No description available.

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Computer Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

This dissertation seeks t o achieve three objectives: (1) to draw attention to the genre of the "Dorfgeschichte," (2) to examine "Dorfgeschichten" which were highly acclaimed in nineteenth century Germany, but are dismissed by literary scholarship today, (3) and most importantly, to adjust decades of inveterate and misleading critical responses with regard to the writers Berthold Auerbach and Jeremias Gotthelf. Although Auerbach's Schwarzwalder Dorfgeschichten were received with great enthusiasm by the literati in nineteenth century Germany, his contribution to the genre is diminished by literary critics and historians today. Some, such as Hermann Boeschenstein, claim that the author "was merely ... sugar-coating the realities of peasant life , while having no real contacts with it . "On the other hand, although the majority of Gotthelfs shorter narrative works receive little scholarly attention , the consensus of critical opinion in regard to the author is that he possessed an "unexcelled insight into the peasant's inner life ." On the basis of my close analysis of Auerbach's and Gotthelfs respective texts : Schwarzwalder Dorfgeschichten (1843-1854), and Kleinere Erzahlunaen (1838-1852), [More abstract follows]

Long suspected of being frivolous, of cultivating bad taste and of encouraging its reader's chimerical daydreams, the novel, at least after Cervantes, curiously turned against itself in the name of the reality it was once accused of fleeing. In doing so, it changed radically, of course, since it separated itself from the old idealistic romances which it now named as its enemies; but it also remained, more discreetly perhaps, faithful to its origins, i.e. to the lies and illusions whose profound and secret necessity novelists have never ceased to reaffirm. / This dissertation is a meditation on the paradoxical foundation of the novel, which can be defined according to the classical theories of Rene Girard and Mikhail Bakhtin. The former, by assigning the novelist the task of revealing the "novelistic truth", insists on the critical function of the novel, and on the decisiveness of the change brought about by Cervantes; Bakhtin, by placing the character rather than the author at the heart of his reflexion, and by making dialogical "openness" to this character a positive value, subtly defends the necessity of the "romantic lie". / Girard and Bakhtin are both right, as the examples of the three novelists whose "poetics" are analyzed here in light of this paradox illustrate. Paul Valery, though not a novelist in the usual sense, is the creator of Mr Teste, a strange character who lives in perfect conformity with the requirements of the "novelistic truth", but whose life is inconceivable, which makes him a comic figure. Flaubert, enclosing himself in a kind of quiet lucidity, keeps his characters at a distance but still shows a sort of subtle sympathy for them. Finally Balzac, whose posture at first seems more romantic, is no less quiet and distant than Flaubert, albeit in a more discreet way. / These reading exercises, together with theoretical considerations inspired by Bergson's definition of the comic and Kundera's metaphoric definition of the novelist's work as the exploration of being, lead to the idea that the novel is subjected to contradictory requirements between which it does not propose a synthesis, except that of humour -- which is not truly one.

[...] This thesis will be confined to a study of the benevolent gentlemen in Dickens novels, and will attempt to answer such questions as: Who were these men? For what purpose did Dickens create them? What function do they serve in the novels? How great, or how limited, is their scope of action? Did they provide Dickens with his ultimate answers to the problems of human behaviour? Chapter I will discuss the background, origin and characteristics of the benevolent gentlemen. Chapter II will describe the benevolent gentlemen of the early novels, Mr. Pickcwick (The Picknick Papers, 1836-37), Mr. Brownlow (Oliver Twist, 1837-39), the Cheeryble Brothers (Nicholas Nickleby, 1838-39), Mr. Garland and the Single Gentleman (The Old Curiosity Shop, 1840-41), and Scrooge (A Christmas Carol, 1843). Chapter III will be concerned with the benevolent gentlemen of Dickens' middle period, Mr. Jarndyce (Bleak House, 1852-53), Mr. Sleary (Hard Times, 1854), and Mr. Meagles (Little Dorrit, 1855-57). [...]

This dissertation focuses on the textual analysis of the representation of female and male characters in the drama book Ishashalazi, based on the two drama stories: Kwakuhle kwethu! and Umninimuzi. Both of these stories depict male and female characters differently. The findings of this study suggest that the representation of male characters in the selected stories is generally in line with patriarchal attitudes and reflect women's suppression. Male characters are positively represented by most texts and reflect triumph, intelligence, and strength and these forms of representation affirm the traditionally held beliefs about men as rulers and heads of families. On the contrary, this study finds that the representation of women differs greatly from that in which males are represented. Women are given feminine roles represented negatively as failures or as being capricious and disrespectful of social norms. The division of labour into gender-hyper-specific roles widens the gap of differences in the representation of female and male characters. Situated in the imbalance representation is culture. Texts and Ishashalazi in particular, echo unequal representation of male and female characters by promoting the observation of cultural principles in the roles played by characters. African culture is the major phenomenon that promotes patriarchy and ensures that women remain suppressed by the rule of men. Such processes are perpetuated by texts that we read every day. Texts are powerful means of sending messages. It is through texts that social actions and processes are interpreted and acted. Thus textual meaning is both visible and invisible. Through analysis of the two drama plays the hidden meaning of text is disclosed and it is through this analysis that actions that promote the marginalization of women are challenged. Family is one of the institutions where women are oppressed on the pretext of culture (Cameron. 1990). The findings of this study allude to Cameron's observation that the roles assigned to female characters serve as a valuable clue to the constitution of women's silence. Roles represented by female characters in Ishashalazi do not gain the respect of the greater community instead, some (such as women who violate cultural principles) actually damage the reputation of women and tarnish their image. Thus culture oppresses women while giving opportunities to their male counterparts to dominate and exercise authority over women. It is with such social actions and processes that this study concerns itself. Sexist language and stereotypes used by society continue to pose problems that reflect negatively on women. In responding to such challenges this study analyses the representation of female and male characters from a feminist standpoint and calls for the emancipation of women and children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This master's thesis deals with the reification, or transformation into objects, of the female characters in Michel Butor's La Modification. It is our contention that the two female characters, Henriette and Cecile, function not as characters, but as objects: they are unable to take up subject positions, and they have the same roles as the other inanimate objects in Butor's work. The critical analysis is based in part on existentialist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist theories of subjectivity, as well as feminist rereadings of these theories. We have also used several critical and theoretical works on the object in the "Nouveau Roman", in the novels of Michel Butor, and, specifically, in La Modification. / The first chapter deals with the work of several feminist theoreticians, who claim that woman is objectified in patriarchal society because she has no access to subjectivity, be it through the means of action, of vision, or of language. In the second chapter we discuss critical writings on the treatment and role of the object in Butor's work, writings which claim that these objects have a specific role to contribute to the characterisation of the main character, and to allow this main character to take up a position as subject. In the third chapter we examine the link between these two critical fields. The female characters in La Modification are objectified because they are not able to assume subject positions, they have no access to subjectivity through action, vision, or language. In addition, the female characters have the same narrative role as the other objects in the novel.