Browsing by Author "Mary Helen Thuente, Committee Chair"

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The (De)Evolution of the Irish Anti-hero from Oisin's Fabled Isle to McDonagh's Lonesome West
(2007-12-10) Turney, Aaron Daves; Jon Thompson, Committee Member; Carmine Prioli, Committee Member; Mary Helen Thuente, Committee Chair
General Thesis: There is a constant, observable conflict in 20th century Irish drama between traditional pagan Irish values and those imported first by Christian missionaries and later by English invaders. Often, dramatic works of this period portray a single character confronting those forces that represent modernity. The character's heroism usually remains obscured by modern standards because he appears in the form of a tramp, an outcast, or even a violent criminal. But the motif is clear: characters such as these are heroic in the traditional Irish sense because they stand as resistors to foreign values that threaten their culture. In the contexts of the plots these characters are not stock heroes, but instead are anti-heroes alienated by events and circumstances and judged by modern standards. Such works do contain clearly defined heroes⁄heroines who operate according to accepted modern values. The rebellious, shocking, or violent behavior of the anti-hero or anti-heroine is put in juxtaposition. The project begins with an analysis of the Oisin and St. Patrick legend as the cornerstone emblem of the tug-of-war between Irish tradition and foreign modernity, highlighting the divergence in both the language and the values of those characters. The motif established with the Oisin and St. Patrick tale (the motif in which the invasion of the imported god with foreign values threatens preexisting Irish values recurs in Irish drama throughout the 20th century. My intention is to show that the characters, such as Oisin, who can not fit the mold of modernity, also must not. In their inability to adapt, they stand as misfits in their own time, but also as preservers of an Irish tradition that predates colonialism and only s in the fringes of modern Irish society. And there is your anti-hero: not always palatable to the audience (who may be caught up in the immediacy of dramatic events), but always true to dreaming and mythmaking as well as rebellious in behavior, language, verse, or song. The political intensity of the 20th century is portrayed in generated works of drama that often are reducible to that same heroic⁄anti-heroic motif. My project will follow a (flexible) chronology of works that will show the (de)evolution of this anti-hero motif beginning with Oisin, followed by characters of J.M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, Brendan Behan, and finally Martin McDonagh. My intended focus is on the anti-hero's life in a relative vacuum, with a specific focus on dialectical expressions, rebellious, even violent behavior, and a general propensity to misunderstand, if not ignore altogether, modern conventions. To clarify, the term "(de)evolution" is appropriate because the characters, as the century progresses, become increasingly antisocial in their sentiments and behavior.
The Evolution of Nancy Drew, Cultural Icon: Readers, Writers, and Fanfiction Authors
(2007-04-06) Merrill, Ashley; Mary Helen Thuente, Committee Chair; John Kessel, Committee Member; David M. Rieder, Committee Member
Nancy Drew is widely recognized as an influential American cultural icon. In this paper I make a detailed examination of Nancy's initial characterization as girl sleuth in the first ten books of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, published in the 1930s. I spend another chapter examining the initial volumes of later Nancy Drew series books, specifically the 1960s rewritten texts, the 1980s-90s Nancy Drew Files series, and the contemporary Girl Detective series. My penultimate chapter discusses Nancy Drew as realized in fanfiction, or stories written by readers and fans. My emphasis is on explaining Nancy's appeal as a cultural icon and the ways fanfiction authors reinvent and appropriate that icon for their own purposes in stories. To this end I cite fanfic writers and readers' response to why they read and write Nancy Drew fanfiction, and I analyze the content and function of a sample of stories written by Nancy Drew fans. I conclude that Nancy's appeal and the basis of her status as cultural icon is due to her unique nature as a figure frozen in transition between adolescence and adulthood, along with her more conventionally admirable traits. Her Everygirl appearance when removed from that unique matrix makes her extremely adaptable to readers for their own purposes, both within the context of fanfiction and without.
"Faithful Departed": Tracing the Themes of Exile and Betrayal through James Joyce's Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Exiles
(2008-04-03) Jenkins, Elizabeth Speight; Mary Helen Thuente, Committee Chair; Tom Lisk, Committee Member; Jon Thompson, Committee Member
James Joyce left Ireland in 1904 because he felt betrayed by the publishing industry, several close friends, and the Irish Catholic Church. Although he returned to visit four times, he remained an artist in exile until his death in 1941. Manifest in his writing are feelings of exile and betrayal which reflect his own love⁄hate relationship with Ireland. In Dubliners, Joyce develops several different degrees of exile. In "Eveline," he presents a young girl who longs for physical exile, but in order to do so she must betray her duty to her father, her dead mother, and the Catholic Church. She ultimately cannot achieve physical exile, thereby betraying her future husband. In "A Painful Case," Joyce creates an "inner exile," one who, although he lives in Dublin, is estranged from it culturally and socially. Through his relationship with Mrs. Sinico, he experiences an interpersonal relationship, which, after it ends, leaves him unable to return to his life alienated from the city in which he lives. Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man depicts the journey of Stephen Dedalus from idealistic school boy to exile. In what most critics see as his most autobiographical work, young Stephen inherits many situations Joyce faced as a young man in Dublin. Stephen, who initially trusts the cultural and religious institutions of Ireland, learns through a series of betrayals that physical exile is necessary for him to become an artist. Exiles, Joyce's only existing play, depicts the struggle of a writer who, after living in Rome, has returned to Dublin. Richard Rowan longs to be betrayed by his wife to atone for his years of infidelity. Joyce uses the element of betrayal to demonstrate the ways in which it precipitates exile.
From Laughter to Tears: What is it About Judy Blume?
(2007-04-06) Tagsold, Jennifer Tingen; Jason Miller, Committee Member; Deborah Hooker, Committee Member; Mary Helen Thuente, Committee Chair
What is it that everyone loves about Judy Blume? I propose that Judy Blume is so popular and loved by young adults because of the candor, humor, and comfort that her novels never fail to provide. She has a way of letting young adults know that everything is going to be just fine. Her impact has affected millions over the years. Specific moments from Forever, Blubber, and Tiger Eyes illustrate Blume's candor and humorous way of viewing serious, realistic matters, from death and sexuality to being painfully humiliated due to one's personal appearance. These literary moments contain a great deal of pathos; they make readers laugh out loud or shed tears through Blume's distinctively candid creativity. In Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish they could Tell You, Blume has helped parents see life through their children's eyes. She provides letters from children who have written to her over the years for all readers to see that childhood is not as easy as adults often think it is. These letters provide a glimpse of Blume's empathy with young adulthood that makes her so appealing to readers of all ages. Examining these novels will allow me to select moments from Blume's writing that illustrate young adult experiences in a humorous, sad, or realistic light. It is during these moments that the reader is closest to and absorbed in the characters in Forever, Blubber, and Tiger Eyes. Exploring Blume's life experiences, awards, and writing style helps to provide the answer to what it is about Judy Blume that makes her such a treasured young adult author.