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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Buck, Pearl S--(Pearl Sydenstricker), --1892-1973--Criticism and interpretation; Buck, Pearl S--(Pearl Sydenstricker), --1892-1973; China--In literature; China; Literature; Criticism, interpretation, etc;

Abstract

Pearls. Buck was the third American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first American woman to win this Prize, and only the fourth woman in the world to do so. Taking into consideration the Nobel Prize and all the additional honors and awards Buck and her writing received, it is odd that she has been abandoned by American literary critics. Therefore, it is the goal of this thesis to identify reasons why Pearl Buck and her works have been neglected, and to provide significant reasons why she and her work should be recognized and studied. The first part of the thesis offers reasons why Buck and her works were abandoned and neglected. It begins with an explanation of the perceptions Americans had regarding the Chinese and how those negative perceptions were perpetuated in American literature and the media. Other reasons derive from Buck's own career: she circumvented the traditional system of being "found" by literary critics; she wrote about unpopular subject matter; she was too prolific a writer and neglected her writing style to further the advances of her humanitarian efforts; and she was a strong, independent woman who did not back down from controversial issues. The second part of the thesis offers reasons why Buck and her works should be recognized and recovered: Buck and her work received many awards and honors; The Good Earth, her most successful novel, was one of the most popular novels of the twentieth century; she wrote in several genres, of which her novels and nonfiction are especially important for Buck's recognition and recovery; she held a unique perspective on Chinese literature and the Chinese novel; and her realistic writing style contributed to her humanitarian efforts. Pearls. Buck and her works are an important part of American literary history that should be recognized and recovered from an inactive status of neglect and abandonment.

Year of Submission

1999

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of English Language and Literature

First Advisor

Karen Tracey

Second Advisor

Richard Utz

Third Advisor

Grace Ann Hovet

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1999

Object Description

1 PDF file (121 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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