Eine vergleichende Analyse von jeweils einer Kurzgeschichte der Autoren Raymond Knister (Kanada) und Sherwood Anderson (USA) hinsichtlich ihrer Zugehörigkeit zum Komplex der 'modernen' nordamerikanischen Literatur unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Initiations-Motivs.
Table of Contents
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Raymond Knister and the modernist Canadian short story
1.3 Sherwood Anderson and the American short story
2.1 Raymond Knister: Mist-Green Oats (1922)
2.1.1 Analysis of Mist-Green Oats
3.1 Sherwood Anderson: I want to know why (1921)
3.1.1 Analysis of I want to know why
4.1 The Initiation story
4.1.1 The theme of initiation in Raymond Knister’s Mist-Green Oats
4.1.2 The theme of initiation in Sherwood Anderson’s I want to know why
5. Comparison of Mist-Green Oats and I want to know why
6. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper aims to analyze and compare Raymond Knister’s "Mist-Green Oats" and Sherwood Anderson’s "I want to know why" as quintessential examples of modernist short fiction, focusing specifically on their use of the "initiation story" narrative strategy to explore the passage from childhood to adulthood.
- Modernist literary techniques and the break from 19th-century conventions.
- The concept of the "initiation story" and the transition to maturity.
- Analysis of "objectified images" and "objective correlative" in modernist writing.
- Comparative study of generational conflict and sexual awakening.
- The role of the subjective narrator and fragmented narrative structures.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1 Analysis of Mist-Green Oats
Mist-Green Oats is narrated by a 3rd person narrator focalized on the main protagonist Len Brinder who is the only person in the story whose feelings and thoughts the narrator is able to display. MGO can surely not be described to have a casually linked plot, yet there is to be found a balanced proportion of internal and external actions which often complement each other in order to become one coherent image. The story is set in spring on the Brinders’ farm somewhere in Canada and narrates the time duration of two days. The parental farm is a place surrounded by beautiful nature which Len can only experience and appreciate in his short moments of leisure: “Yes, one could see the beauty of it distantly, but when the time came he would be numbed with toil” (57).
Because of Knister’s biography and his rural upbringing, the setting itself can already be seen as an ‘objectified image’ because “on the one hand, it provided the author with his major themes and characteristic setting and inspired the development of a modern-realist style, in defiance of the popular romance/adventure tradition. On the other hand, the numbing hardship of farming infuses many of these stories [Knister’s farm stories] with a sense of futility, if not tragedy” (Breitenbach 67). This contributes to Knister’s importance for modernist modes of representation because “Modernism can be defined as the articulation of the subject trying to speak of real personal experience” (Hunter 2).
Summary of Chapters
1.1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the two authors as key modernist figures and outlines the comparative approach to their respective initiation stories.
1.2 Raymond Knister and the modernist Canadian short story: Examines Knister's role in shaping Canadian modernist fiction through his focus on rural settings and narrative economy.
1.3 Sherwood Anderson and the American short story: Discusses Anderson's rebellion against conventional plot structures and his focus on the complexities of small-town American life.
2.1 Raymond Knister: Mist-Green Oats (1922): Provides a narrative summary of the protagonist's struggle with farm life and authoritarian parental structures.
2.1.1 Analysis of Mist-Green Oats: Analyzes the story's narrative focalization and use of "objectified images" to represent the protagonist's internal conflict.
3.1 Sherwood Anderson: I want to know why (1921): Details the plot regarding a young narrator's trip to the horse races and his subsequent encounter with the harsh realities of adult sexuality.
3.1.1 Analysis of I want to know why: Explores the use of a first-person narrator and how oral narration techniques are utilized to engage the reader.
4.1 The Initiation story: Defines the theoretical framework of the initiation story, including the "three-part structure" of innocence, experience, and maturity.
4.1.1 The theme of initiation in Raymond Knister’s Mist-Green Oats: Explains how the protagonist's initiation is linked to the burdens of maturity and unresolved vocational conflict.
4.1.2 The theme of initiation in Sherwood Anderson’s I want to know why: Discusses the narrator's loss of innocence and his confrontation with moral complexity.
5. Comparison of Mist-Green Oats and I want to know why: Synthesizes the similarities and differences in how both authors depict the incomplete nature of the initiation process.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes how both stories serve as testaments to the changing social landscape of the 20th century and the modernist attempt to articulate identity.
Keywords
Modernism, North American Short Story, Raymond Knister, Sherwood Anderson, Initiation Story, Mist-Green Oats, I want to know why, Narrative Technique, Objective Correlative, Identity, Modernist Movement, Adolescence, Emotional Authenticity, Literary Fragmentalism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines the representation of modernism and the "initiation story" theme in the early 20th-century short fiction of Raymond Knister and Sherwood Anderson.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study covers the transition from childhood to adulthood, the clash between individual desire and social/familial expectations, and the artistic shift away from 19th-century plot-driven literature.
What is the core research goal?
The goal is to analyze how these authors use specific narrative strategies to depict the complexity of human emotion and the incomplete nature of the initiation experience in a modern context.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis, relying on close reading of the texts combined with secondary scholarly research on modernist literary theory and anthropology.
What is discussed in the main section of the paper?
The main section provides detailed analyses of "Mist-Green Oats" and "I want to know why," followed by a theoretical exploration of the initiation genre and a direct comparison of the two works.
Which keywords best characterize the paper?
Key terms include Modernism, Initiation Story, Narrative Technique, Objective Correlative, and Identity.
How does Knister use the "objective correlative" in his work?
Knister employs simple, rural objects (such as the shoes in "Mist-Green Oats") to represent and "objectify" the internal, often inexpressible struggles and feelings of his characters.
What is the significance of the "open end" in both stories?
The open endings reflect the modernist preference for fragmentation and the rejection of neat, moralizing resolutions, illustrating that the characters' development is ongoing and unresolved.
Why is the initiation in both stories considered "incomplete"?
In both stories, the protagonists gain new knowledge and awareness, but they fail to fully achieve a stable state of adult maturity, leaving them in a state of confusion or trapped by their circumstances.
- Quote paper
- Christoph Hurka (Author), 2011, Elements of modern literature and the theme of initiation in Canadian and American short fiction , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/197996
