Forget Jerusalem: William Faulkner's Hyperreal Novel

This paper explores the relationality between Modernism and Postmodernism as well as between literature and theory by examining the works of two writers: master novelist William Faulkner, and high priest of Postmodernism, Jean Baudrillard. Specifically, this paper examines Faulkner's eleventh novel—the oft-neglected If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem—as a proto-postmodern text which, when examined by the light of Baudrillard's theory of simulacra and simulations, informs the transition from Modernism to Postmodernism. This paper treats each author's work as a lens through which to view the other. The result is both a re-vision of Faulkner's social philosophy and a re-examination of the epistemic break that separates Faulkner's philosophy from that of Baudrillard.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Department dc:contributor.department

English

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Germana, Michael Joseph

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hausman, Bernice L.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Hatfield, Leonard L.
• Kiebuzinska, Christine

• Critical Theory
• Faulkner
• Modernism
• Baudrillard
• Postmodernism

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-041899-130309

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31763