The street was mine : white masculinity and urban space in hardboiled fiction and film noir

This book considers a recurrent figure in American literature: the solitary white man moving through urban space. The descendent of 19th-century frontier and western heroes, the figure reemerges in 1930s-вЂTM50s America as the “tough guy.” The Street Was Mine looks to the tough guy in the works of hardboiled novelists Raymond Chandler ( The Big Sleep ) and James M. Cain ( Double Indemnity ) and their popular film noir adaptations. Focusing on the way he negotiates racial and gender “otherness,” this study argues that the tough guy embodies the promise of an impervious white masculinity amidst the turmoil of the Depression through the beginnings of the Cold War. The book concludes with an analysis of Chester Himes, whose Harlem crime novels ( For Love of Imabelle ) unleash a ferocious revisionary critique of the tough guy tradition.

this Book Considers A Recurrent Figure In American Literature: The Solitary White Man Moving Through Urban Space. The Descendent Of 19th-century Frontier And Western Heroes, The Figure Reemerges In 1930s-’50s America As The “tough Guy.” the Street Was Mine Looks To The Tough Guy In The Works Of Hardboiled Novelists Raymond Chandler (the Big Sleep) And James M. Cain (double Indemnity) And Their Popular film Noir Adaptations. Focusing On The Way He Negotiates Racial And Gender “otherness,” This Study Argues That The Tough Guy Embodies The Promise Of An Impervious White Masculinity Amidst The Turmoil Of The Depression Through The Beginnings Of The Cold War. The Book Concludes With An Analysis Of Chester Himes, Whose Harlem Crime Novels (for Love Of Imabelle) Unleash A Ferocious Revisionary Critique Of The Tough Guy Tradition.

"This book considers a recurrent figure in American literature: the solitary white man moving through urban space. The descendent of nineteenth-century frontier and western heroes, the figure reemerges in 1930s-50s America as the "tough guy." The Street Was Mine looks at the tough guy in the works of hardboiled novelists Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) and James M. Cain (Double Indemnity) and their popular film noir adaptations. Focusing on the way the tough guy negotiates racial and gender "otherness," this study argues that he embodies the promise of an impervious white masculinity amidst the turmoil of the Depression through the beginnings of the Cold War. The book concludes with an analysis of Chester Himes, whose Harlem crime novels (For Love of Imabelle) unleash a ferocious revisionary critique of the tough guy tradition."--BOOK JACKET. This book considers a recurrent figure in American literature: the solitary white man moving through urban space. The descendent of Nineteenth-century frontier and western heroes, the figure re-emerges in 1930-50s America as the 'tough guy'. The Street Was Mine looks to the tough guy in the works of hardboiled novelists Raymond Chandler ( The Big Sleep ) and James M. Cain ( Double Indemnity ) and their popular film noir adaptations. Focusing on the way he negotiates racial and gender 'otherness', this study argues that the tough guy embodies the promise of an impervious white masculinity amidst the turmoil of the Depression through the beginnings of the Cold War, closing with an analysis of Chester Himes, whose Harlem crime novels ( For Love of Imabelle ) unleash a ferocious revisionary critique of the tough guy tradition. This work considers a recurrent figure in American literature: the solitary white man moving through urban space. It looks to the tough guy in the works of hardboiled novelists Raymond Chandler ("The Big Sleep") and James M. Cain ("Double Indemnity") and their popular film noir adaptations