{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83204"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83204","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Dorothy West's Re-imagining of the Migration Narrative","abstract":"This thesis explores Dorothy West's interpretation of the migration experience through her novel The Living is Easy. Dorothy West breaks new ground by documenting a Black female migrant's sojourn from South to North in an era in which such narratives were virtually non-existent. West seemingly rejects both a separation between North and South as well any sentiment of condemning the North or South in totality. Instead, West chooses to settle her novel in a gray area. Moreover, in refusing to condemn the South, Dorothy West redeems the South from oversimplified negative assumptions of the region. My interpretation of Dorothy West's The Living is Easy as well as Cleo Judson both highlights West's contributions to the genre by complicating the assumptions of what a migration narrative contains by centering the migrating Black female body.","abstract_html":"This thesis explores Dorothy West&#x27;s interpretation of the migration experience through her novel The Living is Easy. Dorothy West breaks new ground by documenting a Black female migrant&#x27;s sojourn from South to North in an era in which such narratives were virtually non-existent. West seemingly rejects both a separation between North and South as well any sentiment of condemning the North or South in totality. Instead, West chooses to settle her novel in a gray area. Moreover, in refusing to condemn the South, Dorothy West redeems the South from oversimplified negative assumptions of the region. My interpretation of Dorothy West&#x27;s The Living is Easy as well as Cleo Judson both highlights West&#x27;s contributions to the genre by complicating the assumptions of what a migration narrative contains by centering the migrating Black female body.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Harper, Alexis V."],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":"English","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Fowler, Virginia C."],"committee_members":["Chandler-Smith, Gena Elise","Giovanni, Nikki"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-11-15","date_published":"2016-11-15","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:18Z","subjects":["Literature","African American Literature","The Great Migration","Dorothy West","The Living is Easy"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:9128"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:9128","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/83204","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Fowler, Virginia C."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Chandler-Smith, Gena Elise","Giovanni, Nikki"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Harper, Alexis V."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2018-05-10T06:00:17Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-05-10T06:00:17Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-11-15"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Literature","African American Literature","The Great Migration","Dorothy West","The Living is Easy"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:9128"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/83204"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores Dorothy West's interpretation of the migration experience through her novel The Living is Easy. Dorothy West breaks new ground by documenting a Black female migrant's sojourn from South to North in an era in which such narratives were virtually non-existent. West seemingly rejects both a separation between North and South as well any sentiment of condemning the North or South in totality. Instead, West chooses to settle her novel in a gray area. Moreover, in refusing to condemn the South, Dorothy West redeems the South from oversimplified negative assumptions of the region. My interpretation of Dorothy West's The Living is Easy as well as Cleo Judson both highlights West's contributions to the genre by complicating the assumptions of what a migration narrative contains by centering the migrating Black female body."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["This thesis examined Dorothy West's Migration Narrative, <i>The Living is Easy</i>. Migration Narratives are a genre of African – American literature that concerns the historical period in the early 20th century in which thousands of Black Americans migrated from the regional South to the regional North and Midwest. This novel is unique in the fact that it focuses on a female character and concerns the city of Boston, both atypical characteristics. I use this information to analyze the ways in which Dorothy West adheres to and challenges the typical assumptions of the Migration Narrative. The findings of this thesis adds to the body of work on Dorothy West, as well as the male-dominated genre of Migration Narratives."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Dorothy West's Re-imagining of the Migration Narrative"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Fowler, Virginia C."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Chandler-Smith, Gena Elise","Giovanni, Nikki"],"dc:contributor.department":["English"],"dc:creator":["Harper, Alexis V."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2018-05-10T06:00:17Z"],"dc:date.available":["2018-05-10T06:00:17Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016-11-15"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores Dorothy West's interpretation of the migration experience through her novel The Living is Easy. 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Migration Narratives are a genre of African – American literature that concerns the historical period in the early 20th century in which thousands of Black Americans migrated from the regional South to the regional North and Midwest. This novel is unique in the fact that it focuses on a female character and concerns the city of Boston, both atypical characteristics. I use this information to analyze the ways in which Dorothy West adheres to and challenges the typical assumptions of the Migration Narrative. The findings of this thesis adds to the body of work on Dorothy West, as well as the male-dominated genre of Migration Narratives."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Arts"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:9128"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/83204"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Literature","African American Literature","The Great Migration","Dorothy West","The Living is Easy"],"dc:title":["Dorothy West's Re-imagining of the Migration Narrative"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:18Z"}