Reading is considered to be one of the main factors for success throughout the compulsory education and into the years in upper secondary school, and is often connected with instrumental values, such as better grades and higher level of empathy. However, good readers are seldom drawn to books as means to improve their grades, but enjoy reading in its own right. The curriculum for for the upper secondary education in Swedish on the other hand stipulates that students should learn to analyse literature – i.e. learn how to do a reading rather than develop as readers.This study looks at two groups of upper secondary school students discussing two different young-adult novels, and analyses the recordings from a reader-response perspective. As readers they focus mainly on the plot, and their knowledge of story line and genre seems to draw heavily from film, but they also come to the text with different expectations and experiences, which influence their reading. An initial resistance for one reader could be the same factor making the book too trivial for another. Possible implications for teachers are that consideration for the aim of the reading should be made when choosing books for students, as it might be counterproductive to expect inexperienced readers to perform literary analysis if the goal is to develop reading.

The objective of this study is to investigate what the narrative of The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas (Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis), read in english translation by Herbert Musurillo, seeks to persuade its reader about, and how. The study takes a theoretical starting point in professor Ross S. Kraemer’s critical perspective on ancient narratives about women as sources not necessarily communicating historical truths and actualities of real women in the ancient world, but are more likely to be narratives consciously constructed by male authors using female characters as rhetorical tools to discuss or explore differing subjects such as gender and identity. Through the method of narrative criticism and reader-response criticism this study answers the following research questions: how are women being described in the narrative of The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, and what function(s) do these descriptions of women have in the narrative of The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas?  The study shows that women are described as either weak feminine mothers or, according to Greco-Roman antique conceptions of gender and sexuality, a masculine male, transformed from a former state of femininity and motherhood. The descriptions are closely tied to the bodies of the women and there is a clear hierarchy where the masculine martyr is ascribed a higher status with a point of view closely related to that of God’s. The descriptions of women have both ideological and theological functions as a way to discuss questions regarding power, motherhood and masculinity. The hierarchy between the characters functions as a rhetorical tool to exemplify what can stand in the way for christians to seek martyrdom, which in the perspective of the narrative is the way someone, through her body and masculine behaviour in the face of torture and sexual humiliation, can communicate the truth about God’s power to the assembled crowds of onlookers. Contrary to previous studies, this study shows that the text communicates ascetic tendencies towards its readers concerning motherhood and are not to be interpreted as a celebration of women or femininity. The descriptions of women functions as a way to demonise the empire - but not the empire's perspective on gender. This is also a contrast to previous feminist studies of the text. The masculine male transformed from a former phase of femininity and motherhood is the exception that proves the rule about the perception of female weakness and lower status in power. The text appropriates the gender power order and the Greco-Roman ancient construction of gender and sexuality to ascribe the martyrs and God the true power. The rhetoric of female weakness being transformed in to masculine strength, self-restraint and body control through the works of God, functions to convince readers about the narratives ideological perspective and message about the martyrs being the true rulers. The motive is that the antagonist, the empire, the main masculine power in the world, is defeated and proven to be false through submissive feminisation.

This essay analyses John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars (2012) with a theoretical approach of reader-response theory to show how the potential interpretations of the gaps in the novel make it a relevant choice of literary work for EFL education. The essay also examines whether the concept of gaps can be used as a tool in literary analysis. The concept of gaps stem from Wolfgang Iser’s ideas on the individual reader, which in turn is one of the perspectives, together with Stanley Fish’s interpretative communities, from which the gaps found in The Fault in Our Stars are analysed. The results are connected to a list of criteria, created by applying the criteria of English syllabuses for upper secondary school by the Swedish National Agency for Education to a revised version of Janice Bland’s list of what constitutes a good literary work for the classroom. The result is that The Fault in Our Stars covers difficult and relatable topics and emotions, which enables productive discussions that challenge students’ world views and help develop their interpretative skills. The findings also show that the novel bears literary complexity, with its prevalent use of metaphors and similes, as well as clear intertextuality with typically canonical works. The analysis also shows how the concept of gaps are an effective tool for interpretation in literary analysis. In conclusion, The Fault in Our Stars is a suitable and comprehensive choice of YA literature in the upper secondary school EFL classroom.

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This dissertation undertakes a comparative study of certain works of literature concerning Vietnamese and American troops during the United States’ involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. My assumption was that during war it is possible to conclude that enemy forces behave in the same manner in order to reach the identical goal, that of victory over the ‘other’ side. I sought to ascertain how under the selfsame conditions they could be considered as enemies. Divided only by the 17th Parallel: A Study of Similarities Between American and Vietnamese Soldiers in Selected Works By close reading of six texts, three from Vietnamese and three from American perspectives, I have attempted to extract their similar views from each in order to create a context in which the likeness of each side is demonstrated. This was achieved by exploring four themes: those of landscape, time, conflict and ghosts. It was discovered that the protagonists’ behaviour was the same and that rather than being the others’ adversary their true enemies were found within their own ranks. The results indicate that a wider perspective should be adopted on war than one which regards it as a simplistic binary consisting of two opposing sides. Contrary to any supposition that enemies must remain separated, there is more than enough evidence for one to conclude that they actually occupied mutual psychological territory. Key Terms: Landscape, time, ghosts, psychological damage, Reader Response, CSR, PTSD, New Historicism, dehumanisation, conditions of war, 1954 Geneva Agreement, ideology, war literature. / English Literature / M.A. (English Literature)