The Perfect Fence

Untangling the Meanings of Barbed Wire

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book The Perfect Fence by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott, Texas A&M University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott ISBN: 9781623495831
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press Publication: December 1, 2017
Imprint: Texas A&M University Press Language: English
Author: Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
ISBN: 9781623495831
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Publication: December 1, 2017
Imprint: Texas A&M University Press
Language: English

Barbed wire is made of two strands of galvanized steel wire twisted together for strength and to hold sharp barbs in place. As creative advertisers sought ways to make an inherently dangerous product attractive to customers concerned about the welfare of their livestock, and as barbed wire became commonplace on battlefields and in concentration camps, the fence accrued a fascinating and troubling range of meanings beyond the material facts of its construction.

In The Perfect Fence, Lyn Ellen Bennett and Scott Abbott explore the multiple uses and meanings of barbed wire, a technological innovation that contributes to America’s shift from a pastoral ideal to an industrial one. They survey the vigorous public debate over the benign or “infernal” fence, investigate legislative attempts to ban or regulate wire fences as a result of public outcry, and demonstrate how the industry responded to ameliorate the image of its barbed product.

Because of the rich metaphorical possibilities suggested by a fence that controls through pain, barbed wire developed into an important motif in works of literature from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

Early advertisements proclaimed that barbed wire was “the perfect fence,” keeping “the ins from being outs, and the outs from being ins.” Bennett and Abbott conclude that while barbed wire is not the perfect fence touted by manufacturers, it is indeed a meaningful thing that continues to influence American identities.

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

Barbed wire is made of two strands of galvanized steel wire twisted together for strength and to hold sharp barbs in place. As creative advertisers sought ways to make an inherently dangerous product attractive to customers concerned about the welfare of their livestock, and as barbed wire became commonplace on battlefields and in concentration camps, the fence accrued a fascinating and troubling range of meanings beyond the material facts of its construction.

In The Perfect Fence, Lyn Ellen Bennett and Scott Abbott explore the multiple uses and meanings of barbed wire, a technological innovation that contributes to America’s shift from a pastoral ideal to an industrial one. They survey the vigorous public debate over the benign or “infernal” fence, investigate legislative attempts to ban or regulate wire fences as a result of public outcry, and demonstrate how the industry responded to ameliorate the image of its barbed product.

Because of the rich metaphorical possibilities suggested by a fence that controls through pain, barbed wire developed into an important motif in works of literature from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

Early advertisements proclaimed that barbed wire was “the perfect fence,” keeping “the ins from being outs, and the outs from being ins.” Bennett and Abbott conclude that while barbed wire is not the perfect fence touted by manufacturers, it is indeed a meaningful thing that continues to influence American identities.

More books from Texas A&M University Press

Cover of the book Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Connecting with South Africa by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book To Bataan and Back by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book LBJ and Grassroots Federalism by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Electric City by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book When Things Went Right by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Unnatural Texas? by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Richard E. Wainerdi and the Texas Medical Center by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Book of Texas Birds by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Pioneer Jewish Texans by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book A Texas Suffragist by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Kent Finlay, Dreamer by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Pickers and Poets by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowl Hunting by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
Cover of the book Texans on the Brink by Lyn Ellen Bennett, Scott Abbott
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