Masculinity and the paradox of violence in American fiction, 1950-75
By: Maggie McKinley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2015
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 204
ISBN-13: 9781628924817
Subjects: American fiction; History and criticism; Masculinity in literature; Violence in literature; LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General; LITERARY CRITICISM / American / African American; LITERARY CRITICISM / General
Description: "Masculinity and the Paradox of Violence in American Fiction, 1950-1975 explores the intersections of violence, masculinity, and racial and ethnic tension in America as it is depicted in the fiction of Richard Wright, Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, James Baldwin, and Philip Roth. Maggie McKinley reconsiders the longstanding association between masculinity and violence, locating a problematic paradox within works by these writers: as each author figures violence as central to the establishment of a liberated masculine identity, the use of this violence often reaffirms many constricting and emasculating cultural myths and power structures that the authors and their protagonists are seeking to overturn"--

"An examination of the relationship between violence and masculinity in works by Richard Wright, Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, James Baldwin, and Philip Roth, highlighting the inherent paradox whereby masculinity in this fiction is both asserted and undermined by acts of aggression"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-200) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: 1. Multiple Masculinities and the Momentum of Violence in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man  2. Existentialism, Violence, and Racial Identity: The Shape of Masculinity in Richard Wright's The Outsider and The Long Dream 3. Violent Liberation and Racialized Masculinities: Norman Mailer's "The White Negro" and An American Dream 4. From Herzog to Sammler: Saul Bellow's Meditations on Masculinity, Modernity, and Violence 5. Desire, Violence, and Masculine Anxiety in Baldwin's Giovanni's Room and Another Country 6. "A grueling and gratifying ethical life": Manhood, Morality, and Violence in Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and My Life as a Man; title: Conclusion; title: Notes; title: Bibliography; title: Index.