Repression and Realism in Post-War American Literature (American Literature Readings in the 21st Century)

Despite the devastation of combat in WWII, the Holocaust, and the atomic bomb, the fiction produced in America in the decade following resolutely avoided the events and their implications. Repression and Realism in Postwar American Literature challenges popular notions regarding the ability of fantasy genres to force a confrontation with repressed horror by exploring the ways realist literature became a subversive site of reified taboo in America following World War II. Despite The Devasation Of Combat In Wwii, The Holocaust, And The Atomic Bomb, The Fiction Produced In America In The Decade Following Resolutely Avoided The Events And Their Implications. Repression And Realism In Postwar American Literature Challenges Popular Notions Regarding The Ability Of Fantasy Genres To Force A Confrontation With Repressed Horror By Exploring The Ways Realist Literature Became A Subversive Site Of Reified Taboo In America Following World War Ii. Missing In Action: Repression, Return, And The Postwar Uncanny -- Automatons And The Atomic Abyss: Norman Mailer's The Naked And The Dead -- Haunting And Race: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man -- The Sacred Other: Flannery O'connor's Wise Blood -- The Dubious Double: Saul Bellow's The Victim -- The Familiar Made Strange: Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky -- Repression And Confession: Jack Kerouac's On The Road -- The Concealment That Fails To Conceal. Erin Mercer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [225]-245). Cover......Page 1 Titlepage......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 1 Missing in Action: Repression, Return, and the Post-War Uncanny......Page 10 2 Automatons and the Atomic Abyss: Norman Mailer’sThe Naked and the Dead......Page 46 3 Haunting and Race: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man......Page 70 4 The Sacred Other: Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood......Page 98 5 Dubious Reality and the Double: Saul Bellow’sThe Victim......Page 122 6 The Familiar Made Strange: Paul Bowles’sThe Sheltering Sky......Page 152 7 Repression and Confession: Jack Kerouac’s Onthe Road......Page 176 8 The Concealment that Fails to Conceal......Page 192 Notes......Page 202 Bibliography......Page 234 Index......Page 256 This study of fiction produced in America in the decade following 1945 examines literature by writers such as Kerouac and Bellow. It examines how, though such fiction seemed to resolutely avoid the events and implications of World War II, it was still suffused with dread and suggestions of war in imagery and language.