Ralph Ellison published many articles and speeches on various topics before and after his masterpiece Invisible Man was published. They have been collected in Shadow andAct, Going to the Territory, and The Collected E...Ralph Ellison published many articles and speeches on various topics before and after his masterpiece Invisible Man was published. They have been collected in Shadow andAct, Going to the Territory, and The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison （posthumously）, and Shadow and Act has been selected as one of the most influential books in non-fiction with his Invisible Man in fiction which evokes more academic interests. This paper attempts to take a closer look at Ellison＇s literary criticism, focusing mainly on his response to the debate of ＂protest novel＂, his reconsideration of the Negro American writings, and his analysis of how the mainstream American writers, such as Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway, deal with the racial subjects and represent them in their creation. Owing to the strong belief in the ideals of American democracy, Ellison highlights the individuality rather than the stereotyped characteristics of the Negro people, and transcends the fixed category of black and white, for all good literature tells the same story： to be true and honest.展开更多
The French novelist Sylvie Germain spent 6 years in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended four decades of oppressive totalitarian rule in that country. As a result of her st...The French novelist Sylvie Germain spent 6 years in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended four decades of oppressive totalitarian rule in that country. As a result of her stay, Germain produced four texts that are imbued with painful Czech stories and memories of both the Holocaust and the Communist era. This study examines the inscription of Germain＇ s encounter with the （Czech） other into her writing through tropes of exile and dispossession, of the suffering or wounded body, and of illness. Although Germain did not experience either the Holocaust or totalitarianism at first hand, and has moreover no claim to a Czech heritage, I posit that her work can nonetheless be interpreted as a transnational witness to the suffering of the （Czech） other. Using theories of the self and other, as well as theories of exile and of the narration of illness, I discuss how Germain＇s work negotiates the fine line between an appropriation of the stories of the other and an ethical responsibility to respond to other stories of pain.展开更多
文摘Ralph Ellison published many articles and speeches on various topics before and after his masterpiece Invisible Man was published. They have been collected in Shadow andAct, Going to the Territory, and The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison （posthumously）, and Shadow and Act has been selected as one of the most influential books in non-fiction with his Invisible Man in fiction which evokes more academic interests. This paper attempts to take a closer look at Ellison＇s literary criticism, focusing mainly on his response to the debate of ＂protest novel＂, his reconsideration of the Negro American writings, and his analysis of how the mainstream American writers, such as Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway, deal with the racial subjects and represent them in their creation. Owing to the strong belief in the ideals of American democracy, Ellison highlights the individuality rather than the stereotyped characteristics of the Negro people, and transcends the fixed category of black and white, for all good literature tells the same story： to be true and honest.
文摘The French novelist Sylvie Germain spent 6 years in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended four decades of oppressive totalitarian rule in that country. As a result of her stay, Germain produced four texts that are imbued with painful Czech stories and memories of both the Holocaust and the Communist era. This study examines the inscription of Germain＇ s encounter with the （Czech） other into her writing through tropes of exile and dispossession, of the suffering or wounded body, and of illness. Although Germain did not experience either the Holocaust or totalitarianism at first hand, and has moreover no claim to a Czech heritage, I posit that her work can nonetheless be interpreted as a transnational witness to the suffering of the （Czech） other. Using theories of the self and other, as well as theories of exile and of the narration of illness, I discuss how Germain＇s work negotiates the fine line between an appropriation of the stories of the other and an ethical responsibility to respond to other stories of pain.
