Heaven and hell on earth: Flux and stasis in literary utopianism and naturalism

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dc.contributor.advisorAranda, Jose F., Jr.
dc.creatorHunter, David Earl, III
dc.date.accessioned2009-06-04T08:49:42Z
dc.date.available2009-06-04T08:49:42Z
dc.date.issued1998
dc.description.abstractLiterary utopianism and naturalism present apparently polar views regarding the possibilities and limitations of human agency: the former portrays humanity as having created a communal society based upon rationality, while the latter argues that people are victims consumed by their desires. This comparative study of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward (1888), Frank Norris' McTeague (1899), Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie (1900), and Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz (1900), postulates these fictions as examinations of whether life in America at the end of the nineteenth-century is inevitably caught in state of flux or whether it is possible to attain stability. Yet these works are less interesting for their ostensibly dominant perspectives on the human condition, than for their complicating elements which elevate the works above their prevailing philosophies and prevent them from remaining mere manifestos.
dc.format.extent104 p.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.callnoTHESIS ENGL. 1998 HUNTER
dc.identifier.citationHunter, David Earl, III. "Heaven and hell on earth: Flux and stasis in literary utopianism and naturalism." (1998) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/17179">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/17179</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/17179
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectComparative literature
dc.subjectAmerican literature
dc.titleHeaven and hell on earth: Flux and stasis in literary utopianism and naturalism
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentEnglish
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanities
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts
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