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An Outlaw Journalist's Journey through an Era Decadent and Depraved: Hunter S. Thompson in the context of America of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Stárek, Jiří ; Robbins, David Lee (advisor) ; Ulmanová, Hana (referee)
The thesis aims to explore the artistic personality of Hunter S. Thompson, one of the most distinctive cultural figures of post-war America, and his genesis as an author, journalist, and a counterculture idol of the 1960s. The era is now widely regarded as a turning point in contemporary American history as its deep-rooted values and norms were, over the course of a decade, gradually transformed by the young generation of social and political activists toward allegedly a more tolerant and liberal kind of community. Crucial in such an endeavor was the role of the countercultural movement that produced some of the most capable intellectual minds of the time, including Thompson. The paper thus analyzes the role and nature of the alternative culture in America as perceived by one of its most observant participants. Also, the thesis focuses on the author's role in establishing a new genre called New Journalism which can be linked with the era's countercultural efforts as well. In general, Thompson, in his texts, examines various phenomena surrounding the counterculture and provides us with a distinctive portrayal of the era's zeitgeist. However, unlike some of his contemporaries, he also remembers to examine numerous flaws and fallacies existing within contemporary American society, the American Dream...
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Sam Shepard: Buried Child
Filinger, Marek ; Josek, Jiří (advisor) ; Russell, Robert Alexander (referee)
One of the reasons for writing this thesis was to help readers and theatregoers better understand Shepard's plays and to let them see, at least partly, his intentions. Yet, to ask for a straightforward explanation or an unambiguous ending would mean to completely misunderstand the author. Samuel Shepard the playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, poet and musician as well as a cowboy and shaman - "a New World shaman" - is anything but a piece of cake. To know this much might be enough unless you plan to translate or direct one of his plays. And for these very purposes, I have decided to prepare a roadmap for understanding Samuel Shepard Rogers III. My goal was to show three main influences that helped to form Shepard's style. First, we will travel with young Sam eastwards all the way to New York in order to discover a brave new world. Only fifteen years later, we will set the sails in the same direction again, this time to accompany an unheard-off success - an Off-Off- Broadway show moving from San Francisco to New York to be eventually awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, this child prodigy we came with is dying; indeed, it is already a Buried Child. After twenty more years, Shepard will revise the text and claim that "it's now a better play". That is where our analysis starts. First, we will...
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Benjamin Franklin and Jay Gatsby: A Comparison of American Literary Self-Made Men
Korejtková, Adéla ; Procházka, Martin (advisor) ; Veselá, Pavla (referee)
The thesis focuses on Benjamin Franklin, as he is portrayed in his Autobiography, and Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, who are connected not only by being self-made men. Firstly, they are both symbolical figures that made a powerful commentary on a period, on the country and on its core myth - the American Dream. Secondly, they are linked by Fitzgerald himself since his hero creates a schedule and a table of general resolves which clearly imitate Franklin's schedule and the list of thirteen virtues that he intended to master. The aim of this paper is to focus on the Autobiography and The Great Gatsby and to show that Franklin's views of self-help, virtue, material wealth, social progress or religion may add another dimension to the analysis of the character of Jay Gatsby and his relation to the American Dream. In the second chapter of this thesis, the two texts are examined in terms of the authors' purpose, style and the way the central character is presented to the audience. Furthermore, I compare Franklin's own stylized self-presentation to Nick Carraway's view of Gatsby. The third chapter aims to determine in what way was Franklin's version of the central American myth transformed or corrupted in The Great Gatsby. In this part, I compare the schedules of the...
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Hungarian Emigration to the United States of America from 1867 to 1880
Beňačková, Miroslava ; Koura, Jan (advisor) ; Županič, Jan (referee)
This diploma thesis will be dealing with the process of emigration from the former Hungarian Kingdom to the USA (specifically via the ports of the state of New York) in the period from 1867 to 1880. Its aim will be to capture the economic and social situation of the immigrants after their arrival to the USA, their association with each other in the early organizations and ethnic determination. Based on primary sources, it will produce statistics. It will deal with their perception by the local inhabitants as well and it will attempt to answer the question, to what extent did they manage to fulfill "the American dream". The characteristics of the observed period will be the outcome, together with the attempt to confirm the hypothesis that this period was the preparation stage for the economic migration beginning in the 1880s. Key words: emigration, Hungary, United States of America, american dream, economic migration, immigration, ethnicity
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Hidden Treason: Aspects of the Protagonist's Action in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Redchitc, Daria ; Robbins, David Lee (advisor) ; Veselá, Pavla (referee)
BA Thesis Abstract From the very moment of its publication in 1952 Invisible Man by Ralph Waldo Ellison has been widely discussed by critics but, in my view, the Prologue did not receive due attention. In my thesis I am going to argue that it is exactly in the Prologue where the readers can see Invisible Man in full action, although he himself seems to overlook it even in the Epilogue, in which the protagonist is still uncertain about his future action. That is possible, for the tone of the whole novel suggests that the protagonist is not as insightful as he may think. Otherwise, if the Prologue is not there to show the readers that the protagonist is actually in full action, the purpose of the Prologue as a mere introductory piece seems to be redundant if one is to bear in mind that in the first paragraph of the first chapter the protagonist repeats the essential information of the Prologue, that is that he is invisible. In my thesis I am going to discuss the protagonist's action in the Prologue and how it serves the purpose of the entire novel, the key activity being the "fight against Monopolated Light & Power" which could be read on two levels: as straightforward civil disobedience and as symbolic artistic manifesto. The former concept is significant in the range of the whole novel and American...
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Steinbeck's People in Flight: An Analysis of the Transformative Forces of the Road Taken
Purkrábková, Petra ; Robbins, David Lee (advisor) ; Ulmanová, Hana (referee)
This thesis focuses on the theme of the journey and the changes that occur in the socio-historical context of the Great Depression as well as in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The thesis is an expository piece on road literature, its features and how the chosen novel has earned its rightful place in the American oeuvre, specifically that of road literature. The thesis is separated into two major parts. The former part provides the reader with a socio- historical context of the Great Depression as well as a background on the historical patterns of the 'journey' in America and how these two aspects are interrelated in the context of this thesis. The latter part constitutes the analysis of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath by including the authorial relationship to the novel and the many aspects of the novel as studied through the scope of road literature. This part is further expanded by a close-up analysis of the changes in identity of characters in The Grapes of Wrath. The primary focus is on the notion of change and how it is connected to the notion of the road, including how the human being stands between these notions and is transformed in the process. Keywords: change, mobility, flight, escape, John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, American Dream, hope, depression, 1930s, Great...
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An Outlaw Journalist's Journey through an Era Decadent and Depraved: Hunter S. Thompson in the context of America of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Stárek, Jiří ; Robbins, David Lee (advisor) ; Ulmanová, Hana (referee)
The thesis aims to explore the artistic personality of Hunter S. Thompson, one of the most distinctive cultural figures of post-war America, and his genesis as an author, journalist, and a counterculture idol of the 1960s. The era is now widely regarded as a turning point in contemporary American history as its deep-rooted values and norms were, over the course of a decade, gradually transformed by the young generation of social and political activists toward allegedly a more tolerant and liberal kind of community. Crucial in such an endeavor was the role of the countercultural movement that produced some of the most capable intellectual minds of the time, including Thompson. The paper thus analyzes the role and nature of the alternative culture in America as perceived by one of its most observant participants. Also, the thesis focuses on the author's role in establishing a new genre called New Journalism which can be linked with the era's countercultural efforts as well. In general, Thompson, in his texts, examines various phenomena surrounding the counterculture and provides us with a distinctive portrayal of the era's zeitgeist. However, unlike some of his contemporaries, he also remembers to examine numerous flaws and fallacies existing within contemporary American society, the American Dream...
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Benjamin Franklin and Jay Gatsby: A Comparison of American Literary Self-Made Men
Korejtková, Adéla ; Procházka, Martin (advisor) ; Veselá, Pavla (referee)
The thesis focuses on Benjamin Franklin, as he is portrayed in his Autobiography, and Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, who are connected not only by being self-made men. Firstly, they are both symbolical figures that made a powerful commentary on a period, on the country and on its core myth - the American Dream. Secondly, they are linked by Fitzgerald himself since his hero creates a schedule and a table of general resolves which clearly imitate Franklin's schedule and the list of thirteen virtues that he intended to master. The aim of this paper is to focus on the Autobiography and The Great Gatsby and to show that Franklin's views of self-help, virtue, material wealth, social progress or religion may add another dimension to the analysis of the character of Jay Gatsby and his relation to the American Dream. In the second chapter of this thesis, the two texts are examined in terms of the authors' purpose, style and the way the central character is presented to the audience. Furthermore, I compare Franklin's own stylized self-presentation to Nick Carraway's view of Gatsby. The third chapter aims to determine in what way was Franklin's version of the central American myth transformed or corrupted in The Great Gatsby. In this part, I compare the schedules of the...
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Sam Shepard: Buried Child
Filinger, Marek ; Josek, Jiří (advisor) ; Russell, Robert Alexander (referee)
One of the reasons for writing this thesis was to help readers and theatregoers better understand Shepard's plays and to let them see, at least partly, his intentions. Yet, to ask for a straightforward explanation or an unambiguous ending would mean to completely misunderstand the author. Samuel Shepard the playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, poet and musician as well as a cowboy and shaman - "a New World shaman" - is anything but a piece of cake. To know this much might be enough unless you plan to translate or direct one of his plays. And for these very purposes, I have decided to prepare a roadmap for understanding Samuel Shepard Rogers III. My goal was to show three main influences that helped to form Shepard's style. First, we will travel with young Sam eastwards all the way to New York in order to discover a brave new world. Only fifteen years later, we will set the sails in the same direction again, this time to accompany an unheard-off success - an Off-Off- Broadway show moving from San Francisco to New York to be eventually awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, this child prodigy we came with is dying; indeed, it is already a Buried Child. After twenty more years, Shepard will revise the text and claim that "it's now a better play". That is where our analysis starts. First, we will...
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