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A Study on Masculinity in American Adolescent Literature

Research Project

Project/Area Number10610471
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Section一般
Research Field 英語・英米文学
Research InstitutionHiroshima University

Principal Investigator

YOSHIDA Junko  Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Professor, 総合科学部, 教授 (30253024)

Project Period (FY) 1998 – 1999
Project Status Completed(Fiscal Year 1999)
Budget Amount *help
¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost : ¥2,600,000)
Fiscal Year 1999 : ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost : ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 1998 : ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost : ¥1,400,000)
KeywordsAmerican literature / Children's literature / Masculinity / Adolescent literature
Research Abstract

First, I examine how the "discontent of masculine identity, " which had already been budding in Mark Twain's The Adventure of Tom Sawyer and Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, was transmitted to the representations of masculinity in L.Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz : the Scarecrow, the Woodsman, the Lion, and the Wizard.
Second, in the textual analysis of John Knowles's A Separate Peace, I deal with the masculine identity crisis. Placing the novel in a socio-cultural context, I demonstrate how America's hegemony on the international political stage, or the political discourse of "the End of Innocence, " deeply influenced this adolescent novel.
Third, in a close-reading of Walter Dean Myers's Scorpions, I focus on the black adolescent protagonist who has too often been excluded as the "Other" from the hero image in the traditional American narrative. Through the eyes of a marginalized black youth, "the End of Innocence" of the white "American Adam" signifies the deconstruction of the traditional American narrative. Accordingly, the alternative and unique narrative of masculine identity formation for the black youth is narrated in his own voice.
In this study, I demonstrate that the discontent or the crisis in masculine identity formation is closely connected to the transformation of the national narratives dominated by white males. As a result of the revised main plot of the narrative under the influence of strong Others' voices, the masculinity of the traditional American hero is compelled to change. In other words, in accordance with the acceptance of Others' voices into mainstream American society, or otherness into America's national identity, the "manhood" of the American Empire is transformed, and thus the manhood of the American Adam also undergoes transformation.

Report

(3results)
  • 1999 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report Summary
  • 1998 Annual Research Report

Research Products

(15results)

All Other

All Publications

  • [Publications] Yoshida,Junko: "The Quest for Masculinity in The Chocolate War : Changing Masculinity in the 1970s"Children's Literature. 28. 105-122 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 吉田 純子: "夢の国の陰で-『オズの魔法使い』の悩める男たち"欧米文化研究. 5. 211-225 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 吉田 純子: "A Separate Peace における男性性のゆらぎ-50年代アメリカの不安、皮肉、逆説の自画像"人間文化研究. 7. 243-280 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 吉田 純子: "グリム童話の変容とアメリカ文化"ユリイカ. 31-5. 196-203 (1999)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 吉田 純子: "歪んだ黒人イメージとの闘い-MyersのScorpionsにみる男性性"人間文化研究. 8. 185-212 (1999)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 1. YOSHIDA, Junko: "The Quest for Masculinity in The Chocolate War : Changing Masculinity in the 1970s"Children's Literature.. 28. 105-122 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 2. YOSHIDA, Junko: "Men Uneasy in the Land of Oz : Masculinity in The Wizard of Oz"Studies on European and American Culture. 5. 211-225 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 3. YOSHIDA, Junko: "A Double Vision of Masculinity in A Separate Peace : Fear, Irony, and Paradox in American Masculinity of the Fifties"Studies on Human and Culture. 7. 243-280 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 4. YOSHIDA, Junko: "The Transformation of the Grimms' Fairy Tale and American Culture"Yuri-ika. 31-5. 196-203 (1999)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 5. YOSHIDA, Junko: "Conflict with the Distorted Image of Black Masculinity in Myters's Scorpions"Studies on Human and Culture. 8. 185-212 (1999)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1999 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 吉田純子: "グリム童話の変容とアメリカ文化"ユリイカ. 31-5. 196-203 (1999)

    • Related Report
      1999 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 吉田純子: "歪んだ黒人イメージとの闘い-MyersのScorpionsにみる男性性"人間文化研究. 8. 185-212 (1999)

    • Related Report
      1999 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] Yoshida,Junko: "The Quest for Masculinity in The Chocolate war:Changing Maswlinity in the 1970s" Children‘s Literature. 28. 105-122 (1998)

    • Related Report
      1998 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 吉田純子: "夢の国の影で-『オズの魔法使い』の悩める男たち" 欧米文化研究. 5. 211-225 (1998)

    • Related Report
      1998 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 吉田純子: "A Separate Peace における男性性のゆらぎ-50年代アメリカの不安、皮肉、逆説の自画像" 人間文化研究. 7. 243-280 (1998)

    • Related Report
      1998 Annual Research Report

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Published : 1998-04-01   Modified : 2016-04-21  

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