In this succinct study, Scott Romine considers a key paradox that has been associated with the concept of ""community"" from the beginning of modern southern literary criticism: namely, that communities often valued for their cohesiveness and moral stability were at the same time sites of oppression along race and class lines. How were communities so deeply divided able to maintain even the appearance of organic cohesiveness? The Narrative Forms of Southern Community contains close readings of five narratives, Augustus ...
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In this succinct study, Scott Romine considers a key paradox that has been associated with the concept of ""community"" from the beginning of modern southern literary criticism: namely, that communities often valued for their cohesiveness and moral stability were at the same time sites of oppression along race and class lines. How were communities so deeply divided able to maintain even the appearance of organic cohesiveness? The Narrative Forms of Southern Community contains close readings of five narratives, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet's Georgia Scenes, John Pendleton Kennedy's Swallow Barn, Thomas Nelson Page's In Ole Virginia, William Alexander Percy's Lanterns on the Levee, and William Faulkner's Light in August, that attempt to mediate or negotiate the social tensions inherent in the stratified world they represent. Whereas most earlier examinations of community are thematically oriented, this study focuses on the formal structures, framing techniques, narrative stylistics, master codes, and collective plots, among others, that allow the narrative in question to recover an image of an ideal social order. In particular, this book traces the narrative strategies of deferral, displacement, and evasion that enable what can be thought of as ""simulated consensus,"" a paradox that informs all of the works under discussion. Romine, in arguing against the idea of community as a group of like-minded individuals, suggests that community is better conceived as a social group that, lacking a commonly held view of reality, connects by means of norms, codes, and manners that produce an artificial, or at least symbolically constituted, social reality. Romine realises the complexity of the concept of community and appreciates the challenges facing those who wrestle with its questions. By exploring the various ways in which writers associated with the cultural status quo attempt to rationalize the oppressive nature of society, this first book-length study of community in southern literature contributes greatly to current revisionary reappraisals by going beyond many of the old assumptions.
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Add this copy of The Narrative Forms of Southern Community (Southern to cart. $5.00, like new condition, Sold by Zubal Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cleveland, OH, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by LSU Press.
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226 pp., Paperback, fine. -If you are reading this, this item is actually (physically) in our stock and ready for shipment once ordered. We are not bookjackers. Buyer is responsible for any additional duties, taxes, or fees required by recipient's country.
Add this copy of Narrative Forms of Southern Community to cart. $28.18, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 1999 by Louisiana State University Press.
Add this copy of The Narrative Forms of Southern Community (Southern to cart. $30.00, very good condition, Sold by Shelley and Son Books (IOBA) rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hendersonville, NC, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by LSU Press.
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Near Fine. Considers the paradox associated with the concept of "community" from the beginning of modern southern literary criticism: namely, that communities often valued for their cohesiveness and moral stability were at the same time sites of oppression along race and class lines. Paperback. No writing in the book (except date of purchase "6-05" on free end paper. 226pp., index. Full refund if not satisfied.
Add this copy of The Narrative Forms of Southern Community (Southern to cart. $30.28, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by LSU Press.
Add this copy of The Narrative Forms of Southern Community (Southern to cart. $94.97, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by LSU Press.
