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Dissertation Information for Lois P Tucker

NAME:
- Lois P Tucker

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- English

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (2005)

ADVISORS:
- Roland Emerick

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Malcom Hayward
- Karen Dandurand

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Redefining family as a means of establishing identity, equality, and freedom

Abstract: This study undertakes a review of the writings of Charles Waddell Chesnutt, particularly his less popular novels, with a view to assessing his literary importance in the canon of African American literature. During his lifetime, Chesnutt, though given the opportunity to be published by the reputable white presses, was soon criticized as being too political to be of true literary value. His fiction was dubbed as being more controlled by the his socio-political purpose than by the refinement of literary and artistic skill.

However, as a self-made man, dabbling in various genres of knowledge, Chesnutt was able to write from an informed perspective. His reputation, his respectability, and his own experience as a mulatto enabled him to disseminate his personal convictions about the rightful status of Negroes in America and more specifically the untenable circumstances endured by those of mixed racial ancestry.

This study reveals that Chesnutt seized every opportunity he could to champion the cause for equality for minorities in America. His campaign for equality was clearly realized through his non-fiction, but in his fiction, more interestingly, Chesnutt has distinguished himself through his adeptness with the language. He has employed theoretical strategies and rhetorical manipulations that subtly, but clearly, engage the reader in interpretative analyses that suggest that he was a monumental literary figure. He was ahead of his time, implementing theoretical practices that were popularly established long after his death and championing a cause that not only may be recognized today as a predecessor to the Civil Rights Movement in America but should also be recognized as a significant human concern that presents itself throughout the world generation after generation.

Instead of being relegated to the level of a second-rate writer who could not depend on writing as a literary career, Charles Waddell Chesnutt needs to be heralded as a literary force to be recognized because of his theoretical strategies and his socio-political message.

MPACT Scores for Lois P Tucker

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2010-09-29 15:11:07

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