Showing papers on "Theme (narrative) published in 1973"

The Eagleton affair: A fantasy theme analysis

Abstract: To win in 1972 the Democrats needed a unified rhetoric. Their strategy was to emphasize persona. The breaking news of Senator Eagleton's mental health, coming at a strategic time, created a fantasy that chained through the electorate and presented the McGovern persona as inconsistent, inept, and untrustworthy.

The augmented knowledge workshop

Abstract: This paper discusses the theme of augmenting a knowledge workshop. The first part of the paper describes the concept and framework of the knowledge workshop. The second part describes aspects of a prototype knowledge workshop being developed within this framework.

On Self-Actualization: a Transambivalent Examination of a Focal Theme in Maslow's Psychology

Abstract: BREWSTER SMITH began his education at Reed and Stanford, and received his PhD at Harvard in the then-new Department of Social Relations. His socialization at Harvard drew upon the Id, Ego, and Super-ego of prewar Harvard psychology: Murray, Allport, and Boring. After the war he collaborated with Jerome Bruner and Robert White on Opinions and Personahtv (1956). He has taught at Vassar, NYU, Berkeley, and Chicago, served with the Social Science Research Council, and now is Professor of Psychology and Vice Chancellor for Social Sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz. As a personality-and-social psychologist, he has long sought to contribute to a psychology that is both scientific and humamstic. Studies of Peace Corps teachers and of dissident youth have focused his concern with the development of fully functioning people. Some of his writings are collected m Social Psvchologv and Human Values.

The Economics of Emancipation

Abstract: This paper illuminates one particular aspect of the theme of this session, property rights in man. It will deal with various emancipation plans: those actually enacted in various slave societies; those discussed by legislators who debated slave and antislave proposals; and those which, being purely fictional, have become part of counterfactual history.

The Manipulation of Theme and Action in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata

Abstract: T LOOSE plot-structure of Athenian Old Comedy has often baffled, perplexed and irritated historians of Greek literature. Measured against an Aristotelian ideal of unified plot, the unfortunate comic dramatist is pictured as struggling in the darkness with only limited success towards the light of Menandrian perfection. Lysistrata, however, has received a better press: qualified praise for a generally consistent and logically developed plot. But even here voices deploring certain inconsistencies of dramatic logic are raised in criticism. One could set aside such lapses in Old Comedy merely as characteristic of the genre. But by asking why they are admitted the critic may better understand Aristophanes' technique in this play, especially as regards the manipulation of its central themes. We begin with the prologue. Lysistrata announces the women's sex strike at lines 120-24. Wives will refuse to sleep with their husbands, and the latter in extreme desperation will agree to anything, even peace. The strike (Plan A) is to be carried out at home and presupposes the presence there of both husband and wife for its success.1 But some thirty lines earlier we were told with considerable emphasis that husbands and wives have long been separated by the war (99-104). The Spartan Lampito's husband, for example, is almost never home (105f). It is not merely that the exposition of plan A conflicts with the historical reality of 411 B.C., nor that an Aristophanic comedy based on that plan occasionally alludes to a reality in conflict with its own dramatic scheme.2 Rather the poet goes out of his way to depict a sad

An Interpretation of Universal History

Abstract: The prospectus that announced the creation of The Institute of the Humanities promised an inaugural course of twelve lectures, to be given by its founder and entitled, "Concerning a New Interpretation of International History. (Exposition and Examination of A. J. Toynbee's work, A Study of History.)" But the course as given (in 1948-49) went much farther than that announcement, for the "examination" consisted principally of a critique of Toynbee's work from the point of view of Ortega's own doctrines, together with the unfolding of his personal ideas about the science of history and the progress of peoples-in particular the Romans-with frequent side excursions, meant to be systematic, into the crisis of the present time. The central theme of these pages becomes "the analysis of life established in illegitimacy ...of which the two gigantic examples are the declining days of the Roman Empire and the period in which we ourselves are living." To the modern crisis, Ortega brings a basic analysis and a program of reform for intelligence by which contemporary life might emerge from the confusion it now suffers.

The serpent of lust in the southern garden : the theme of miscegeneration in Cable, Twain, Faulkner and Warren

Abstract: Throughout its history, this nation has been deeply race-conscious, and, as a result, the concept of miscegena­ tion has generated a profound influence upon the American literary imagination. Quite naturally, this influence has been felt most forcefully by writers in the South, where the question of sexual relations across the color-line is still surrounded by sinister associations of horror, guilt and out­ rage of a particularly virulent sort. Despite the persistence with which Southern writers have returned to the theme of miscegenation, however, little has been done to explore the reasons behind their fascination with mixed blood, and few critics have addressed themselves to_.a systematic considera­ tion of the unique literary potential of the theme. In an effort to correct this situation in part, my dissertation begins by defining the dimensions of the theme of miscegenation through an analysis of a paradigmatic short story, Joel Chandler Harris' "Where's Duncan?" A careful read­ ing of that story yields four fictional motifs that appear repeatedly in the works of other Southern writers: (1) a basic narrative pattern involving the progression from guilt to retribution; (2) a tendency to identify the particular "sin" of miscegenation with the racial "sins" of the South v as a whole? (3) the portrayal of the character of mixed blood as both victim and avenger; and (4) the question of iv the mulatto character's crisis of identity. I offer a hypo­ thetical explanation for each of these aspects of the broad­ er theme based on a survey of abolitionist tracts, anti­ slavery fiction and antebellum travelogues treating the ques­ tion of miscegenation in the South. I then proceed to trace the theme in the works of George Washington Cable? Mark Twain, William Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren. In works like "Tite Poulette," Madame Delphine and The GrandisSimes, Cable uses the plight of the New Orleans quadroon caste to point up the dehumanizing aspects of the South's inheritance of racial wrongs. Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson is a novel which begins as an indictment of specific Southern shortcomings and ends as a bitter satire on the "damned human race" in general. It points toward the au­ thor's final conviction that "the skin of every human being contains a slave." Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and Go Down, Moses stand as the two most successful novels growing out of the theme of miscegenation and are dealt with in some detail. The final chapter of this study concerns itself with the way in which the identity crisis of the mulatto character prefigures the situation confronting contemporary man who is increasingly faced with a sense of alienation and uncertainty regarding who and what he is. Faulkner's Joe Christmas in Light in August and Warren's Amantha Starr in Band of Angels are remarkable cases in point. Although this study is by necessity limited in focus, one of its purposes is to suggest the breadth of the tradi­ tion in question and to demonstrate the range of its liter­

Plato's Theory of Knowledge

Abstract: There is a moment in childhood when the adult world grabs one and one suddenly has to behave differently, make judgments, choose friends, decide what is right, all on one's own. This book contains a collection of stories on this theme, some funny, some sad, all emotionally strong.

E.M. Forster : the critical heritage

Abstract: This set comprises 40 volumes covering 19th and 20th century European and American authors. These volumes will be available as a complete set, mini boxed sets (by theme) or as individual volumes. This second set compliments the first 68 volume set of Critical Heritage published by Routledge in October 1995.

The role of the agency in supporting black manhood

Abstract: SOCIAL WORK ^A/hite America finds it extremely difficult to view the black man as a man rather than a boy. Thus he is treated like a helpless, sometimes likable but mischievous child. For example, it is generally taken for granted that a white man loves his family, but this is rarely the case in relation to the black man. If a white father is absent be cause of his job, no one assumes that he is an incompetent father. But when a black father is absent, for whatever reason, all kinds of negative things are assumed about him. The social work literature corroborates the theme that something is wrong with black men—either directly, or indirectly by neglecting to mention them at all. For ex ample, Tuck points out that the few studies conducted on black fathers have focused on

Studies in Latin Language and Literature: Structure and meaning in the prologues of Tacitus

Abstract: INTRODUCTION A literary work of art, or a more or less self-contained part of it, can be analysed with the help of the categories of unity and variety, or, otherwise expressed, constancy and progress, or theme(s) and variations. Such an analysis will take into account both the component parts or elements of the work in themselves, and their function in the whole. It can contribute to a better insight into the artistic composition and the full meaning of these elements. By ‘full meaning’ I understand their meaning at different levels, their undertones and overtones. It may also help to read ‘between the lines’ without losing ourselves in vain speculation. In the case of an author like Tacitus who made ‘emphasis’ (in the ancient rhetorical meaning) a major device, an effort to read between the lines is a prerequisite for any serious reader. If we now turn to Tacitus' prologues, we first realize that they answer to the description of ‘more or less self-contained parts’ of his works. In the second place their literary ‘situation’ is completely different from that of the historical narratio , and more akin to that of the title of the work. In a way, they can be defined as extended titles, insofar as they too contain information on the author and the subject. In the prologue, the author presents this information in a personal address to his reader, whereas in the narratio , the author of a historical work disappears more or less behind his work and lets the events mostly speak for themselves – at least, that is the fiction.

The Magus: A Study in the Creation of a Personal Myth

Abstract: Criticism of modern fiction finds itself in a strange predicament, since far too much material is published on some well recognized authors, while those with lesser reputations suffer from inadequate treatment. On the other hand, some substantial novelists have received an inordinately small amount of attention. One popular, but not yet recognized contemporary writer who deserves more emphasis and would reward the reader for his efforts is John Fowles.' Although Fowles has to date only published three novels, The Collector, The Magus, and The French Lieutenant's Woman, each of these represents a different genre and is a significant achievement in its own right. All three deserve serious attention, yet The Magus seems to be by far the richest and most probing work.2 This novel haunts the reader long after he has "completed" it and consequently forces him to explore its fictional devices. In this process the reader uncovers a labyrinth similar to that constructed by Daedalus, the eternal artificer who, like Fowles, keeps manipulating the configuration so that we, like the Minotaur, remain forever trapped in the maze of his creative fiction/life. In another posture, Fowles, like the traditional mystery story writer, leads us through a circuitous route, but instead of resolving the crime he perpetuates the mystery that thus becomes the essence of the novel. These patterns both add to the interest generated by the novel's theme and detract from the novel's unity of structure and style.

Historians and the Evidence of Literature

Abstract: essay I want to appeal to historians to treat literature seriously. My argument will be that literary texts offer important and sometimes unique kinds of historical evidence, and that, by and large, the historical discipline has been curiously diffident about exploiting this evidence with vigor and confidence. Yet to take up such a theme, even in general terms, requires a formal apologia of sorts. The literature-and-history question is an old one, especially for literary scholars. The increasingly introspective mood of literary scholarship in recent decades has undermined the ebullient self-confidence about the "autonomy" of our undertakings and sent us scurrying across campus in search not merely of historians, but sociologists, psychologists, and even biologists. A recent compilation of essays published by the Modern Language Association, including a fine essay on "Literature and History" by the late Rosalie Colie, an eminent scholar with formal credentials in both history and English, gives some idea of the scope of the search as well as some suggestions of its promise.' There is a substantial "bibliography" on the literature-and-history question; and it is significant, even if entirely explicable, that practically all of it comes from the pens of literary scholars rather than those of historians.2 The literature-and-history question has maintained a certain urgency in the agenda of literary studies, and it has often been debated in a polemical context which has hardly been welcoming to outsiders. The burden of past debate inevitably weighs heavily upon any literary scholar who approaches the literature-and-history question, but it is

Sexual Imagery in Coriolanus

Abstract: Of sexual interest, in the conventional sense, there is virtually nothing in Coriolanus. But an undercurrent of sexual images adds to our ‘secret impressions’, in Morgann’s phrase,1 of the theme of the play. They provide an insistent suggestion that the concerns of the play are sexual, defined in the broadest sense, or that the mainsprings of the activities depicted are not without sexual implications. The subject-matter of Coriolanus is politics and war; but the sexual images imply that a major focus of interest lies elsewhere. The interrelation of war and sex is the underlying statement of the play.

Naturalism in mathematics

Abstract: Hatcher’s main theme (Hatcher, 1972), that a pragmatic approach to foundational problems is the most salutary one, is, I hope, nowadays generally agreed. I will examine instead his two other main proposals: that the most fruitful, or useful way to view mathematics is as the exact part of our thinking, and that naturalness is an important intuitive criterion in elaborating foundational systems. Both proposals are meant to be taken intuitively and pragmatically, that is, Hatcher gives no substantial explanation of what he means by ‘exact’ and ‘natural’, and gives no argument for the desirability of his proposals other than that they account, in his opinion, for certain facets of mathematical practice. I hold both proposals to be unacceptable, for the (not ‘ultimate’, but largely pragmatically inspired) reasons which follow.

Melville's Redburn: Initiation and Authority

Abstract: RECENT criticism of Melville's Redburn, when it has not been simply concerned with gauging the achievement of the novel, has involved itself in a debate which illuminates not only Redburn but also certain general and almost unconscious tendencies in American literary criticism. On the one hand, there are those who agree with Newton Arvin's "mythic" reading of Redburn, which asserts that its "inward subject is the initiation of innocence into evil." On the other, there are those critics, represented by James Schroeter, who argue that "the difficulty with the mythic method, certainly as applied to Redburn, is... that it is contradicted repeatedly by some of the most important tonal and structural features of the novel."' It is the intention of this essay to argue that while the action and tone of Redburn carefully limit the implications of such terms as "innocence," "evil," and "initiation," they do not dismiss the terms, which remain essential to the meaning. Moreover, the debate whether or not Redburn is a novel of "initiation" is generated more by certain critical assumptions than by any intrinsic peculiarity or ambiguity in the novel. For not only have American critics tended to find "the initiation of innocence into evil" in nearly every work of American literature, they have also tended to agree in viewing initiation as a metaphysical process. It has been characteristic of Melville criticism, in particular, to view the theme of initiation as a ladle with which to stir up once again the problem of evil-the metaphysical altercation between innate virtue and original sin.

Why our approach to performance evaluation is SDRAWKCAB

Abstract: What does SDRAWKCAB mean? Some of you already know; some I have told; some have guessed. But many do not know. Those who do know, know it would be contrary to the theme of SDRAWKCAB to tell you immediately what it means, although it certainly would make things much easier if I told you now.

Counterfeits of Soldiership in Henry IV

Abstract: 1 5 ;?tN his Marginalia Gabriel Harvey asked who would not rather be one of the Nine Worthies than one of the Seven Wise Masters.' Harvey's rhetorical question emphasizes for us the Renaissance heroic ideal and celebrates the life of action. If we may believe Barnaby Rich, however, this heroic ideal meant nothing to contemporary "carpet knights"; for, said Rich in I578: "in our warres we be now come to this passe, that fraud and deceit is reputed for policie, and treason and treacherie are called gravitie and wisedome, and he is holden the noblest champion, that by any of these meanes can best deceive."2 In his portrayal of King Henry V as embodying ideal valor, Shakespeare also delineated valor's obverse and foil, discretion. I propose to examine the Henry IV plays-and most particularly 2 Henry IV-as plays about heroism, and as plays wherein the groundwork is carefully laid for Prince Hal ultimately to assume the stature of England's hero. To my mind, in the Henry IV plays an ideal of soldiership and action is established, broken, and then re-established-as it were in a statement, variation, and then restatement of theme-and my chief emphasis will be upon 2 Henry IV because it is in that play that the variations on the theme, the anti-heroics, are chiefly played. By the end of i Henry IV, Hal is established as the complete soldier-prince. Nothing is lacking in his right to the throne and to the status of hero. The play began with questions and doubts: King Henry wistfully musing about whether it might be shown that Hal is not his son-whether "it could be proved/ That some night-tripping fairy had exchang'd/ In cradle-clothes our children where they lay/ And call'd mine Percy, his Plantagent" (I. i. 85-88)3and Falstaff in his first exchanges with the Prince making play with the "apparent" in Hal's title of Heir-Apparent. The other question of course involved Hal's bravery. At Holmedon, Hotspur showed himself to be "A son who is the theme of honour's tongue," in whose "conquest for a prince to boast of" prowess in battle is correlated with true royalty. But Hal clears up the doubts about his birth by assuring his father that he will ". . . In the closing of some glorious day/ Be bold to tell you that I am your son" (III. ii. I33-34); and when that day finally comes he faces Hotspur, on a battlefield which is a turmoil of pretender-kings, and asserts "I am the Prince