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The African-American Slave Narrative in Context: Frederick Douglass and Harriet Ann Jacobs
Chýlková, Jana ; Veselá, Pavla (advisor) ; Robbins, David Lee (referee)
in English The aim of this MA thesis is to bring new perspectives on the genre of the African-American slave narrative. Therefore, its wider historical, socio-political and gender contexts are considered and the circumstances surrounding its development and current criticism are briefly outlined. The point of departure is a discussion of definitions that vary among the scholars who select different criteria for the subject of definition. The existing diversity of the texts and voices is discussed in connection to Moses Grandy's Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, Late a Slave in the United States of America. Grandy's narrative, an account of the maritime slave life, is analyzed. Its traditional, uniform narrative structures are juxtaposed with passages where some aspects of his masculine identity, problematized by the institution of slavery, can be traced. Ultimately, the thesis attempts to show that while the conventionalized framework pre-defining the narrative outline and themes is delineated by James Olney, any generally recognized definition of the genre does not exist. As a result of that conclusion, the genre is defined in the scope of this thesis. After the major characteristics of the genre are discussed and the definition of the African- American slave narrative is put forward, more...
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Feminism in Selected Novels by Toni Morrison and Alice Walker
Chýlková, Jana ; Veselá, Pavla (advisor) ; Robbins, David Lee (referee)
The specific works analyzed in this thesis will be Sula and Beloved by Toni Morrison, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I have chosen these novels for their significance in the African-American literary canon, and for qualities that were assessed over time. While the choice of the novels Beloved and The Color Purple is justified by The Pulitzer Prize, Sula - which is, among other things, a novel depicting the moral and physical decline of the main heroine - was selected to contrast with Walker's bildungsroman. However, the central theme of these novels that will be explored is a black woman and her questionable representation in literature. In their novels, Morrison and Walker find diverse solutions to the problematic nature of the place of black women in a patriarchal society. Nevertheless, the selected fiction will be explored separately in terms of the feminist/womanist aspects of Morrison's and Walker's works. The Conclusion will focus on a comparison of the selected works by Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. Thus, attention will be paid to the significant themes displayed in the novels such as racism and the limitations of gender roles. The objective of this analysis will be to find some common themes displayed in the authors' fiction that connect their understanding of the world, such as issues of...
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