The Citizen's Voice: Twentieth-Century Politics and Literature

By Michael Keren

Michael Keren traces the political lives and messages of some of the twentieth centurys greatest literary characters in this insightful and jargon-free book of literary criticism. Hans Castorp (Thomas Manns The Magic Mountain ), Joseph K. (Franz Kafkas The Trial), John the Savage (Aldous Huxleys Brave New World), Winston Smith (George Orwells 1984), Ralph (William Goldings Lord of the Flies), Merusault (Albert Camuss The Stranger), Ida Ramundo (Elsa Morantes History), and Chauncey Gardiner (Jerzy Kosinskis Being There) participate in ideological, technological, and organizational projects of the twentieth century. Keren observes these infamous characters behaviours and attitudes while they struggle through world wars, the rise and fall of totalitarianism, the Holocaust, the development of the atomic bomb, de-colonization, the Cold War, and globalization. Here is a refreshing contribution to civil society theory that makes a pioneering effort to cross the boundaries between politics, literature, and culture. A long-overdue study of the human condition via literature, The Citizens Voice expounds the key features of a "good citizen" while offering a perfect discussion piece for courses in political theory, politics and literature, and history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1552381137
• ISBN13: 9781552381137
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: University of Calgary Press
• Length: 179 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"