This thesis examines Walker Percy's manipulation of time in Love in the Ruins as a component of indirectly communicating his solution to problems in twentieth-century Western society: existential authenticity. By examining this often overlooked novel, I clarify the process by which Percy conveys his solution and the difficulties inherent in his attempts to do so. Research shows how Percy perceived such problems stemmed from the tendency of postmodern thought to place human subjective experience within an overarching, objective framework. These problems that Percy exaggerates in the novel are essentially distractions of immediacy that lead the characters away from choosing authentic existence. He juxtaposes his critique of culture with time devices, such as his selection of genre, his use of flashback, and his persistent present tense narration, so that the reader can reflectively contemplate the concept of eternity, a major component of the existential authenticity he prescribes. The reader's recognition of the tension between the two modes of time, immediacy and eternity, is crucial to identifying the solution Percy indirectly communicates.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines Walker Percy's manipulation of time in Love in the Ruins as a component of indirectly communicating his solution to problems in twentieth-century Western society: existential authenticity. By examining this often overlooked novel, I clarify the process by which Percy conveys his solution and the difficulties inherent in his attempts to do so. Research shows how Percy perceived such problems stemmed from the tendency of postmodern thought to place human subjective experience within an overarching, objective framework. These problems that Percy exaggerates in the novel are essentially distractions of immediacy that lead the characters away from choosing authentic existence. He juxtaposes his critique of culture with time devices, such as his selection of genre, his use of flashback, and his persistent present tense narration, so that the reader can reflectively contemplate the concept of eternity, a major component of the existential authenticity he prescribes. The reader's recognition of the tension between the two modes of time, immediacy and eternity, is crucial to identifying the solution Percy indirectly communicates.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gibbs, Jeremy Ryan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Katherine Cochran","Martina Sciolino","Charles Sumner"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/483","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Katherine Cochran","Martina Sciolino","Charles Sumner"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gibbs, Jeremy Ryan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-11-09T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/483"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines Walker Percy's manipulation of time in Love in the Ruins as a component of indirectly communicating his solution to problems in twentieth-century Western society: existential authenticity. By examining this often overlooked novel, I clarify the process by which Percy conveys his solution and the difficulties inherent in his attempts to do so. Research shows how Percy perceived such problems stemmed from the tendency of postmodern thought to place human subjective experience within an overarching, objective framework. These problems that Percy exaggerates in the novel are essentially distractions of immediacy that lead the characters away from choosing authentic existence. He juxtaposes his critique of culture with time devices, such as his selection of genre, his use of flashback, and his persistent present tense narration, so that the reader can reflectively contemplate the concept of eternity, a major component of the existential authenticity he prescribes. The reader's recognition of the tension between the two modes of time, immediacy and eternity, is crucial to identifying the solution Percy indirectly communicates.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Solving the World's Problems: Walker Percy's Cultural Critique in Love in the Ruins"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Katherine Cochran","Martina Sciolino","Charles Sumner"],"dc:creator":["Gibbs, Jeremy Ryan"],"dc:date.available":["2018-11-09T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines Walker Percy's manipulation of time in Love in the Ruins as a component of indirectly communicating his solution to problems in twentieth-century Western society: existential authenticity. By examining this often overlooked novel, I clarify the process by which Percy conveys his solution and the difficulties inherent in his attempts to do so. Research shows how Percy perceived such problems stemmed from the tendency of postmodern thought to place human subjective experience within an overarching, objective framework. These problems that Percy exaggerates in the novel are essentially distractions of immediacy that lead the characters away from choosing authentic existence. He juxtaposes his critique of culture with time devices, such as his selection of genre, his use of flashback, and his persistent present tense narration, so that the reader can reflectively contemplate the concept of eternity, a major component of the existential authenticity he prescribes. The reader's recognition of the tension between the two modes of time, immediacy and eternity, is crucial to identifying the solution Percy indirectly communicates.
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