My thesis is an argument that writing is a struggle of imprisonment and freedom. I argue that a text gains a certain level of power, such that it controls the writer, reader, and critic alike. Yet at the same time, the work presents all of these people with a possibility of freedom, seducing them in with the task of sharing the text's `secret' or deeper meaning via indirect communication. This `imprisonment' is voluntary if the reader wishes to engage with the text in a way that opens the text for a revelation of a deeper meaning, unique to each reader. The writer offers his text as a `gift', an idea heavily influenced by Jacques Derrida's writings in The Gift of Death. I argue that that the presence and absence of the secret is one element of the author's work, which creates the relationship of confinement and freedom identified with writing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uoregon.edu/oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/13304 |
| Date | 03 October 2013 |
| Creators | Mahan, William |
| Contributors | Stern, Michael |
| Publisher | University of Oregon |
| Source Sets | University of Oregon |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Rights | All Rights Reserved. |
Page generated in 0.0023 seconds