Layers of freedom: a philosophical analysis of 19th-century North American Literature
In this thesis, the concept of “freedom” is explored from a philosophical perspective to understand its evolution since Aristotelian times and discern what form it took in North America during the 19th century. Through the elaboration of political documents at the very end of the 18th century such a...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2022 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) |
| Repositorio: | O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/147636 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10609/147636 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | literatura nord-americana llibertat esclavitud libertad literatura norteamericana freedom slavery North American Literature American literature -- TFM Literatura nord-americana -- TFM Literatura norteamericana -- TFM |
| Sumario: | In this thesis, the concept of “freedom” is explored from a philosophical perspective to understand its evolution since Aristotelian times and discern what form it took in North America during the 19th century. Through the elaboration of political documents at the very end of the 18th century such as the Declaration of Independence (1776) or the US Constitution (1788), this country’s ideals were stated on paper, yet they were far from being applicable to all citizens. After the turn of the century, slavery was still allowed in many states, and its eradication towards the second half thereof meant a complete shift that would change North America’s mindset forever, even if its traces are still visible nowadays. The thorough analysis of two key literary texts in the US panorama –Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience (1849) and Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) – provide the reader with two very distinct perspectives of living during these troubled times, where only some avoided the every-man-for-himself mentality. The audience that their testimonies reached revealed how contradictory rights could be and became eye-opening for many: freedom was not as straightforward as it seemed, let alone universal. |
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