Racial attitudes in Melville's 'Benito Cereno' and Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Racial attitudes in Melville's 'Benito Cereno' and Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn' by Ole Wagner, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ole Wagner ISBN: 9783640362998
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: July 1, 2009
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Ole Wagner
ISBN: 9783640362998
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: July 1, 2009
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Examination Thesis from the year 2008 in 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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Examination Thesis from the year 2008 in 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.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book The Critical Reception of Barack Obama in American Rap Music by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Is the EU Fiscal Compact enough to avoid another Euro Crisis? by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book The police forces of Northern Ireland - history, perception and problems by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Journalism in Times of War by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Othello - A feminist Shakespeare and a drama about a handkerchief by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Structure of Legal Acts which Determine the Payable Obligations of Municipal Authorities in European Countries by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Studying The Iterative Principal Axis Transformation algorithm and its correctness according to X^2-test proposed by Rippe D.D. using R program by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Humor in Comic Strips: A pragmatic Analysis of 'Nemi' by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book The Total Cultural Solution by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. Teaching Literature in the English Classroom by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Measuring Customer Satisfaction to Identify Areas of Sales by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Enhancing the Disaster Resilience of Cities within the East African Community by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Varieties of literary interpretations of jazz in American writings of the 1950s and 1960s by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book The new security threats - Cyberterror by Ole Wagner
Cover of the book Leadership of the Generation Z. What will be the challenges for companies in the future? by Ole Wagner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy