This study examines problems of escape in the fictional writings of E. L. Doctorow. It makes clear that the characters in the stories as well as their creator frequently try to break free from restrictions or control--the protagonists physically, the author more theoretically. A description of the nature of the confinements as well as the difficulties associated with getting away reveals much about Doctorow's perception of 20th century American reality and the writer's place in it. Thus, the study moves from a relatively straightforward assessment of the kinds of escape featured in Doctorow's narratives and the way in which these are justified to a more complicated evaluation of Doctorow's situation as a writer in relation to his characters' predicaments and recent critical analyses of his prose.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.69676 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Sautter, Sabine |
| Contributors | Gibian, P. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of English.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001358654, proquestno: AAIMM91774, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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