Washington University in St. Louis
Between the Mob and the Noose: The Lynching Intercessor in American Literature and Film
Abstract
dc:description.abstract<p>In my dissertation, I note the frequent, post-Civil War presence of an individual character that opposes a lynch mob by interceding on behalf of the intended lynching victim. I argue that this figure, which I term the lynching intercessor, is a trope for racial reconciliation in American literature and film. The intercessor works to mediate between loyalty to an ideal democracy and recognition of a past and present that is inextricable from violent, racist oppression. While the lynching intercessor often negotiates the prevention of violence, the intercessor also re-imbues the professional, white: and, usually, male) individual as the rightful embodiment of law and citizenship. By exploring the incarnations of this character type in the works of Charles Chesnutt, Thomas Dixon, Jr., director John Ford, William Faulkner, and Harper Lee, my dissertation reveals the lynching intercessor as an American narrative technique for incorporating lynching into a national story of racial progress.</p>
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- English and American Literature
- Year dc:date.available
- 2012
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Horne, Abigail Thibault
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Rafia Zafar
Subjects
dc:subject × 12Rights
- Language dc:language
- English (en)
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd-1958