The King Arthur Myth in Modern American LiteratureIn American fiction, two forms of the Arthurian myth are commonly found: the use of the myth for political reasons, and the use of the myth for the continuation of an aesthetic tradition that can be traced back to the earliest use of the Arthurian cycle by writers in the British Isles. This work traces the use of the legend from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court to Donald Barthelme's novel The King. It discusses how Twain used the myth to take a stand against England, how it served cultural and aesthetic purposes in John Steinbeck's writing, how Raymond Chandler used it in complex texts with less obvious Arthurian allusions that carried strong cultural and even political associations, how John Gardner used aspects of the myth to embellish already existing narrative structures and to underscore philosophic debates, and how Donald Barthelme suggests the continuing interest of American writers in the Arthurian legend today in his novels. Also discussed is the effect of World War II on American literature and the Arthurian myth and the Camelot image surrounding the Kennedys. |
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... Gunboats at Mobile Bay : August 1863 - December 1864 184 17. " Cradle of the Rebellion " : December 1861 - February 1865 18. The Capture of Fort Fisher : September 1864 - January 1865 Glossary Bibliography Index 195 208 217 221 223 List ...
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Contents
List of maps ཌ | 1 |
Pensacola Bay | 13 |
MarchApril 1861 | 19 |
AprilMay 1861 | 38 |
AprilDecember 1861 | 52 |
North Carolina Sounds | 92 |
Capture of Port Royal Sound | 107 |
April 1861December 1862 | 114 |
Charleston Harbor1863 | 199 |
Attack on Fort Fisher | 215 |
Glossary | 217 |
223 | |
Acknowledgments vii | 1 |
Steinbecks Early Novels 25 | 25 |
Raymond Chandler 43 | 43 |
Writers in World War II 60 | 60 |
Clash of the Ironclads | 123 |
June 1861October 1862 | 131 |
Island No 10 | 139 |
May 1861June 1862 | 147 |
October 1862May 1864 | 166 |
Chickasaw Bluffs | 171 |
August 1863December 1864 | 184 |
Battle of Mobile Bay | 186 |
Steinbecks Later Works 78 | 78 |
John Gardner 106 | 106 |
Donald Barthelme et al 122 | 122 |
Conclusion 139 | 139 |
145 | |
153 | |