表題番号：2015K-294
日付：2016/03/28
研究課題American Modernism in the Context of Global Imperialism
| 研究者所属（当時） | 資格 | 氏名 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| （代表者） | 国際学術院 国際教養学部 | 教授 | 大和田 英子 |
- 研究成果概要
In this research, I focused on Faulkner’s early poem titled “Cathay” since the poem represents one of the exotic romanticism suggesting the Far East known by the journeys of Marco Polo as well as the infusion with Faulkner’s awareness on Columbus's journeys to the New World which led to the identification of Cathay with the Caribbean region; by calling the Caribbean region “Cathay,” it arouses a symbolic implication of Columbus’ mistakes and the colonial invasions after him.
In order to reinforce above points, I explored Walt Whitman and Willa Cather’s works in praise of Columbus to examine how the meaning of Columbus's "discovery" has been accepted and interpreted and how modernist texts are laden with multiple meanings of Columbus's "discovery." By so doing, I compared the meaning of "Cathay" used in Hart Crane’s The Bridge; American authors, especially the modernists, began trying to interpolate certain criticism concerning American experiences between the lines. By referring to the Caribbean area as “Cathay,” the works of Faulkner and Crane suggest that the “discovery” of the New World became the basis of the modern world, leading to genocide and the introduction of slavery to the Americas, which also became the beginning of today’s globalization.