This paper examines Herman Melvilles Pierre, and the novels critical reception, in order to investigate and theorize the relevance of Melvilles work for Caribbean writers and historians. This work will contend that the mode in which Melville engages with historical archives, pushes the boundaries between fiction and history, and troubles traditional historiographical techniques of his time is central to the attractiveness of Melvilles works for peoples whose histories were in the process of, and continue to be in the process of, being vigorously suppressed. Melville practices a mode of literary historiography that bears distinct convergences with the historiographical techniques of Caribbean writers like CLR James, Aimé Césaire and Michel-Rolph Trouillot. Furthermore, I examine the critical reception of Melvilles narrative as exemplary of a public discourse of suppression that exposes not only the mechanisms of power in the production of both history and literature, but also the cultural, political, and ideological anxieties of a mid-19th century United States on the brink on civil war.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-07032012-115958 |
| Date | 23 July 2012 |
| Creators | Samuel, Petal |
| Contributors | Dr. Colin Dayan |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07032012-115958/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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