Bobbie Ann Mason is one of the most important southern female writers at the end of the 20th century. Joseph M. Flora in his contribution to the The History of Southern Women’s Literature notes that “apart from Eudora Welty, few have more national visibility” (550). A number of Mason’s short stories were re-published in anthologies (see KcKee 359); her novel In Country became part of the syllabus in many high schools and colleges since its publication in 1985, and the 1989 Hollywood film adaptation starring Bruce Willis made her work accessible to an even broader audience. The critics have also shown a keen interest in her work as the huge number of overwhelmingly positive literary reviews and academic publications demonstrate (see Flora, Fiction 282-285). The topics Mason raises in her work seem to strike a chord with both the general as well as the professional readers. As one scholar put it, the most important innovation of the contemporary realist authors such as Mason “is their ability to portray the experiences of people from a lower economic class with realism, complexity, and dignity”. (Hovis, K Mart 395f.) In her work, Bobbie Ann Mason describes a contemporary southern society from a white working-class perspective, mostly places and characters that are well known to her, without looking down on what could be perceived as their lack of education or backwardness. It also reflects the socio-economic, historical and cultural changes and the loss of traditional certainties that the U.S., and in her case particularly the rural and semi-rural areas of Kentucky, have faced over the last century. In In Country, Mason pays homage to the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s that have played a pivotal role in the shaping of western societies as we know them today; the all-pervading theme, however, is the Vietnam War and its aftermath. This paper will focus on a particular aspect fostered by the historical events and developments of the 1960s and 1970s, namely the dissolution of conventional binary oppositions such as that of “Man” and “Woman”, elitist and mass culture, reality and fiction, past and present, “the North” and “the South” and the trespassing of boundaries in Mason’s novel In Country.[...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Biography
3. In Country: Content and Form
3.1. Characters
3.2. Structure
3.3. Narrative Technique
3.4. Style
4. Socio-economic and Cultural Background
4.1. The Vietnam War
4.2. The Countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s
5. Blurring the Boundaries
5.1. “Reality” and “Representation”
5.2. “High” and “Low” Culture
5.3. “Man” and Woman”
5.4. “The North” and “The South”
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines the dissolution of conventional binary oppositions and the transgression of boundaries in Bobby Ann Mason’s novel In Country. It explores how the characters navigate identity and historical trauma, specifically focusing on the legacy of the Vietnam War and the influence of cultural shifts in the 1960s and 1970s.
- The impact of the Vietnam War on individual and national consciousness.
- The role of pop culture and media in shaping personal reality.
- The deconstruction of binary concepts such as "Man" and "Woman" and "High" vs. "Low" culture.
- The transformation of Southern identity and the transition from rural traditions to modernity.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2. Structure
In Country consists of three distinctive parts. Part One and Three, which describe Sam, Emmett and Mamaw Hughes’ trip to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., are mostly written in the present tense and therefore creating a sense of great immediacy. Right from the beginning, we as readers are thrown “in medias res”, and despite some explicatory sentences about age and relationship of the three characters, a lot of questions remain open: Why are they going to Washington? What happened during that summer? What happened in the swamp? (see Mason, Country 3-8) These “gaps of meaning” build up a kind of suspense; and the answers to these riddles will eventually be revealed in the middle part, which is written in the past tense. In cinematic terms, one would speak of a flashback. A few pages into the third part, when the narration returns to the trio travelling towards Washington (Mason, Country 236), this is reflected on the linguistic level by switching back into present tense.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: Outlines the significance of Bobbie Ann Mason as a Southern writer and defines the paper's focus on binary oppositions within In Country.
2. Biography: Traces Mason’s personal background, highlighting her upbringing in Kentucky and her career trajectory as an academic and writer.
3. In Country: Content and Form: Analyzes the novel’s characters, structure, narrative approach, and stylistic features like "dirty realism."
4. Socio-economic and Cultural Background: Examines the broader American cultural context, specifically the Vietnam War and the countercultural movements of the 1960s/70s.
5. Blurring the Boundaries: Discusses the dissolution of fixed concepts, ranging from the merging of reality and representation to gender fluidity and regional identity.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes how the novel uses transgression and reconciliation to facilitate the protagonist's coming-of-age and quest for identity.
Keywords
In Country, Bobby Ann Mason, Vietnam War, Southern literature, binary oppositions, gender roles, pop culture, minimalism, dirty realism, trauma, coming-of-age, identity, counterculture, historical consciousness, boundary transgression.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on how Bobby Ann Mason’s novel In Country challenges and dissolves conventional binary oppositions, such as the divide between reality and fiction, and masculine and feminine roles.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The central themes include the psychological aftermath of the Vietnam War, the impact of popular mass culture, the fluidity of gender identities, and the transformation of the American South.
What is the author's primary research objective?
The objective is to analyze how the historical and cultural developments of the 1960s and 1970s are reflected in the novel through the trespassing of social and structural boundaries.
Which methodology is applied in the study?
The study utilizes literary analysis, focusing on narrative technique, stylistic elements, and historical contextualization to interpret the characters' personal quests.
What is examined in the main body of the paper?
The main body investigates the content and form of the novel, the socio-economic backdrop of Kentucky, and specific examples where binary boundaries—like North vs. South or high vs. low culture—are blurred.
Which keywords best characterize this publication?
Key terms include Vietnam War, Southern literature, pop culture, gender fluidity, binary oppositions, and identity construction.
How does Sam’s view of popular culture influence her search for truth?
Sam uses elements from pop culture, like the show M*A*S*H and various music, as a framework to understand her reality and the confusing legacy of her father's service in Vietnam.
What role does the Vietnam War Memorial play in the novel's conclusion?
The Memorial acts as a site of emotional reconciliation, allowing the characters to confront their grief and bridge the gap between their past and present lives.
- Quote paper
- Bachelor Katharina Eder (Author), 2009, Blurring the Boundaries in Bobby Ann Mason’s "In Country" (1985) , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/171935
