The Metanarrative of Suspicion in Late Twentieth-Century America (Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory)

Narratives of suspicion and mistrust have escaped the boundaries of specific sites of discourse to constitue a metanarrative that pervades American culture. Sandra Baringer investigates this phenomenon. Book Cover 1 Title 4 Contents 5 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 10 Crucifying the White Man Douglass Durham and the Master Narrative of the Seventies Savage 26 Lynching the White Woman William Pierce's "Day of the Rope" 52 Women's Work? Child Sexual Abuse Prosecution in the 1980s 72 Motherhood and Treason Pynchon's Vineland and the New Left 98 Motherhood and Terror Silko's Almanac of the Dead 112 Beyond the Foucauldian Complex Inscriptions and Reinscriptions of the Power Paradigm by American Prison Writers 128 Epilogue 142 Notes 148 Works Cited 166 Index 178 Social Sciences Crucifying The White Man : Douglass Durham And The Master Narrative Of The Seventies Savage -- Lynching The White Woman : William Pierce's Day Of The Rope -- Women's Work? : Child Sexual Abuse Prosecution In The 1980s -- Motherhood And Treason : Pynchon's Vineland And The New Left -- Motherhood And Terror : Silko's Almanac Of The Dead -- Beyond The Foucauldian Complex : Inscriptions And Reinscriptions Of The Power Paradigm By American Prison Writers. Sandra Baringer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 139-167) And Index. Narratives of suspicion and mistrust have escaped the boundaries of specific sites of discourse to constitue a metanarrative that pervades American culture. Through close reading of texts ranging from novels (Pynchon's Vineland, Silko's Almanac of the Dead , Pierce's The Turner Diaries ) to prison literature, this book examines the ways in which narratives of suspicion are both constitutive--and symptomatic--of a metanarrative that pervades American culture.