Politics and History in William Golding provides a much needed politicized and historicized reading of William Golding's novels as a counter to previous, universalizing criticism. Paul Crawford argues that an understanding of fantastic and carnivalesque modes in Golding's work is vital if we are to appreciate fully his interrogation of twentieth-century life. Golding's early satirical novels question English constructions of national identity in opposition to Nazism and the "totalitarian personality." For Crawford, Golding ...
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Politics and History in William Golding provides a much needed politicized and historicized reading of William Golding's novels as a counter to previous, universalizing criticism. Paul Crawford argues that an understanding of fantastic and carnivalesque modes in Golding's work is vital if we are to appreciate fully his interrogation of twentieth-century life. Golding's early satirical novels question English constructions of national identity in opposition to Nazism and the "totalitarian personality." For Crawford, Golding can and must be studied in the wider European tradition of "literature of atrocity." His early novels, especially Lord of the Flies , are preoccupied with atrocity, whereas the later work betrays a greater concern for the status of language and literature.In Golding's later fiction, such as Darkness Visible , the fantastic and carnivalesque are used in an increasingly nonsatirical manner to complement first modernist and then postmodernist self-consciousness and indeterminacy. Even his critique of class and religious authority, which carries through all of his fiction, gives way to more lighthearted productions--a symptom of which is his crude, absurd attack against the English literary industry in The Paper Men . This reduction of satire marks a decline in Golding's political commitment and the production of more complex and arguably less satisfying novels. The fantastic and carnivalesque are foundational to both the satirical and nonsatirical approaches that mark Golding's early and late fiction. No previous study has analyzed this structure that is so central to his work. Politics and History in William Golding examines this writer's work more fully than it has been studied within the convoluted context of the last half of the twentieth century. Crawford directly links Golding's various deployments of the fantastic and carnivalesque to historical, political, and social change.
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy. No dust jacket. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 650grams, ISBN: 0826214169.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good+ in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall. Black hardcover with bright gilt lettering on spine, corners and spine ends lightly bumped and rubbed. Page edges slightly stained. Ex-university-library with neat indications--no card pocket. DJ shows light creasing and scuffing, covered with mylar and secured to boards. Binding tight, pages very clean, no other markings. 261 pages. Packaged carefully for shipment in cardboard with U. S. tracking. Oversized or heavy books may require extra postage for priority or international shipment.