oz, she acted as a political catalyst, but throughout the story, she became a more intimate leader by enabling those around her. She made it possible for her companions to act, later helping them to be leaders themselves. Through Baum’s inclusion of Dorothy in The …

"That Lady, Sir, Is Her Own Mistress": Evelina's Condemnation Of Rape Culture, Rose Hadden

BYU English Symposium

Fanny Burney’s 18th Century novel Evelina is a canny critique of rape culture and the pervasive assumption of female consent. Evelina navigates a social world in which she nominally has the right to say no to anyone in any matter regarding her own body, but where that right is consistently undermined by social punishment, victim blaming, and deliberate ignorance. Earlier scholars have characterized Evelina’s compliance as a flaw in her character, a result of her lack of confidence and experience, but I contest that Burney’s text clearly absolves Evelina herself of all guilt. Burney instead condemns the society that would …

American Masculinity As Presented By Walt Whitman, Corinn Pratt

BYU English Symposium

As a homosexual Romantic poet neither Walt Whitman nor his work would immediately come to mind as particularly masculine. However, through a brief historical look at what Whitman was learning about as well as a close reading at some of the text it is clear that Whitman paints a very masculine picture. Whitman uses the sexual act as a way to understand what it means to be a man with himself at the helm. Within “Children of Adam” is Whitman uses this ultimate fulfillment of gender relations to explore masculinity and ultimately paints himself as the embodiment of masculinity.

“The Black Cat:” A Reflection Of Pre-Civil War Slavery, Hannah Walker

BYU English Symposium

In 1843, Edgar Allan Poe published “The Black Cat” amid one of the most foreboding ages in American history: the pre-Civil War era. Critics often attempt to make sense of the violent plot of Poe’s classic by pointing to flaws in the human psyche or supernatural undertones which pervade many of Poe’s other pieces. However, by recognizing distinct parallels between the Southern practice of slavery and symbolic plot points in “The Black Cat,” readers can unveil richer implications behind Poe’s dark tale. Specifically, “The Black Cat” functions as a racial allegory that depicts the injustices of slavery and, ultimately, shows …

What Of "Kubla Khan"?, Pablo I. Tapia

BYU English Symposium

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, "Kubla Khan," tends to avoid interpretation. Years of scholarship have approached the poem differently, and many critics have dismissed Coleridge's "Preface" to the poem, stating it is merely an explanation for the poem's incompleteness. This paper looks over several popular interpretations of the poem, but it attempts to establish that the "Preface has become part of the poem, not only for its description of the conditions the poem was written in, but also for Coleridge's process of creating poetry. Although some of the popular approaches shed light on bits and pieces of the poem, they fail …