Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America
Utilizing Ernest Gellner and Benedict Anderson’s definition of “nationalism,” this article concerns American nationalism and aesthetics and argues that Hawthorne and Melville were among the first American imaginative writers to challenge the myth of American Exceptionalism in terms of their aestheti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2010-02-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/7757 |
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| _version_ | 1841558114280669184 |
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| author | Michael Broek |
| author_facet | Michael Broek |
| author_sort | Michael Broek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Utilizing Ernest Gellner and Benedict Anderson’s definition of “nationalism,” this article concerns American nationalism and aesthetics and argues that Hawthorne and Melville were among the first American imaginative writers to challenge the myth of American Exceptionalism in terms of their aesthetic operations, insofar as Hawthorne’s sense of ambiguity and Melville’s sense of multiple perspectives challenges the validity of any single monological narrative of national identity. The article further places this argument within the context of modern and contemporary American literature, with particular references to Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy, whose most recent novel, The Road, was released on film in the Fall of 2009. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-60881427f69545518099a8281d0f9030 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2010-02-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-60881427f69545518099a8281d0f90302025-01-06T09:11:03ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362010-02-015110.4000/ejas.7757Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of AmericaMichael BroekUtilizing Ernest Gellner and Benedict Anderson’s definition of “nationalism,” this article concerns American nationalism and aesthetics and argues that Hawthorne and Melville were among the first American imaginative writers to challenge the myth of American Exceptionalism in terms of their aesthetic operations, insofar as Hawthorne’s sense of ambiguity and Melville’s sense of multiple perspectives challenges the validity of any single monological narrative of national identity. The article further places this argument within the context of modern and contemporary American literature, with particular references to Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy, whose most recent novel, The Road, was released on film in the Fall of 2009.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/7757aesthetics NationalismAmerican ExceptionalismHerman MelvilleNathaniel HawthorneErnest Gellner |
| spellingShingle | Michael Broek Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America European Journal of American Studies aesthetics Nationalism American Exceptionalism Herman Melville Nathaniel Hawthorne Ernest Gellner |
| title | Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America |
| title_full | Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America |
| title_fullStr | Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America |
| title_short | Were It a New-Made World: Hawthorne, Melville and the Unmasking of America |
| title_sort | were it a new made world hawthorne melville and the unmasking of america |
| topic | aesthetics Nationalism American Exceptionalism Herman Melville Nathaniel Hawthorne Ernest Gellner |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/7757 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelbroek wereitanewmadeworldhawthornemelvilleandtheunmaskingofamerica |