| /logos/logo_4.svg | Logo | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/000/B00000000508997.jpg | Examination Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,0, University of Heidelberg (Anglistisches Seminar), language: English, abstract: The American literature is a reflection of the socio-political developments in the different stages of the history of the country, and especially slavery is a crucial topic in it. Many works dealing with slavery have been published in the 19th, 20th and 21st century, and some of them have sparked debates that are not only on literary issues. Two of these are Herman Melville¿s (1819-1891) Benito Cereno (1855) and Mark Twain¿s (1835-1910, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). These two novels are often seen as major works in American literary history, and their authors are among the country¿s most celebrated. Both books have in common that their stories play in the time before the abolition of slavery. Benito Cereno deals with a slave revolt on a ship, while Huckleberry Finn depicts the adventures of its eponymous hero and a runaway slave, Jim. Another feature the novels share is the fact that both have been charged to contain racist and pro-slavery attitudes. This paper will evaluate and analyze these assertions in order to show that they are false because they are based on misunderstandings. It aims to provide a profound delineation of the racial attitudes in the two novels.
The assumption here is that neither Melville nor Twain wrote racist novels. This shall be proven with the help of a close analysis of the narrative perspectives and literary devices used in the books. Both of the stories, as will be shown later, are told by narrators that are far from being easy to grasp without a deeper examination of their character and function. A comprehensive insight into these appears to be beneficial for a better understanding of both of the novels.
The present paper will begin with an exploration of the individual attitudes of the two authors. Although the knowledge of writers¿ opinions can never be used as the sole key to a literary work¿s interpretation, it can still be helpful to gain an insight into his ideas about the world he or she depicts in his or her fiction. After this, the two novels will be dealt with separately. In a first step, the assertions about each one¿s racism will be delineated. Then, the narrative perspectives and other literary techniques will be thoroughly analyzed. In a last step, the novels¿ racism will be evaluated with the help of the insights gained about the techniques used. It shall be shown that in the light of this, neither Benito Cereno nor Huckleberry Finn are racist books. (Wagner, Ole) | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/001/B00000001008781.jpg | Kyles Sr. DEdMin., Ricky V.: Weighed and Found Wanting; An Analysis of Major Evangelical Political Engagement in America | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/001/B00000001173122.jpg | The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary International Political Economy | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/001/B00000001451123.jpg | Die Politik des Realen (Kim, Hyun Kang) | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/000/B00000000846856.jpg | Mobility, Spatiality, and Resistance in Literary and Political Discourse | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/001/B00000001662210.jpg | Vorträge der Detlefsen-Gesellschaft 22 | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/001/B00000001222868.jpg | A Vision for the World Economy (Lawrence, Robert Z.~Bressand, Albert~Ito, Takatoshi) | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/000/B00000000843751.jpg | Robertson, Lloyd W.: Political Philosophy in Gulliver¿s Travels | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/001/B00000001573439.jpg | Hainke, Frank: Förderung der Wirtschaft und Manufakturen in Preußen | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/000/B00000000353941.jpg | Kagermeier, Andreas: Tourismus in Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft, Raum und Umwelt | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/000/B00000000840625.jpg | Water in Circular Economy | |
| ...ges_shop/B00/000/000/B00000000352631.jpg | Spätsommer 2016 in der Tundra Telemarks. Sandra, Norwegenreisende,
holpert mit ihrem Auto bei strömenden Regen über einen
Geröllweg. Sie plant eine Wanderung in einem Gebiet der Wildmark,
das sie noch nicht kennt. Fast jedoch bereut sie ihren Entschluss. Es
regnet so stark, dass man kaum die Hand vor Augen sieht. Sie hätte zuhause
bleiben sollen - in ihrer kleinen, gemütlichen Waldhütte weiter
unten im Tal. Dennoch fährt sie weiter, ohne im Geringsten zu ahnen,
dass sie nur eine Stunde von Ereignissen trennt, die ihr Leben noch
einmal von Grund auf verändern werden.
Der Roman spielt in Norwegen und Deutschland, beginnt und endet
in der Jetztzeit, gründet sich aber im Berlin der brodelnden Sechziger
des letzten Jahrhunderts, als die Protagonisten in ihren Zwanzigern
sind. Es werden Spielarten des Schweigens, der Abweisung und Verdrängung
traumatischer Geschehnisse in Familie und Gesellschaft der
ehemaligen DDR und dem heutigen Norwegen gegeneinander erzählt.
Sandra kommt die Rolle zu, Licht in die Vergangenheit des Norwegers
Anders zu bringen. Dieser bittet sie, nach dem Verbleib seiner einstigen
Ost-Berliner Geliebten Oda zu suchen. Dann aber, eines Tages,
will er plötzlich nichts mehr davon wissen... (Haym, Liv) | |
Meta Title
(Nice to have)