Three seminal 19
th-century North American literary works feature bodies of water which serve both as key elements in their narrative structure and as symbolic entities within their meaning systems. The protagonists in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Edgar Allan Poe’s A Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick literally define themselves in terms of their relation to these bodies of water. The best way to determine the function of water in the texts is to analyze the initial relationship between water and the central character, the way that water serves as a reflection of the Self, and the way that its Otherness suggests the ultimate possibility of transformation. ","abstract_html":"<p> <p>Three seminal 19</p> th-century North American literary works feature bodies of water which serve both as key elements in their narrative structure and as symbolic entities within their meaning systems. The protagonists in Henry David Thoreau’s <em><em>Walden, </em></em>Edgar Allan Poe’s <em><em>A Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, </em></em>and Herman Melville’s <em><em>Moby-Dick </em></em>literally define themselves in terms of their relation to these bodies of water. The best way to determine the function of water in the texts is to analyze the initial relationship between water and the central character, the way that water serves as a reflection of the Self, and the way that its Otherness suggests the ultimate possibility of transformation. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Straight, Leslie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Malmgren, Carl","Hazlett, John","Lackey, Kris"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-08-04T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-08-04T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:10Z","subjects":["American Literature, Transcendentalism, Symbolism","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/346","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Malmgren, Carl","Hazlett, John","Lackey, Kris"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Straight, Leslie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American Literature, Transcendentalism, Symbolism","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/346"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["
Three seminal 19
th-century North American literary works feature bodies of water which serve both as key elements in their narrative structure and as symbolic entities within their meaning systems. The protagonists in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Edgar Allan Poe’s A Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick literally define themselves in terms of their relation to these bodies of water. The best way to determine the function of water in the texts is to analyze the initial relationship between water and the central character, the way that water serves as a reflection of the Self, and the way that its Otherness suggests the ultimate possibility of transformation. "]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Transcendental Mirrors: Thoreau's Pond, Poe's Sea, and Melville's Ocean"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Malmgren, Carl","Hazlett, John","Lackey, Kris"],"dc:creator":["Straight, Leslie"],"dc:description.abstract":["
Three seminal 19
th-century North American literary works feature bodies of water which serve both as key elements in their narrative structure and as symbolic entities within their meaning systems. The protagonists in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Edgar Allan Poe’s A Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick literally define themselves in terms of their relation to these bodies of water. The best way to determine the function of water in the texts is to analyze the initial relationship between water and the central character, the way that water serves as a reflection of the Self, and the way that its Otherness suggests the ultimate possibility of transformation. "],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/346"],"dc:subject":["American Literature, Transcendentalism, Symbolism","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["Transcendental Mirrors: Thoreau's Pond, Poe's Sea, and Melville's Ocean"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:10Z"}