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The Theme of Homosexuality in the Works of W.S. Burroughs
CHLOUPÝ, Martin
The Bachelor's thesis deals with the analysis and literary interpretation of three works of William Seward Burroughs: the novels Junkie (1953), Naked Lunch (1959) and Queer (1985). The starting point of the thesis is a description of the Beat generation and the author's literary output regarding his own experience and attitudes. The practical part focuses on describing the main characters with respect to their experience of homosexuality. The thesis also deals with the motif of drugs, which functions as means of escaping from the reality. It also anticipates the tragic end. The motif of the journey is also considered, as another opportunity to escape in the search for the individual identity and the meaning of life. The conclusion summarizes the ambiguity of Burroughs' works, expressing his emotional personal confession and also a sharp social criticism.
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Searching for Freedom in Jack London´s Novel The Road and Jack Kerouac´s Novel On the Road
ROSSMANN, Michal
The diploma thesis deals with a comparative analysis of two famous works of American literature of the 20th century: The Road (1907) by Jack London and On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac. The starting point of the thesis is a description of the personalities of both authors, who experience similar feelings in different periods of time. The thesis focuses on the way how London influenced Kerouac. The theoretical part deals with the meaning of the journey in the epic tradition (Bakhtin). The practical part focuses on comparing particular themes and motifs of the discussed works, while dealing with different aspects of the journey (adventure, escape, meeting, searching for identity and for the meaning of life). The thesis also deals with the experience of vagrancy as a way of life. Interpersonal relationships are analysed in an individual chapter. This chapter draws on the work Way to Wisdom by Karl Jaspers. The conclusion provides a summary of the motifs which can show how London influences Kerouac and how Kerouac develops and transforms the theme of the journey.
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Comparison of lives and works of E. A. Poe and Stephen King/ What can make people write horror stories?
Kopečná, Kateřina ; Ženíšek, Jakub (advisor) ; Chalupský, Petr (referee)
The bachelor thesis is concerned with the comparison of lives and works of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. In the theoretical part of the thesis the horror genre and its typical features are introduced together with outlining both writers' brief biographies. The main part focuses on the analogies between the authors' lives and similarities in the topics and motifs of their work. Poe and King are world-wide famous horror writers; and besides the obvious similarities, such as the nationality and the choice of genre, there are many parallel events and influences in their lives that might have affected the literary production. The thesis provides a deeper analysis of those facets and it puts them in context with their works. The last part interconnects the findings made throughout and explores the tentative thesis as to whether there can be something that can "make" a person write horror stories.
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War-induced xenophobia in David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars
Šaldová, Ivona ; Ženíšek, Jakub (advisor) ; Topolovská, Tereza (referee)
NÁZEV: War-induced xenophobia in David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars AUTOR: Ivona Šaldová KATEDRA: Department of English Language and Literature VEDOUCÍ PRÁCE: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek ABSTRACT This thesis concerns itself with xenophobia and war induced paranoia and its features and impacts on human behaviour in the work of David Guterson Snow Falling on Cedars. The first part explains the differences in individual terms, describes unification theories and outlines the issue of dual loyalty. The second part identifies features of xenophobia in individual characters of Guterson's work. This analysis is supported by the theoretical foundation from the first section. KEYWORDS American Literature, Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson, Xenophobia, War- induced paranoia, Nativism, Character analysis
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Luba and Rudolf Pellar: Translations from English
Gillová, Lucie ; Beran, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Jindra, Miroslav (referee)
The history of translation is a very important part of literature and to study it is crucial for many reasons. New translators always continue in some already existing tradition which is therefore important to study, analyze and also to learn from. This bachelor thesis deals with the translations from English by Luba and Rudolf Pellar who were translating for almost fifty years. Because their life experience can influence their work, the first part of this thesis deals with their lives and also summarizes some selected translations. The second part of this work is the analysis of selected translations. However, first of all, the translations of titles of the particular texts are analyzed because even they can tell a lot about the method of a translator. Consequently, the three selected texts- The Catcher in the Rye (Kdo chytá v žitě) by J.D. Salinger, Across the River and into the Trees (Přes řeku do stínu stromů) by Ernest Hemingway and American Pastoral (Americká Idyla) by Philip Roth- are analyzed in detail. These texts were selected because they represent equally the whole career of Pellar and the development of the method of translation can be observed in them. Moreover, the novel by Hemingway had been already published earlier and this translation is used for a comparison of two different...
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Modernity and the Changing American South: Alienation in a Selection of Fiction by Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty
Halášková, Lucie ; Roraback, Erik Sherman (advisor) ; Ulmanová, Hana (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to explore the theme of alienation in selected fiction by Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor, taking into consideration the geographic as well as ideological positions from which the two authors write, contextualizing their work in its portrayal as well as critique of the South. Firstly, the insular nature of the South is examined vis-à-vis ethnic and racial othering. The exclusionary social politics of Southern communities are satirized and subverted, as the two authors pit the xenophobic and racist tendencies of their provincial characters against a cultural landscape that fails to accommodate their narrow- minded world view. The gap between the Southern ideology and its contemporaneous reality can be partially accounted for due to the rise of consumer culture, which is discussed in its impact on race relations and social mobility as well as religion. The following chapter, entitled "Commodity Culture and the Americanization of the South," explores the conflation of religious and consumerist ideologies, negotiating the proclaimed adherence to Protestantism in the South with the rise of consumer behaviour as supplanting spirituality. The impact of a ritualistic adherence to capitalist structures is analyzed as promoting a culture of hyper-individualism, narcissism and alienation,...
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The Beginnings and the Image of Propaganda Through Chosen American Literary Works and Newspapers at the turn of the 19th Century
Bílková, Monika ; Malý, Radek (advisor) ; Čeňková, Jana (referee)
This bachelor thesis observes selected American literary works written at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries from a bit different angle. While we usually associate the term "propaganda" with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, fiction presents a way of entertainment. However, every literary work, whether consciously or subconsciously, still reflects the particular period. Especially the second half of the 19th century was a very turbulent era full of different changes and paradoxes. How have then the generally acknowledged notions and beliefs, as well as the harmful and challenging social norms, which have been ironically emerging even in the democratic "land of infinite possibilities" and values such as freedom and equality, been reflected in works that are respected and read to this day? Have the authors and the heroes of their stories managed to confront, and eventually escape the merciless social dictate or have they succumbed to it under the ambient pressure? The theoretical part of this thesis will introduce the definitions of propaganda as well as the general historical context. The practical part will then characterize and analyze the individual literary works. What do they say about the society at that time, and to what extent do they oppose or support it?
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Motiv smrti ve vybraných románech Michaela Cunninghama
KOUKLÍKOVÁ, Tereza
The bachelor thesis focuses on expression of the death motif in selected works of the American writer, Michael Cunningham (Specimen Days, The Snow Queen, Flesh and Blood, A Home at the End of the World), it tries to track this motif not only in narratives as such, but also in acting of individual characters. In the above-mentioned novels it explores their approaches to death itself, answers and reactions to it. It maps how the (non)existence of this motif is experienced and dealt with in different points of view, by what means it is used in a specific story line and which of the various shapes it embraces, for example in a figurative conception or in contrast to the opposite, but not separable entity: life.
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Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker: Metaphor of Philosophy and Subversion
TRUBKA, Jiří
The aim of this thesis is to describe the features of postmodernism and grotesque in the work of Tom Robbins' Still Life with Woodpecker. This work is called "postmodern fairy tale" and in its structure and thoughts reflected America's sociocultural context of the time. One of the goals of this work is to describe the context and at the same time to focus on other works of this author that will be viewed through this lens ie. With respect to postmodernism, and grotesque subversion
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