Reflections upon Childhood and Adolescence: Intertextual Dialogue in The Cement Garden
(Sprache: Englisch)
The thesis is devoted to the intertextual analysis of The Cement Garden, the first novel of a famous postmodern British novelist Ian McEwan. In the following chapters I shall prove that the novel exhibits both intertextual relations with particular works of...
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The thesis is devoted to the intertextual analysis of The Cement Garden, the first novel of a famous postmodern British novelist Ian McEwan. In the following chapters I shall prove that the novel exhibits both intertextual relations with particular works of fiction and also enters into a discourse with the generic archetypes. The first chapter refers to the intertextual relation text-text and concentrates on the profound interconnectivity between McEwan s The Cement Garden and Golding s Lord of the Flies. The focus is also placed upon depiction of childhood and, in a more general sense, human nature by both authors in relation to the literary tradition. The chapter traces various techniques employed by McEwan in the novel, in order to refresh the already read and provide a modern vision of childhood and adolescence. The second and the third chapters are devoted to the intertextual discourse with the generic literary tradition, namely Gothic fiction and psychological novel of development. Both chapters depict the ways generic conventions are used in The Cement Garden, but also portray the author s deliberate departure and inversion of particular attributes of the genres. The author either provides the parody and inversion of the generic conventions, or employs particular generic aspects in order to effectively express and emphasize certain issues brought about in the novel. Thanks to the skillful use of the genres and their conventions, McEwan achieves an extraordinary effect and invites the reader to explore a complex network of literary allusions.
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Chapter 3, Parody of a Bildungsroman:The Cement Garden demonstrates a strong intertextual bond with the tradition of literary genres. Generic features of the Gothic novel, clearly visible in the text, are interwoven with the genre of a psychological novel of development and specifically the story of initiation, which is the dominant generic constituent in The Cement Garden (Malcolm: 2000, 123). Bildungsroman - the psychological novel of development, and the story of initiation were popular genres since the Romantic Age (Volkmann: 2003, 315). Focusing on a painful process of growing up to the maturity they exemplified perfectly well the adolescent psychological angst (Volkmann: 2003, 315). Charles Dickens s David Copperfield (1850), George Eliot s Mill on the Floss (1860) or Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre (1847) are just a few famous examples which strictly follow the conventions of the genre. Its popularity had also an enormous impact on the twentieth century literary masterpieces such as, for instance, James Joyce s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). In the core of Bildungsroman and particularly the story of initiation lies a deep engagement with the psychological development of the young protagonist: [ ] young protagonist experiencing a significant change of knowledge about the world or himself, or a change of character, or of both, and this change must point or lead him towards an adult world. It may or may not contain some form of ritual, but it should give some evidence that the change is at least likely to have permanent effects (Marcus: 1960, 222).
The task of the young hero is to obtain knowledge, either concerning himself or the surrounding world, in order to mature and join the adult society. The aim is to achieve self-realization and social integration (Volkmann: 2003, 316). Adolescence is a period marked by the emergence of new, unfamiliar feelings and drives of various nature. These formative years of the protagonist usually abound with
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mixed feelings and are often marked by pain, confusion and anguish necessary in order to achieve true transformation. Physical and mental pressures incessantly conquer life of the protagonist, who has to cope with them to achieve maturation. The protagonist s transformation is usually triggered by a certain event or an experience he goes through which significantly influences his further formation as a human being and leads to his maturation. Frequently, the protagonist undergoes a formative phase of experimentation during which he has to find new values and models. This significant phase leads to the emancipation of the protagonist form parental influence and helps to establish himself as an adult (Volkmann: 2003, 316).
It is often a case that these psychological narratives deal with the growing sexual desire of the protagonist. The adolescent has to recognize the evolving sexual drive and adapt to the new highly confusing situation. During the process of coping , it is the adolescent s task to reach a more integrated level of sexuality (Volkmann: 2003, 316). Usually, the sexual initiation of the character constitutes a cornerstone for the hero s further development and points to his decisive transformation (Marcus: 1960, 225). Literature offers various accounts of the passage from childhood to maturity. One of the famous images of a child growing to adulthood is presented by Dickens in David Copperfield. Dickens provides the reader a process of maturation with its ups and downs which, however, happily ends with the protagonist s acceptance of the conventions and full integration into the Victorian society (Volkmann: 2003, 315). A different course of events is presented in Joyce s Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. The protagonist of the novel is a future, young artist who undergoes a complex development before he is able to recognize his true vocation. The reader follows Stephen s growing confusion in the external environment concerning his family, nation and re
It is often a case that these psychological narratives deal with the growing sexual desire of the protagonist. The adolescent has to recognize the evolving sexual drive and adapt to the new highly confusing situation. During the process of coping , it is the adolescent s task to reach a more integrated level of sexuality (Volkmann: 2003, 316). Usually, the sexual initiation of the character constitutes a cornerstone for the hero s further development and points to his decisive transformation (Marcus: 1960, 225). Literature offers various accounts of the passage from childhood to maturity. One of the famous images of a child growing to adulthood is presented by Dickens in David Copperfield. Dickens provides the reader a process of maturation with its ups and downs which, however, happily ends with the protagonist s acceptance of the conventions and full integration into the Victorian society (Volkmann: 2003, 315). A different course of events is presented in Joyce s Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. The protagonist of the novel is a future, young artist who undergoes a complex development before he is able to recognize his true vocation. The reader follows Stephen s growing confusion in the external environment concerning his family, nation and re
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Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Anna Wilczewska
- 2014, Erstauflage, 96 Seiten, Maße: 15,5 x 22 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: Anchor Academic Publishing
- ISBN-10: 3954892758
- ISBN-13: 9783954892754
Sprache:
Englisch
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