John Steinbeck's three novels Tortilla Flat, Cannr Row and Sweet Thursday are significant in the Steinbeck canon. Although having many elements typical of Steinbeck's fiction in general, these novels, which are referred to as the Monterey Trilogy, are unified by common elements that are either unique or handled in an unusual manner. These common elements are setting, tone, themes, structure, and characters. The novels are complementary and form a unified whole. Just as the setting reflects the evolution of Monterey over a period of almost thirty years, so do the other elements reveal a shift in emphasis or attitude indicative of Steinbeck's own changing attitudes. The concluding chapter discusses the particular significance of the Monterey Trilogy as a measure of Steinbeck's ability as artist and craftsman.

Throughout the last three decades, the Arab region has attracted the unwanted attention of the rest of the world because of its spiralling political upheaval. This unrest has caused migration, economic and cultural changes, and eventually a spring of revolutions and protests in demand of reform. Arab countries are now in the spotlight of global current affairs, and all the imperfections regarding their cultural, social, and gender inequalities have surfaced to the foreground. Arab women novelists have been addressing feminist issues for centuries, chipping away at the stereotypical image of the meek and voiceless Arab woman that comes hand in hand with Orientalism. Through their fiction, writers such as Nawal El Saadawi, Hanan Al- Shaykh and Fadia Faqir have promulgated a bold brand of Arab feminist thought. This interdisciplinary thesis explores the Greater Syrian and Egyptian woman's novel written between 1975 and 2007. Through the in-depth analysis of Arab women's novels available in English, I attempt to uncover the many reasons behind today's gender inequality in Greater Syria and Egypt. By examining contemporary Arabic narrative styles and cultivating traditional Arab story-telling methods, the creative element of this thesis uses fiction to expose social and political injustice. The novel within this thesis challenges different forms of patriarchy that are dominant in the region, and endeavours to document a historical, on-going revolution.

Mon projet de thèse démontre comment le genre de la bande dessinée peut être mobilisé de façon à déstabiliser les idéologies identitaires dominantes dans un contexte autobiographique. À partir de théories contemporaines de récits de vie et de leurs emphase sur la construction du sujet au travers du processus autobiographique, j’explore les façons par lesquelles les propriétés formelles de la bande dessinée permettent aux artistes féminines et minoritaires d’affirmer leurs subjectivités et de s’opposer aux idéaux hégémoniques reliés à la représentation du genre, du traumatisme, de la sexualité, de l’ethnicité, et du handicap, en s’auto-incarnant à même la page de bande dessinée. Par une analyse visuelle formelle, ma thèse prouve que les esthétiques hyper-personnelles du dessin à la main découlant d’une forme ancrée dans l’instabilité générique et le (re)mixage continu des codes verbaux et visuels permettent aux artistes de déstabiliser les régimes de représentation conventionnels dans une danse complexe d’appropriation et de resignification qui demeure toujours ouverte à la création de nouveaux sens. Suite à l’introduction, mon second chapitre explique la résistance de Julie Doucet par rapport aux plaisirs visuels découlant de la contemplation des femmes dans la bande dessinée par son utilisation du concept originairement misogyne de la matérialité féminine grotesque comme principe génératif à partir duquel elle articule une critique de la forme et du contenu des représentations normatives et restrictives du corps féminin. Le troisième chapitre considère la capacité de la bande dessinée à représenter le traumatisme, et se penche sur les efforts de Phoebe Gloeckner visant à faire face aux abus sexuels de son enfance par l’entremise d’un retour récursif sur des souvenirs visuels fondamentaux. Le chapitre suivant maintient que la nature sérielle de la bande dessinée, sa multimodalité et son association à la culture zine, fournissent à Ariel Schrag les outils nécessaires pour expérimenter sur les codes visuels et verbaux de façon à décrire et à affirmer le sens identitaire en flux de l’adolescent queer dans sa quadrilogie expérimentale Künstlerroman. Le cinquième chapitre suggère que l’artiste de provenance Libanaise Toufic El Rassi utilise la forme visuelle pour dénoncer les mécanismes générateurs de préjugés anti-Arabes, et qu’il affirme son identité grâce au pouvoir de rhétorique temporaire que lui procure l’incarnation d’un stéréotype connu. Mon dernier chapitre démontre comment Al Davison emploie la bande dessinée pour mettre en scène des rencontres d’observations dynamiques avec le spectateur implicite pouvant potentiellement aider l’auteur à éviter le regard objectivant généralement associé à la perception du handicap. / This dissertation argues that the comics form can be mobilized to destabilize dominant notions of identity in an autobiographical context. Drawing on current theories of life writing that stress the construction of the self through the autobiographical process, it explores how the specific formal properties of comics provide opportunities for women and minority artists to assert subjectivity and contend with hegemonic ideas concerning the representation of gender, trauma, sexuality, ethnicity, and disability through the embodiment of the self on the comics page. Through formal visual analysis, the dissertation shows how the highly personal and hand-drawn aesthetics of a form that thrives on generic instability and the continual (re)mixing of verbal and visual codes allows artists to destabilize conventional representational schemes in a complex dance of appropriation and resignification that is always open to the creation of new meanings. Following the introduction, Chapter 2 shows how Julie Doucet resists the visual pleasure associated with looking at women in comics by using the originally misogynistic concept of grotesque female materiality as a generative principle from where she articulates a critique in both form and content of normative and restricting representations of the female body. Chapter 3 examines the comics form’s ability to depict trauma, and focuses on Phoebe Gloeckner’s attempts to come to terms with childhood sexual abuse through a recursive return to key visual memories. Chapter 4 argues that the form’s serial nature, multimodality, and association with zine culture provides Ariel Schrag with the tools to experiment with visual and verbal codes in order to delineate and assert a sense of the in-flux and queer teenage self in an experimental four-volume Künstlerroman. Chapter 5 argues that Lebanese-born artist Toufic El Rassi uses the visual form to expose the mechanism behind the production of anti-Arab prejudice, and that he asserts personal identity through the temporary rhetorical power afforded by the inhabitation of a known stereotype. Chapter 6 shows how Al Davison employs the comics form to stage dynamic staring encounters with the implied observer that have the potential to help the author elude the objectifying gaze commonly associated with looking at disability.

The dissertation entitled "Religious Issues in Karolina Světlá's Ještěd Novels" deals with an analysis of the Ještěd Novels by the author Karolina Světlá. It characterises the depiction of vernacular devoutness in the novels by means of an analysis of the changes in the characters' religious consciousness and their subsequent interpretation. The paper confronts the fictional depiction of the various forms of religiousness with real historic facts; the most important factors of the religious positions of the "long" 19th century are verified on the scale of the Ještěd Novels. The objective of the paper is to shed light on the progressive qualitative changes in Karolina Světlá's works of prose and interpret them against the backdrop of the defined problem area, which is the period concept of devoutness and attitudes to faith as such.

Frihet är ett viktigt tema under nittonhundratalet, kanske särskilt decennierna omkring 1970 med allt vad den tiden innehåller av frigörelsekamp, uppror mot gamla traditioner, individualism och kollektivism. Den här avhandlingen spårar det temat genom tre genrer i den svenska litteraturen, från sextiotalet och framåt: den självbiografiska barndomsskildringen, reseskildringen och science fiction-romanen. De olika genrerna erbjuder olika möjligheter för en författare att diskutera och gestalta frihetstemat, explicit och implicit. Skilda narratologiska utgångspunkter skapar skilda förutsättningar. Genomgående frågeställningar är vilka hinder som finns för att friheten ska kunna uppnås, vilka utvägar mot friheten som ändå existerar och vilka innebörder frihetsbegreppet ges. Avslutningsvis diskuteras resultaten i förhållande till de skilda genrevillkoren men även till det som texterna har gemensamt, exempelvis utopiska drag, mötet med det obekanta och främmande, sökandet efter en subjektiv sanning eller 1968-årens tidsanda. På så sätt kan något sägas om den sköna litteraturens särart jämfört med andra slags texter. / Freedom is an important theme of the twentieth century, perhaps particularly during the decades around 1970, that time of struggle for liberation, the rebellion against the old ways, of individualism and collectivism. This thesis traces that theme through three genres of Swedish literature, from the sixties onwards: the autobiographical childhood novel, the travelogue and the science fiction novel. The different genres offer different possibilities for an author to discuss and depict the theme of freedom, explicitly and implicitly. Different narratological starting points create different conditions. Some returning issues are which restrictions on, opportunities for and meanings of freedom are visible in the texts. Finally, the results are discussed in relation to the different conventions of genre but also in relation to what the texts have in common, such as features of utopia, the encounter with the unfamiliar and strange, the search for a subjective truth or the zeitgeist of the year 1968. In that way, something can be said about the specific nature of fictive or partly fictive texts compared to other kinds of prose.

Thesis (M.A. (English))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2016. / This dissertation examines how particular combinations of image and text in sequential art reflect specific social, historical and political contexts. The analysis of how meaning is constructed is done through consideration of three iterations of the Batman superhero character, and argues for an eventual postmodernisation of the character. The first case study presented is the original version of Batman as it debuted in 1939, which naturally established much of the substance from which later depictions would take their cues. The second case study used is the “camp” 1960s TV series starring Adam West, which was influenced by the highly restricted Batman comics under the Comics Code Authority established in 1954. The main case study, and the central focus of this dissertation, is Batman – Arkham Asylum (1989), a graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean, the latest of the three iterations, which represents the eventual disruption of the enforced or constructed harmony evident in the earlier versions of the character into a fracturing and fragmentation both of the world and the self. It is a version of Batman that privileges the interiority and psychological complexity of the character, representing a culmination of the 1980s shift toward a more mature audience with its incorporation of horror, violence and mental turmoil. These three examples are compared and contrasted, showing how each constructs a particular meaning using its own unique combination of image and text. Having established a historicity for the character and having constructed an argument for how Batman as a cultural icon echoes shifts in society, the focus of the dissertation is transferred to a deeper analysis of Arkham and attempts to trace more explicitly its status as a postmodern text by examining its fragmentary nature, its use of intertextuality and how meaning in Arkham is constructed in the mind. Following this, an exploration of the central theme of madness in the graphic novel is provided in order to show how the work both critiques the representation of madness in fiction as well as how the liminal setting of the asylum functions as part of the postmodernisation of Batman by creating a “landscape of madness” where irrationality and the uncanny dominate reality, in contrast to the logical, “left-brain” treatment of Batman which had become common prior to Arkham Asylum. The analysis of the three iterations is shaped by WTJ Mitchell’s theories on imagetext relationships and additionally by the principles of sequential art outlined by Scott McCloud. The postmodern theoretical framework is informed by John Docker’s explorations of fragmentation, intertextuality, inversion and the Carnivalesque. Additionally, the writings of Lillian Feder and Michel Foucault will inform the discussion of madness in Arkham. / GR2017

The problem with which this study is concerned is that of demonstrating the importance of communication and travel in the Siglo de Oro as seen in selected picaresque novels. This study is divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter includes a literary and chronological history of the period and, in the interest of clarity, a plot summary of the selected picaresque novels. The second, third and fourth chapters discuss the various means of urban, rural and maritime communication and travel. The concluding chapter summarizes the study and asserts that communication and travel were of utmost importance during the Siglo LeQ ro and that the picaresque novel, describing faithfully the society that produced it, is a valuable data source for research of this kind.

À travers une enquête qualitative auprès de lecteurs et lectrices de romans, cette thèse se propose d’interroger l’influence de la position et de la trajectoire sociales des publics sur leurs choix de lecture ainsi que sur leurs pratiques de recours à la prescription littéraire, à l’ère numérique.Face à une offre éditoriale pléthorique, lecteurs et lectrices se trouvent en effet en situation d’incertitude quant à la qualité des œuvres littéraires. Il s’agit alors d’interroger les influences respectives et cumulées d’instances de prescription et de recommandation — en tant qu’elles contribuent à produire de la valeur — telles que la prescription scolaire, la prescription médiatique, les prix littéraires, les professionnels du livre ou encore les groupes de pairs. L’intérêt que portent les lecteurs interrogés aux discours produits par ces instances de légitimation est mis en relation avec leur position sociale ainsi que leur trajectoire — en mettant l’accent sur le contexte dans lequel leur goût et leur pratique se sont développés, et sur les modalités de la pratique. Ce faisant, ce travail de recherche — fondé sur 36 entretiens semi-directifs et 457 questionnaires menés auprès de lecteurs parisiens et actifs — a pour objectifs d’apporter via l’angle du choix une meilleure compréhension des pratiques de lecture ainsi que des usages de la prescription littéraire. / This thesis looks at participants’ interests in the discourses of legitimizing bodies, depending on their social class backgrounds and locations, in the digital era. Confronted to an overabundant offer, this study examines participants’ interests in the discourses of legitimizing bodies, depending on their social class backgrounds and locations. In a context where readers often remain unsure about the quality of literary works, this thesis looks at the wide variety of institutions/intermediaries that contribute to the production of value such as school, media, literary awards, booksellers, publishers and peer groups. The aims of this research work are to provide a better understanding of reading practices and of the uses of literary prescription. Methodologically, this study is drawn from 457 questionnaires and 36 interviews of participant 18-65 aged and based around Paris who read a book in the last 12 months.The study finds that the consumption of book recommendations depends on social class location. Although more dependent on recommendations to reduce the uncertainty of the quality of books, occasional readers – most often working and middle class participants – consume less book recommendations. To the contrary, the results suggests that the participants with a higher cultural capital i.e. those who are familiar with the wide variety of books available, tend to consume more recommendations, albeit with detachment.

Esta tese tem a preocupação de examinar as diferenças e similaridades entre as Novelas amorosas y ejemplares (1637) e sua segunda parte, Desengaños amorosos (1647). Também busca elucidar a conexão entre os inflamados discursos que denunciam os constructos culturais que sustentam a superioridade do homem e a inferioridade da mulher e o trágico fim das personagens femininas de Desengaños amorosos. Ainda, analisar como se organiza e apresenta a defesa da mulher, traço marcante das coletâneas, que foi discutida pela crítica do século XX a partir das diretrizes do feminismo. Apoiando-se nos tratados de arte poética vigentes no século XVII, nos tratados de conduta, nas doutrinas filosóficas, políticas e religiosas que norteavam as práticas sociais e as artes do período, esta pesquisa mostra os aspectos que distinguem e, concomitantemente, unem as duas coletâneas. Com este suporte, distingue a função dos discursos de moldura e dos contos, assinalando sua coerência. Além disso, demonstra que a defesa da mulher se expressa por meio do elogio à virtude e o vitupério dos vícios, de acordo com os padrões éticos e religiosos da Contra Reforma, mas também em consonância com as reivindicações das mulheres da Espanha seiscentista. Mediante a análise da moldura e de dois contos de cada coletânea, a tese faz notar a complexa organização estrutural da obra ao indicar como o significado de cada conto se enriquece quando perfilado aos demais de sua coletânea e, sucessivamente, quando se somam Novelas e Desengaños. Tal disposição revela que a obra de Zayas segue um projeto de unidade. Seu cuidadoso planejamento e diligente execução tornam patente que a escritora compete com a invenção de seus contemporâneos, com vistas a granjear a autorização da escrita feminina e o consecutivo ingresso da mulher no círculo dos autores profissionais. Confirmando as freqüentes denúncias de Zayas sobre a depreciação da mulher nas belas letras da primeira metade do século XVII, a tese propõe que a contista faz de sua obra uma réplica ao difundido modelo das pícaras, celestinas e cortesãs. Conseqüentemente, ao representar mulheres que são exemplo de virtude e homens que são motivo de desengano, por causa de seus vícios, a engenhosa autora inverte os paradigmas e incita o leitor a rejeitar a generalizada difamação da mulher, apresentando-lhe persuasivas razões para respeitá-la e dignificá-la. / This paper focuses on the examination of the differences and similarities existing in Novelas amorosas y ejemplares (1637) and its second part, Desengaños amorosos (1647). It also tries to illuminate the connection between the heated arguments that denounce the cultural conventions supporting mans superiority, womans inferiority, and the tragic end of the female characters in Desengaños amorosos. Moreover, it analyzes how the defense of the woman is organized and presented, such defense is a remarkable trait of the collections of writings that had been discussed by the 20th. Century critics, bearing in mind the feminist conductress. Supported on the treatises about ars poetica present in the 17th. Century, on the treatises about behavior, on the philosophical, political and religious doctrines that guided the social practices and the arts of such period, this research shows the aspects that distinguish and, at the same time, join both collections. With this support, it highlights the function of the frame speeches and tales, emphasizing its coherence. Besides, it shows that the defense of the woman is expressed by means of praise to virtue and invective against vices, according to the ethical and religious patterns of the Counter-Reformation, but also relating to the 17th. Century Spanish womens demands. By means of the analysis of the frame and of two short novels of each collection, this paper brings to mind the complex structural organization of the work, while showing how the meaning of each short tale is enriched when it is placed alongside the other stories of its collection and successively, when Novelas and Desengaños are added to. Such organization reveals that the works by Zayas follow a project of unit. Her careful planning and attentive execution makes it clear that the writer competes against the invention of her contemporaries, aiming to receive the authorization of the womens writing and the consequent admission of the woman in the circle of professional authors. Confirming Zayas frequent accusation against womens detraction in the belles-lettres of the 17th. Century first half, the thesis proposes that the short-story writer makes up her own work as a response to the widespread model of female picaroons, celestinas (panderesses) and courtesans. As a consequence, when representing women who are examples of virtue and men who are a reason for disillusion because of their faults, the ingenious writer inverts the paradigms and encourages the reader to reject the generalized slander against women, presenting persuasive reasons for respecting and dignifying them.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo comparativo tendo como objetos de investigação os romances A varanda do frangipani (2007), de Mia Couto, e O filho da mãe (2009), de Bernardo Carvalho. Considerando que os dois romances se apresentam como narrativas ligadas ao gênero literário romance policial, buscou-se analisar de que maneiras tais romances apresentam modalizações e reformulações em relação aos aspectos formais e estruturais deste gênero. A partir destas constatações, a investigação debruça-se sobre os conflitos gerados pelas relações de gênero, enfatizando os encontrados na elaboração das identidades masculinas. Por fim, avalia-se de que maneira a violência se apresenta nas narrativas, tendo como princípio que nelas o crime fora suplantado por outras demandas. / This dissertation presents a comparative study that has as its main subject the novels \"A varanda do frangipani\" (2007), by Mia Couto, and \"O filho da mãe\" (2009), by Bernardo de Carvalho. Taking into account that both novels present themselves as narratives pertaining to the crime romance literary genre, the study analyses in which manner these romances present modalization and reestructuring in respect to the formal and structural aspects of the genre. From these findings, the investigation delves into the conflicts created by gender relations, emphasizing those found in the elaboration of masculine identities. At last, it is assessed in which manners violence is presented in these narratives, having as a principle that in them crime has been superseded by other demands.