Nostalgias of innocence and guilt : the post-Cold War reflections of John Updike and Don DeLillo
Citation:
John-Paul Colgan, 'Nostalgias of innocence and guilt : the post-Cold War reflections of John Updike and Don DeLillo', [thesis], Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). School of English, 2005, pp 300Download Item:
Abstract:
This thesis examines the post-Cold War work of the American novelists John
Updike and Don DeLillo, paying particular attention to the manifestations and
treatment of nostalgia in these texts. Focussing primarily on the fictional output of
both writers since the end of the superpower conflict, occasional use is also made of
novels and short stories written by Updike and DeLillo prior to the late-’80s as well
as relevant non-fiction material. Although both writers are widely regarded as
major figures in contemporary American literature, they are conventionally - and
reductively - seen as belonging to vastly differing fictional "schools" and are,
therefore, rarely examined together. This is the first full-length study that has
considered the work of Updike and DeLillo side by side and doing so from a
broadly historicist perspective - one that remains attuned to the historical
provenance of their work whilst also allowing for analysis of the fiction qua fiction
- reveals fascinating and mutually illuminating patterns of contrast and convergence
in their post-Cold War reflections.
Author: Colgan, John-Paul
Advisor:
Hunter, AdrianPublisher:
Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). School of EnglishNote:
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English, Ph.D., Ph.D. Trinity College DublinMetadata
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