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philosophy of the animal in 20th century literature
Title
The philosophy of the animal in 20th century literature.
Creator
Johnson, Jamie, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description
The following dissertation examines the philosophy of the animal as it appears in twentieth-century British and American literature. I argue that evolutionary theory, along with the Romantic emphasis on sympathy, creates an historical shift in our perception of humans and nonhumans. Beginning with Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby-Dick, the whale represents what I call a transitional animal figure in that the whale not only shows the traditionally symbolic literary animal but also the...
Show moreThe following dissertation examines the philosophy of the animal as it appears in twentieth-century British and American literature. I argue that evolutionary theory, along with the Romantic emphasis on sympathy, creates an historical shift in our perception of humans and nonhumans. Beginning with Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby-Dick, the whale represents what I call a transitional animal figure in that the whale not only shows the traditionally symbolic literary animal but also the beginnings of the twentieth century shift toward the literal animal-as-subject. My proposed comparative analysis consists of a return to classic existential and phenomenological philosophers with animal studies in mind. A handful of critical essays in recent years have conducted just such an analysis. My contribution extends these philosophical endeavors on the animal and applies them to major literary authors who demonstrate a notable interest in the philosophy of animals. The first chapter of the dissertation begins with D.H. Lawrence, whose writings in selected essays, St. Mawr, and "The Fox" continue considerations made by Melville concerning animal being. Because Lawrence often focuses on gender, sexuality, and intuition, I discuss how a Heideggerian reading of animals in Lawrence adds value to interpretations of his fiction which remain unavailable in analyses of human subjects. In Chapter Two, I move on to William Faulkner's classic hunting tale of "The Bear" and other significant animal sightings in his fiction and nonfiction. For Faulkner, the animal subject exists in the author's particular historical climate of American environmentalism, modernism's literary emphasis on visuality, and race theory., This combination calls for a natural progression from a Heideggerian existential phenomenology: a contemporary Sartrean reading of animal being. Finally, the last chapter examines J.M. Coetzee, an author whose texts show the accumulated existential and phenomenological progression in the philosophy of the animal with a combined interest in current political and social issues surrounding animal life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
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Date Issued
2009
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/192984
Subject Headings
Symbolism in literature, Animals (Philosophy), Human-animal relationships in literature, Animals in literature, American prose literature, Criticism and interpretation, English prose literature, Criticism and interpretation
Format
Document (PDF)
role of animals in the Florida novels of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Title
The role of animals in the Florida novels of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Creator
Gutierrez, Jeanne C., Florida Atlantic University, Peyton, Ann
Abstract/Description
Animals play a vital role in the Florida novels of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, including Cross Creek, The Yearling, South Moon Under and Golden Apples. Rawlings's appreciation for the animal world may be viewed as twofold. First, she emphasizes the importance of animals for practical reasons, stressing their contribution to the livelihood of her characters. Her attitude also encompasses a realistic view of the dual role animals play as both threat and protector. Secondly, Rawlings expresses a...
Show moreAnimals play a vital role in the Florida novels of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, including Cross Creek, The Yearling, South Moon Under and Golden Apples. Rawlings's appreciation for the animal world may be viewed as twofold. First, she emphasizes the importance of animals for practical reasons, stressing their contribution to the livelihood of her characters. Her attitude also encompasses a realistic view of the dual role animals play as both threat and protector. Secondly, Rawlings expresses a firm conviction that a close relationship with the animal world is essential to one's happiness. She reveals a marked preference for animals above humans and emphasizes their contribution to the emotional well-being of her characters. Finally, Rawlings employs literary techniques such as simile, metaphor and personification to disclose how fundamental an element animals are to her Florida novels as well as her personal life.
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Date Issued
1993
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14886
Subject Headings
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan,--1896-1953--Criticism and interpretation., Animals in literature., Florida--Fiction.
Format
Document (PDF)
Liberating menageries
Title
Liberating menageries: animal speaking and "survivance" in Elizabeth Bishop and Gerald Vizenor.
Creator
Frost, Tiffany J., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description
This thesis demonstrates the ways that nonhuman characters in the literature of Elizabeth Bishop and Gerald Vizenor subvert anthropocentrism, thereby contributing to an ongoing reconsideration of political and ethical approaches to species discourse. Jacques Derrida's work on the philosophical questions regarding nonhuman animals is combined with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's postcolonial perspective on "subaltern speaking" and representation, while Gerald Vizenor's theory of "survivance"...
Show moreThis thesis demonstrates the ways that nonhuman characters in the literature of Elizabeth Bishop and Gerald Vizenor subvert anthropocentrism, thereby contributing to an ongoing reconsideration of political and ethical approaches to species discourse. Jacques Derrida's work on the philosophical questions regarding nonhuman animals is combined with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's postcolonial perspective on "subaltern speaking" and representation, while Gerald Vizenor's theory of "survivance" provides the theoretical grounding for approaching literary representations of animals within this project. The authors in this study challenge false hierarchical species divisions by constructing fictional spaces that imagine the perspectives of nonhuman beings, consider the importance interspecies relationships, and recontextualize the voices and communication of nonhumans. In providing these counter-narratives, these authors establish a relationship with readers that invites them to reconsider the ramifications of their own ideology of species, reminding them that theory and practice must coexist.
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Date Issued
2013
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362340
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Speciesism, Animals (Philosophy), Animals in literature, Human-animal relationships in literature, Resemblance (Philosophy)
Format
Document (PDF)
"Our fellows in mortality"
Title
"Our fellows in mortality": kindness to animals in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.
Creator
Brockway, Jessica L., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy depicts characters who are especially sensitive to the suffering of all living creatures and thus engages his novel in the topic of animal rights. In this project I examine the human-animal relationships in Hardy's novel in terms of the ideas of two different philosophers: Peter Singer and Cora Diamond. I argue that, while Singer at first seems to provide a useful model for understanding these relationships in Jude, Diamond's account of these relationships is...
Show moreIn Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy depicts characters who are especially sensitive to the suffering of all living creatures and thus engages his novel in the topic of animal rights. In this project I examine the human-animal relationships in Hardy's novel in terms of the ideas of two different philosophers: Peter Singer and Cora Diamond. I argue that, while Singer at first seems to provide a useful model for understanding these relationships in Jude, Diamond's account of these relationships is ultimately a more helpful tool for understanding Hardy's ideas about animals. Diamond helps us see that Hardy believes people should help all living creatures in pain, no matter the cost to themselves, not because they recognize their suffering, but because they recognize a shared commonality with all sentient creatures.
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Date Issued
2010
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3334248
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Animal rights (Philosophy), Human-animal relationships in literature, Symbolism in literature, Animals and civilization
Format
Document (PDF)