ABSTRACT: This thesis focuses on contemporary novelistic representations of the growing anxiety of the Western middle class in relation to the economic and social crises experienced by this social group in the first two decades of the 21st century. Through a post-Marxist approach, and with the help of tools drawn from economic theory, the first part of the thesis unveils the various ways in which the so-called ‘erosion’ of the middle class is represented in four contemporary novels—The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, NW by Zadie Smith, Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? by Dave Eggers, and Normal People by Sally Rooney. The final part, instead, is entirely dedicated to issues of form. First, a direct relationship between the middle class and the literary form of the novel is established. Then, the author discusses the various formal choices made by the authors of the novels with the aim to discern which stylistic approach is most suited to the expression of the collective consciousness of the middle class in the 21st century. Eventually, Normal People is recognized as the more innovative and qualified work of the group, and it is suggested that Rooney’s book may provide a model for the development of the genre in the remainder of the century.
ABSTRACT: Due to their social performances, the characters in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and
George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda mimic the problematic divide between Victorian ideals of
ambition and morality. Each protagonist must perform a curated self to navigate the instability of
Victorian England’s conflicting social expectations. Furthermore, through conducting a character
analysis of Pip in Dickens’s novel and Gwendolen in Eliot’s novel, one can conclude that the
authors are suspicious of Victorian ambition, and one’s ability to maintain morality and ambition
without sacrificing one to the other.
ABSTRACT: This thesis focuses on the technological evolution of the serial novel. Starting from the 19th century, this thesis takes into consideration the influence new technologies had on serial novels over the last three centuries. To understand the impact that the serial novel has in the 21st century, I analyzed Geek Actually from a narrative point of view. This analysis allowed me to observe similarities and differences between this modern text and the previous works that influenced it – 19th century serial novels and TV series. The analysis of the text shows that TV series had a greater influence on Geek Actually than serial novels.
Keywords: Serial novel, TV series, Serial Box, Twitterature, Insta Novels, e-reader, Keitai Shôsetsu.
ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the role and function of literature in five classic dystopian novels:
1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury,
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. A
recurrent feature of literary dystopias is fictive settings in which literature is censored,
suppressed or banned. The implication might be that literature is a necessary component of any
free, democratic, fully human imaginative society, and its absence a fatal flaw. While the
presence of imaginative literature does not guarantee a utopia, the absence of literature might be
an indication of dystopia.
ABSTRACT: This thesis approaches three of Jane Austen’s novels using three contemporary psychological models including pathological accommodation in Emma, insecure attachment theory in Mansfield Park, and mentalizing theory in Sense and Sensibility. Although Austen does not have the terminology or vocabulary for “dysfunctional” families, her novels indicate that she was a keen observer of human relationships and looked at these dynamics in the problematic families she describes. Literature also offers models that allow us to think about the psychological and social implications of the self in a complex and ever-changing world. The value of this anachronistic approach is to help answer traditional literary and moral questions posed in Austen’s fiction by viewing these through another lens. It can also challenge our reading of her problematic characters in terms of the limits of our sympathies for their actions and choices. The three psychological models adopted in this thesis can help us see more clearly the literary games involving seeing and reading characters that are present in these novels.
ABSTRACT: In this thesis I will argue that in the works of James Baldwin and Alice Walker, intimate moments represent a view into the text’s political message. Both authors offer sincere and compassionate relationships as an effective form of relief or liberation for black people from the conditions white supremacist patriarchy enforces on them. An intimate interaction can involve no more than two characters and it is a moment of self-discovery through the exposure of selfrelevant feelings and experiences to another person. White people enjoy intimacy as an exploration of themselves and other people because as a privileged group, they can move comfortably outside of these interactions. However, for black people in the United States, intimacy is a necessary shelter from a society that constantly mortifies their sense of self-worth. Intimacy can be a moment of happiness and growth, as occurs in the relationship between
Celie and Shug Avery in The Color Purple, but it is unattainable when the character harbors
resentment and self-deprecation, such is the case in Rufus, the protagonist of the first section in
Baldwin’s Another Country. Indeed, in order to access an earnest and genuine relationship with
other people, the characters need to be ready to love themselves, which becomes difficult when
they have been violently subjected to white supremacist standards their entire lives. Shame tied
to race, gender, and sexuality, I argue, is the most effective means of alienation Baldwin and
Walker’s characters have to battle in order to make their internal lives and material conditions
bearable.
