English Language and Literature Commons^™

Goblins, Greed, And Goodness: The Symbolic And Narrative Degradation Of Goblins Within The Hobbit, Katelyn Stine

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Throughout The Hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien establishes a variety of races that range on a diverse scale of good and evil. Within this spectrum, Goblins are portrayed as being the most evil in comparison to every other race on Middle Earth. Tolkien utilizes a variety of literary devices -from a repeated symbolic association with fire to their physical intolerance to environmental elements such as sunlight- to establish the complete disconnection between the Goblins and the natural world. This detachment allows their race as an entirety to become the embodiment of evil, which functions as a plot device throughout the narrative. Goblins …

The Unicorn Newsletter Fall 2015, Stephanie Nunley

English Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Grace Paley’S Urban Jewish Voice: Identity, History, And "The Tune Of The Language", Victoria Aarons

English Faculty Research

Dans ses nouvelles minimalistes et expérimentales, Grace Paley construit un monde urbain d’après-guerre typiquement juif américain. C’est avant tout par le dialogue qu’elle donne vie à ses personnages qui sont toujours décrits dans des lieux de convivialité et de rencontre (perrons, cours d’école, rues ou squares du quartier) et dont la place dans l’histoire est définie par le langage. L’intrigue pour Paley est purement secondaire : c’est par le langage et la transmission des histoires qui les définissent que les personnages déterminent leur rapport à eux-mêmes et au monde. Diverse, compacte, nuancée et éloquente dans sa simplicité même, la langue …

Who Can Afford To Improvise? James Baldwin And Black Music, The Lyric And The Listeners [Table Of Contents], Ed Pavlic

Literature

More than a quarter-century after his death, James Baldwin remains an unparalleled figure in American literature and African American cultural politics. In Who Can Afford to Improvise? Ed Pavlić offers an unconventional, lyrical, and accessible meditation on the life, writings, and legacy of James Baldwin and their relationship to the lyric tradition in black music, from gospel and blues to jazz and R&B. Based on unprecedented access to private correspondence, unpublished manuscripts and attuned to a musically inclined poet’s skill in close listening, Who Can Afford to Improvise? frames a new narrative of James Baldwin’s work and life.

The route …

Listen To Me, Bryan M. Furuness

English

Nominated for Pushcart Prize

"Fire And Water Imagery" In Jane Eyre 2015, Shannon O'Loughlin

Master's Theses

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is a study in contrasts. Critics have argued the implausibility of the novel, that an orphaned governess who marries her dashing employer is too far-fetched to be believed. However, a proper understanding of Jane Eyre must be based not on a sequence of events, but on the thematic form of the novel in which the signifiers relate to each other and shift throughout. Ferdinand de Saussure explains in his "Course in General Linguistics," that the mental concept one has of a word is its "signifier" (62). Charlotte Bronte relies not simply upon a sequence of events …

The Beast Inside: Trauma Theory And William Golding's Lord Of The Flies 2015, Emily Paccia

Master's Theses

Following World War II and the horrible devastation in Europe, especially in London, Britain began to rebuild. The country was attempting to come back from war, and the culture reflected a bleak, disheartening feeling. Literature written during this time period, which so often reflects the culture directly, showed that very same bleakness. British novelist, and one who lived through that time, William Golding, writing in the 1960's, recreated the dystopia brought into European countries from living through the destruction of the war. Creating a vision of the future -- one of dysfunction and chaos -- Golding’s characters from Lord of …

J.R.R. Tolkien And His Influence On Modern Fantasy Writer Tamora Pierce, Alexandria Curry

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s writing of female and racial minority characters has been criticized as misogynistic and racist by many critics of Tolkien. However, these critics come to these conclusions due to the limited quantity of these characters overall, especially those of the female sex, and their involvement in the overall story’s plot. Tolkien uses women sparingly and because of this, each one has important characteristics and roles that they play. Therefore, if not invalidating the critics position on his supposed misogynistic views, then, at least, dissolving some of their support platforms. However, the roles that the women play are important in understanding …

Tolkien, Fandom, And Priorities, Melissa Conroy

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

Songs In Middle-Earth, Ellory Busch

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

Eowyn As Queen, Brian Scheidt

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

The Inherent Goodness Of Gardens And Their Stewards, Dj Castillo

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Realism And Idealism In Decision-Making: A Case Study Of Tolkien’S And Jackson’S Ents And Elves, Max Bertelotti

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Attempting to fight Sauron without the Ring of Power is, of course, fruitless. Nearly all the characters in the Lord of the Rings understand this. While many readers debate the reasoning and logic behind sending Frodo and Sam alone into Mordor, few debate the reasoning for each specific race of Middle Earth to become involved in the fight against Sauron. Given Sauron’s impeccability and resilience, any non-destruction-of-the-Ring attempt at defeating Sauron must categorically be deemed infeasible. It fails logic then that, with a few exceptions, each race that the reader encounters in the Lord of the Rings finds it necessary …

The Prominence Of Pippin, Jasmine Sunderlage

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

When building a fictional world as involved and vast as that of J.R.R. Tolkien’s multiple drafts are a must in order to work out the exact details and to make sure that all the possible loose ends are tied up and addressed. Characters can come and go, change in temperaments and in how involved they are when it comes to the story itself. Whereas some characters may start of as highly involved in the plot, they may become nothing other than a supporting character after going through multiple drafting processes. For other characters, however, they may start as a walk-on/walk-off …

The Anti-War Adoption Of Lord Of The Rings, Kayla Spencer

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Ten years after Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was first published in 1954, an unexpected party discovered Middle-earth. America’s counterculture adopted the series, despite its largely conservative, patriarchal, and militant ideologies. Tolkien himself was not fond of the hippie movement, calling them his “deplorable cultus” (Helms 7). Although always adamant that his books were not allegory, the hippies found it anyway and applied his art to their own agendas. Second-wave feminists understood Eowyn’s refusal to let her romantic interest and her father determine her fate, as well as her fear of being kept in a cage and unable to …

Dominion: Examining The Subject Of Power In Tolkien, Kieran Moriarty

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

The discussion of power and one’s use of it in literature is far from a novel one. This is especially so regarding how one uses power to rule others. Two notable and conflicting ways to rule are using one’s power over the ruled, to keep control of them, and using one’s power for the ruled, by helping and supporting them. The clash between these two can be seen as early as the first book of the Jewish and Christian bibles, wherein God gives humans “dominion over…all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,” asking them …

The Heir And The Treasure: The Grammatical Construction Of Aragorn And Arwen, Rachel Landsem

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

October 1, 2015: Safe On Campus Training, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

Learn to be a better advocate and ally to lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender people. Participants receive information on practical strategies for addressing homophobia, learn ways to support students who are coming out, and gain an understanding of respectful language use.

An Independent Will: The Rise Of Women’S Literacy Poster

Promotional Materials

No abstract provided.

Spaces, Alleys, And Other Lacunae: Emma Hardy's Late Writings Restored, Jon Singleton

Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.