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Beckett, Barthelme, and Vonnegut : finding hope in meaninglessness

This thesis is a study of the shifting philosophical trends in the works of Samuel Beckett, Donald Barthelme, and Kurt Vonnegut as representations of a greater shift from modernism to postmodernism. I have chosen to explore Beckett's plays Waiting for Godot and Krapp's Last Tape, Barthelme's short stories "Nothing: A Preliminary Account," "The New Music," and "Kierkegaard Unfair to Schlegal," and Vonnegut's book Timequake to see how each author seeks to find a new hope in the face of a collapsed causal system. This work is an examination of the form and content of each author's work as it pertains to their own philosophical standing and in relation to the other two authors' works. I argue that each author finds a different hope for humanity depending on their place among the philosophical trends during their time. / Graduation date: 2012

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/29094
Date16 April 2012
CreatorsBritten, Alex M.
ContributorsDaugherty, Tracy
Source SetsOregon State University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation

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