Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


csu1313609535.pdf (381.63 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

HOPEFUL HOSTILITY:AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN NATURALISM

Littlejohn, Amonte
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1313609535

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Arts in English, Cleveland State University, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
American Naturalism has a reputation of being a reductive and often times violent genre, but in its brutality exists a lens to examine adverse social conditions and practices of modern and historical society. Evolved from its precursor in European Naturalism, American Naturalism would undergo adaptations to make the genre more relevant to the American audience, authors like Frank Norris and Stephen Crane each tailoring their naturalistic novels to cater to their respective times. Since then, the genre has gone as a style that is as difficult to define as it is to accept, American Naturalism receiving criticisms and detractions with each novel written. Nevertheless, the genre has endured and only further adapted with America’s constantly changing social climate. To assess and examine the adaptations in American Naturalism, texts written long-after American Naturalism’s inception were analyzed through Valerie Smith’s theory of intersectionality. Rather than focusing on one particular aspect of a text, Smith’s intersectionality examines multiple components in a subject and examines not only their individual roles but their relationship with one another as well. The novels chosen, Ann Petry’s The Street (1941) and Max Brooks’ World War Z (2006), are first qualified as American Naturalistic texts by way of genre hallmarks before Smith’s theory is applied to show not only how the hallmarks contribute to the novels individually, but how those same identifiers have evolved over time. This thesis focuses primarily on the evolutions in American Naturalism’s narratological method and its expansion of the naturalistic conclusion.
Adrienne Gosselin, PhD (Advisor)
David (Ted) Lardner, PhD (Committee Member)
Stella Singer, PhD (Committee Member)
59 p.
Literature
American Naturalism; horror fiction; zombies; naturalism; narratology; violence; black fiction; max brooks; world war z; ann petry; the street; criticism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Littlejohn, A. (2011). HOPEFUL HOSTILITY:AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN NATURALISM [Master's thesis, Cleveland State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1313609535

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Littlejohn, Amonte. HOPEFUL HOSTILITY:AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN NATURALISM. 2011. Cleveland State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1313609535.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Littlejohn, Amonte. "HOPEFUL HOSTILITY:AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN NATURALISM." Master's thesis, Cleveland State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1313609535

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

csu1313609535
829
© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Cleveland State University and OhioLINK.