Sign in
|
Join us
NY Times Bestsellers
Book Genres
Award Winners
Books by Age
List by Subjects
About
Admin Panel
admin detail
Choose library
menu
Google Recommendations
NYT Bestsellers
Award Winners
Library Reads
K-12 Readings
Book Lists by Age
Libraries
Book Genres
Order By
Customer Review
Best Selling Rank
Publication Date
Book Lists
American Children's Awards
Author's Corner
Award Winners by Subject
Mystery
Science Fiction
All
Award Winning Books for Adults
Best Picks for Adults
Best Picks for Boys
Best Picks for girls
Best Recommendations for Kids
Books by Popular Children's Authors
British Children's Awards
Canadian Children's Awards
Children's Awards
Kumon Recommended Reading Lists
Recommendations by Age
Recommendations for Age 4-8
Recommendations for Age 9-12
Recommendations for Baby-3
Recommendations for Young Adult
All
Recommendations by Grades
Recommendations for Grade 1
Recommendations for Grade 2
Recommendations for Grade 3
Recommendations for Grade 4
Recommendations for Grade 5
Recommendations for Grade 6
Recommendations for Grade 7
Recommendations for Grade 8
Recommendations for Grade 9-12
Recommendations for Kindergarten
All
Recommendations by Subjects
Biographies
Books Made into Movies
Character development
Depression
Fantasy
Finance and Business
Friendship
Health
History
Inspirational
Leadership
Nonfiction
Parenting
Read Aloud
Recommendations for Holidays
Reference
Religion
Reluctant readers
Romance
Science
Science Fiction
Sibling Relationship
Sports
Vampires, Werewolves & Zombies
All
School Board Recommendations
Summer Reading Lists
Teacher's Corner
New Releases by J.D. Stahl
J.D. Stahl is the author of
Mark Twain, Culture and Gender (2012)
.
1 result found
Mark Twain, Culture and Gender
by:
J. D. Stahl
release date:
Mar 01, 2012
Find in Library
Check on Amazon
Google Books
Add to Bookshelf
Often regarded as the quintessential American author, Mark Twain in fact mined his knowledge and experience of Europe as assiduously as he did his adventures on the Mississippi and in the American West. In this challenging and original study, J. D. Stall looks closely at various Twain works with European settings and traces the manner in which the great writer redefined European notions of class into American concepts of gender, identity, and society. Stahl not only examines such famous writings as The Innocents Abroad, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur''s Court, and the "Mysterious Stranger" manuscripts but also treats a number of neglected works, including 1601, "A Memorable Midnight Experience", and Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. In these writings, Stahl shows, Twain utilized the terms and symbols of European society and history to express his deepest concerns involving father–son relationships, the legitimation of parentage, female political and sexual power, the victimization of "good" women, and, ultimately, the desire to bridge or even destroy the barriers between the sexes. The "exoticism" of foreign culture—with its kings and queens, priests, and aristocrats—furnished Twain with some especially potent images of power, authority, and tradition. These images, Stahl argues, were "plastic material in Mark Twain''s hands", enabling the writer to explore the uncertainties and ambiguities of gender in America: what it meant to be a man in Victorian America; what Twain thought it meant to be a woman; how men and women did, could, and should relate to each other. Stahl''s approach yields a wealth of fresh insights into Twain''s work. In discussing The Innocents Abroad, for example, he analyzes the emergence of the "Mark Twain" persona as part of a quest for cultural authority that often took the form of sexual role-playing. He also demonstrates that The Prince and the Pauper, even more strikingly than Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, embodies the writer''s central myth of orphaned sons searching for surrogate fathers. His reading of A Connecticut Yankee is a tour de force, uncovering the psychological contradictions in Twain''s political aspirations toward democratic equality. Stahl''s book is an important contribution to literary scholarship, informed by psychology, gender study, cultural theory, and traditional Twain criticism. It confirms Mark Twain''s debt to European culture even as it illuminates his re-envisioning of that culture in his own uniquely American way.
About
Blog
Help
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Term of Use
Disclaimer
Contact
Aboutread.com makes it one-click away to discover great books from local library by linking books/movies to your library catalog search.
Copyright © 2024 Aboutread.com