Dissertations and Theses
Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Robert Higney
Keywords
Twain, Faulkner, Vonnegut, white, identity, race
Abstract
This thesis explores the concept of white identity as seen in literary works in four time periods: Reconstruction, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement and the 21st century. It examines the work of Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Kurt Vonnegut and contemporary writers George Saunders, J.D. Vance, and Jonathan Franzen. It seeks to understand patterns in racism, white nationalism, and white supremacy as part of the fundamental construct of the literary white man, and follows the evolution of that construct over time.
Recommended Citation
Stone, Sara N., "Seeing Whiteness: the Progression and Regression of White Identity in Four Post-Civil War Literary Generations" (2018). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1078