Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Framing Identity: Repudiating The Ideal In Chicana Literature, Michael A. Flores

All NMU Master's Theses

In the 1960s Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez penned his now canonical, epic poem “I Am Joaquin.” The poem chronicles the historic oppression of a transnational, Mexican people as well as revolutionary acts of their forefathers in resisting tyranny. Coinciding with a series of renewed, sociopolitical campaigns, collectively known as the Chicano Movement, Gonzales’ poem uses vivid imagery to present an idealized representation of Chicanos and encouraged his reader to engage in revolutionary action. Though the poem encourages strong leadership, upward mobility, and political engagement the representations of women in his text are misogynistic and limiting.

His presentation of the “black-shawled …

The Influence Of Literacy On The Lives Of Twentieth Century Southern Female Minority Figures, Laura Leighann Dicks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The American South has long been a region associated with myth and fantasy; in popular culture especially, the region is consistently tied to skewed notions of the antebellum South that include images of large plantation homes, women in hoop skirts, and magnolia trees that manifest in television and film representations such as Gone With the Wind (1939). Juxtaposed with these idealized, mythic images is the hillbilly trope, reinforced by radio shows such as Lum and Abner, and films such as Scatterbrain (1940). Out of this idea comes the southern illiteracy stereotype, which suggests that southerners are collectively unconcerned with education …

Agent Red: Fashioning Agency In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Christopher M. Yalen

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, we are introduced to a dystopian patriarchal society named Gilead, where women are relegated to the roles of wife, servant, and surrogate. Although the men of Gilead have built this society with men at the top, the women of the novel show a surprising amount of agency within their own spheres of influence. So the question remains: who is really in control of Gilead? While men are certainly remain the figureheads of power in The Handmaid's Tale, we find that the women of the novel have copious influence within their own realms, …

Tracing The Origins Of Success: Implications For Successful Aging, Nora M. Peterson, Peter Martin

French Language and Literature Papers

Purpose of the Study: This paper addresses the debate about the use of the term “successful aging” from a humanistic, rather than behavioral, perspective. It attempts to uncover what success, a term frequently associated with aging, is: how can it be defined and when did it first come into use? In this paper, we draw from a number of humanistic perspectives, including the historical and linguistic, in order to explore the evolution of the term “success.” We believe that words and concepts have deep implications for how concepts (such as aging) are culturally and historically perceived.

Design and Methods: We …

Conjured, By Sarah Beth Durst. Reviewed By Alana Joli Abbott., Alana Joli Abbott

Mythprint Book Reviews

Mythprint is the quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local discussion groups.

Beowulf: A Translation And Commentary, By J.R.R. Tolkien, Edited By Christopher Tolkien. Reviewed By Janet Bennan Croft., Janet Brennan Croft

Mythprint Book Reviews

Mythprint is the quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local discussion groups.

A Wrinkle In Time At The 2014 Oregon Shakespeare Festival, By Madeleine L'Engle, Adapted By Tracy Young. Reviewed By Berni Phillips And David Bratman., Berni Phillips, David Bratman

Mythprint Book Reviews

Mythprint is the quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local discussion groups.

Student Perceptions Of Strategies Used For Reading Hispanic Literature: A Case Study, Rebecca Leigh Brazzale

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of students during their reading tasks for their university Spanish courses during the Fall 2013 semester at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The purpose of this research was to explore what types of reading strategies university Spanish students use during literary readings tasks and their perceptions of the reading strategies they use. This case study employed stimulated recall protocol interviews, student reading logs and student notes in texts. Interviews were conducted within 24 hours of the reading, while reading logs and notes were completed during the reading. The data collected were analyzed for …

“The Woman” And The Women Of Sherlock Holmes, Cassandra Poole

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Women appear in nearly every Sherlock Holmes novel and short story. The vast majority are victims. Against the recurring oppression of women and women’s sexuality in the Holmes canon, a few exceptional female characters escape their Victorian gender roles. One rises above all others. She is “the woman,” Irene Adler, whose strength, intelligence, and independence have made her a recurring star in extra-canonical books, television shows, film adaptations, and Sherlockian fan fiction. This essay focuses on women and women’s sexuality within and beyond the Holmes canon to explore our enduring fascination with “the only woman to ever best Sherlock Holmes.”

Vol. Li, No. 3: Ellen Bryant Voigt: Preserving The Rural Landscape, James Robert Saunders

The Hollins Critic

No abstract provided.

To Be A Man: A Re-Assessment Of Black Masculinity In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun And Les Blancs, Julie M. Burrell

English Faculty Publications

The first Black woman to pen a Broadway play, Lorraine Hansberry scripted a majority of male protagonists. Critics tend to see Hansberry’s depiction of Black men as either an unfortunate departure from her feminist concerns, or as damaging representations of Black masculinity. In contrast to such views, this essay maps the trajectory of Hansberry’s career-long project of scripting positive visions of Black masculinity, from the politically progressive, while still patriarchal, structures of masculinity in A Raisin in the Sun, to the heterogeneous performances of revolutionary masculinity in Les Blancs. Further, in her role as public intellectual, Hansberry questioned prevailing assumptions …

How To Protect A Literary Character Through Copyright And Trademark, Annie Provenzano

Journalism

This paper is about finding the best practices in which to protect a literary character as an individual and help authors keep the rights to their characters when the characters are taken out of the original work. It focuses on the basic copyright and trademark laws, how they apply to a literary character, what is afforded to the character for protection, and the lack of protection by the courts. The research helps facilitate ideas and advice on how to better protect a literary character before and after the process of copyrighting or trademarking the work.

The Wizarding Words Of J. K. Rowling: Literary Merit In The Harry Potter Series, Brenna Sherrill

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Since hitting bookshelves in 1997, the Harry Potter series has taken the popular culture world by storm in an unprecedented way, breaking sales records for both books and films, and dramatically increasing readership among young readers. Despite its immense and unique success, this series, like many other examples of pop culture, doesn’t often receive the credit it deserves with respect to its literary merits. However, it is undeniable that the Potter books reflect many of the traits found in all great works of literature, including complex character development and abundant literary devices that elevate the intellectual level of the series. …

The Deception Of Perception: Browning, Childe Roland, And Supersensory Belief, Catherine Blass

All Theses

Browning's fascination with the senses and the mind as determiners of reality floods his work. 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,' in particular, offers a more complicated, sincere exploration of this topic that had become central to Victorian debate. As Browning acknowledges repeatedly through his poetry, the debate between sensory data (empiricism) and supersensory belief (idealism) could not be understood in clear-cut categories. In much of his poetry, however, he grounds these questions in deceptively simple discussions of mesmerism or the Victorian philosophy of the mind. Although those two topics may seem disparate to twenty-first century readers, Victorian belief …

Queer Tastes: An Exploration Of Food And Sexuality In Southern Lesbian Literature, Jacqueline Kristine Lawrence

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Southern identities are undoubtedly influenced by the region's foodways. However, the South tends to neglect and even to negate certain peoples and their identities. Women, especially lesbians, are often silenced within southern literature. Where Tennessee Williams used literature to bridge gaps between gay men and the South, southern lesbian literature severely lacks a traceable history of such connections. The principal objective of this thesis is to explore the ways in which southern lesbians manipulate food metaphors to describe their sexual desires and identities. This thesis only begins to lay out a history of southern lesbian literature as many lesbian writers …

Richey, Ish Harden, 1905-1985 (Sc 1485), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1485. Book manuscript titled "Some Philosophical Aspects of Christianity, History, Literature and Education." The material was published by Richey in 1979.

The Redemption Of Vice: The Role Of The Virtuous Prostitute In Dostoevsky’S Russia, Caitlin C. Charette

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

No abstract provided.

Ferradáns Publishes Bilingual Collection Of Spanish Poet's Work, Kim Hill

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Applying Freudian Psychological Theory To The Literature And Life Of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Kevin C. Rockwell

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

As a writer who famously aimed to capture the essence of humanity in his literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky often created incredibly intriguing, yet quite complex characters to accomplish this goal. Though psychology had not yet grown into an independent discipline during Dostoevsky's tenure as a novelist, as the field began to emerge it became clearer that his literature touched upon many psychological tenets. Specifically, the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud would prove to be very similar to Dostoevsky's writing, prompting many comparisons. This paper aims to apply Freudian psychological theory to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and The Double in an attempt …

Crime And Punishment In Translation: Raskolnikov Redeemed, Lindsey C. Myers

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

Until one determined, nearly blind housewife came onto the literary scene, most Westerners had never heard of Dostoevsky without having a personal background in the Russian Language. Constance Garnett provided the first comprehensive translations of Dostoevsky, Gogol, Tolstoy, and Turgenev to the English-speaking world; but only after she taught herself the Russian language. Her translations have been continually edited and revised since the early 20^th century, and were the most widely read editions for almost 70 years. A recent surge of translations from the husband-wife team of Pevear and Volokhonsky is beginning to change the face of Western understanding …

How D.H. Lawrence Amends Dostoevsky’S Reality, Amanda R. Brown

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

This paper explores the reception of Dostoevsky by British modernists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Particularly, it focuses on D.H. Lawrence's reaction to Dostoevsky. Outlined in the body of the paper is Lawrence's reality, which is deemed far more radical than Dostoevsky's reality, which is also described in depth. Both Dostoevsky's and Lawrence's world-visions are examined through their portrayal of religion, moral guilt, rationality, and sense of self. Lawrence creates a new religion and characters devoid of guilt. He replaces traditional rationality with a novel system of physical consciousness and portrays genuine characters. On the other hand, …

Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov, And Freedom In Crime And Punishment, Ryan P. Fink

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

An analysis of the character of Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and his journey towards a truer understanding of freedom. This paper comments on 'freedom' as understood by St. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle, and applies this view of freedom to the characters of Raskolnikov, Sonya, Svidrigailov and Porfiry. The paper shows how the Thomistic-Aristotelian view of freedom is prevalent in this work by Dostoevsky.

Raskolnikov: Not The Typical Criminal Man, Mary C. Noonan

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

Criminologists in the nineteenth century gave much effort to identify, classify, and understand the physical, social, and psychological characteristics of the world’s criminals. Using the lens of these early criminological theories and the scholarly interpretations of Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov, this paper explores the dimensions of Raskolnikov as a criminal character. Ultimately, these developing psychological and criminal anthropological theories are not successful in explaining the character of Raskolnikov. This exploration sheds light on a fundamental characteristic of human nature that Dostoevsky understands. Just as Raskolnikov is unable to be fully characterized by his utilitarian social theories, and by the theories of early …

Dostovesky And O’Connor: An Examination Of How 19th Century Russian Literature Influenced American Southern Literature In The 20th Century, Niall P. Sullivan

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

A stereotype of most religious writers is that they merely attempt to espouse religious dogma in their writing. How Fyodor Dosteovsky, a progressive, nineteenth-century Russian religious writer, incorporates his religious beliefs into his writing, defies this stereotype. For Dostoevsky, he is not interested in providing definitive answers to complex questions. Instead, he is more interested in having his characters attempt to answer these questions themselves through monologues and dialogues with other characters experiencing crises in his works. Fyodor Dostoevsky is shaped by his Eastern Orthodox beliefs, but is not bound by them. He recognizes the importance of icons in this …

Dostoevsky’S Women: Finding A Voice, Michelle A. Nogas

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

In Fyodor Dostoevsky's works Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, and The Idiot, the characters of Lisa, Sonya, and Nastasya Filippovna reveal the author's inability to envision an autonomous woman leading a functional life independent of male influence. These three female characters possess distinct levels of credibility, independence, and predictability. In an evaluation of Dostoevsky's female characters, one must not only address whether these characters are well-rounded, but also question whether Dostoevsky's female characters author their own stories with a unique voice or whether male protagonists always overpower them. Both Lisa and Sonya are ultimately defined by …

Bazarov’S Nihilism In Turgenev’S Fathers & Sons, Daniel J. Kubala

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

The character of Bazarov in Turgenev¹s Fathers and Sons has a complicated relationship with Russia's Nihilist movement. I present a history of the movement and compare three scholarly understandings of Bazarov's peculiar nihilism. I claim that despite Bazarov¹s monumental importance for the Nihilist movement he fails to be a perfect Nihilist in many ways, and furthermore that it is precisely these imperfections that make Bazarov such an attractive and sympathetic character.

A Beauty That Saves: Dostoevsky’S Theology Of Beauty The Idiot, Joseph M. Day

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

This paper examines Dostoevsky’s understanding of beauty and its place in The Idiot. Examining the historical and immediate environment in which Dostoevsky wrote the novel provides crucial insights into his conception of beauty. It is argued that the beauty Dostoevsky encountered in Florence colored his use of beauty in The Idiot. The use recent popes have made of Dostoevsky’s works also underscore the Christian theology of his ideal. From the post-Vatican II pontiffs and from Dostoevsky’s own writing it becomes clear that Dostoevsky’s view of beauty flows from the Christian belief that Christ is the Supreme Beauty. The …

Vol. Li, No. 2: "A Morbid Longing For The Picturesque": The Novels Of Donna Tartt, James Shell

The Hollins Critic

No abstract provided.

The Plight Of Prostitution: A Study Of Sonia Marmeladov In Crime And Punishment, Clare Carroll

Spring 2014, Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky's celebrated novel Crime and Punishment (1866) exposes complex moral issues testing the urban population of nineteenth century St. Petersburg. Prostitution is one theme that complicates the novel, and Dostoevsky invites readers to consider the prostitute’s point of view. In 1843, the tsarist Ministry of Internal Affairs appointed “medical-police committees” to regulate prostitution in Russia. Registered prostitutes were typically poor urban women, and they became subject to strict rules. Sonia Marmeladov, an emblem of virtue in Crime and Punishment, endures the horrors of commercialized sex. Though her virtue and religious faith far exceed that of the average person, her …

The Evolution Of The Villain In American Cinema, Kelsey Mcclure

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

The villain character has evolved greatly throughout American cinema. Post World War II, the evolution is most striking by comparing films from the 1950s, 1970s, and 2000s. With a selection of four movies from each respective decade, the villains will be contrasted to identify any similarities and differences across decades to determine if the political environment has an impact on the way in which the villain character is portrayed.

Objective:

The purpose of this project was for me to determine if villains were constructed based on views of the American people at the times in which the films were created. …