Mythical mapping in recent American fiction /
| Main Author: | |
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1988.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | "Mythical mapping" is the use of geographic space symbolically in a work of fiction, whether that space is invented or derived from the external world. The elements of mythical mapping are: association of spatial directions with certain values, movement of protagonists within the space to encounter or avoid those values, and use of a "center" (sacred space) for contact with other levels of existence. By drawing maps from information given in the work and tracing the movements of the protagonists, by examining characters, events, or images associated with points of the compass or a geographic center, by noting the role of literal or figurative maps, and by studying unique experiences that make a place a "center," we can produce an author's "mental map." In British and American literature, North and South tend to be associated respectively with intellectual control and with indulgence of the body; East and West are associated respectively with older, sophisticated, intuitive cultures, and with younger, naive, rational ones. For cultures of the Northern hemisphere, going South frequently entails a close encounter with death. For Americans, going West has the character of escape. A Jungian interpretation of journeying used here is that travel in all four directions signifies the search for unity of self. Symbols of self also are found in mandala-like "centers." This illustrated study applies "mythical mapping" to three novels involving extensive travel within the continental United States: Ross Lockridge, Jr.'s Raintree County, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and Stanley Elkin's The Franchiser. Some patterns discovered are: hidden symbolic shapes in Lockridge's fictional maps for his book; classical and primitive myths underlying Kerouac's modern symbols; and labyrinths and shamanism in Elkin's novel. The works make statements about the self through their versions of "center": in Raintree County, a swamp: in On the Road, jazz, cars, a room, Mexico City; in The Franchiser, a motel and man himself. The process demonstrated in this study can be applied to any fiction that portrays movement within a Euclidean space, as it clarifies the structure of the work and helps identify underlying myths and philosophical schemes. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: English." |
| Physical Description: | ix, 221 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |