Homelessness in American Literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Testimony PDF
Preview Homelessness in American Literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Testimony
St u d ie s in A m e r ic a n Po pu l a r H is t o r y a n d C u l t u r e Edited by Je r o me N a de l h a f t A Rout l edge Ser ies St uie s in Am e r ic a n Po pu l a r H ist o r y a n d Cul t ur e Early American Women Dramatists: Automobility 1775-1860 Social Changes in the American South, Zoe Detsi-Diamanti 1909-1939 Corey T. Lesseig The Lyrics of Civility Kenneth G. Bielen Actors and Activists Politics, Performance, and Exchange W riting the Public in Cyberspace among Social Worlds Redefining Inclusion on the Net Ann Travers David A. Schlossman Studies in the Land Hollywood’s Frontier Captives The Northeast Corner Cultural Anxiety and the Captivity Plot in American Film David C. Smith Barbara A. Mortimer First Do No Harm Empathy and the Writing of Medical Public Lives, Private Virtues Journal Articles Images of American Revolutionary Mary E. Knatterud War Heroes, 1782-1832 Christopher Harris Piety and Power Gender and Religious Culture in the Tales of Liberation, Strategies of American Colonies, 1630-1700 Containment Leslie Lindenauer Divorce and the Representation of Womanhood in American Fiction, Race-ing Masculinity 1880-1920 Identity in Contemporary U. S. Men’s Debra Ann MacComb Writing John Christopher Cunningham Reading Comics Language, Culture, and the Concept of Crime and the Nation the Superhero in Comic Books Prison Reform and Popular Fiction in Mila Bongco Philadelphia, 1786-1800 Peter Okun The Clubwomen’s Daughters Collectivist Impulses in Progressive- Food in Film Era Girls’ Fiction A Culinary Performance of Gwen Athene Tarbox Communication Jane Ferry The Factory Girls and the Seamstress Deconstructing Post-WWII New Imagining Gender and Class in York City Nineteenth Century American Fiction The Literature, Art, Jazz, and Amal Amireh Architecture of an Emerging Global Capital Writing Jazz Robert Bennett Race, Nationalism, and Modern Culture in the 1920s Hollywood and the Rise of Physical Nicholas M. Evans Culture Heather Addison H o m e l e s s n e s s in A m e r ic a n Lit e r a t u r e Romanticism, Realism, and Testimony John Allen Published in 2004 by Routledge 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 www.routledge-ny.com Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE www.routledge.co.uk Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2004 by Routledge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Allen, John. Homelessness in American literature : romanticism, realism, and testimony / by John Allen, p. cm. Includes biblographical references and index. ISBN 0-415-94589-5 1. American literature—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Homelessness in literature. 3. American literature—19th century—History and criticism. 4. Homeless persons in literature. 5. Romanticism—United States. 6. Realism in literature.. I. Title. II. Series: American popular history and culture (Routledge (Firm)) PS228.H65A45 2003 813.009'355—dc21 2003007258 Contents Acknow l edgment s vii Int ro duct io n Representations of Homelessness in American Literature 3 Chapter One “In My Father’s House Are Many Mansions”: Homelessness and Domesticity in Uncle Tom's Cabin 23 Chapter Tw o “Street Arabs” and the “Tramp Menace”: The Function of Homeless Characters in the Work of Horatio Alger 39 Chapter Three The Other Half and How It Lives: Jacob Riis and Stephen Crane’s Vision of Poverty and Homelessness 63 Chapter Four Romance of The Road: Jack London and the Publication of Tramp Autobiographies in America 95 Chapter Five “I Did Not Write These Stories”: Meridel Le Sueur and American Testimonial Literature 115 vi Contents Concl usion American Testimonial Literature and The Contemporary Discourse of Homelessness 137 Notes 151 W orks Cited 175 Index 185 Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the help of many wonderful people. First and foremost, Andy Martin helped me along throughout the entire writing process. Thanks, Andy. Jim Sappenfield, Jim Kuist, Cam Tatham, and Peter Paik provided very pro- ductive comments on the first complete draft; Elana Crane, Paul Kosidowski, and Barbara Lindquist offered important feedback on drafts of early chapters. Allen Carey-Webb inspired me to write about the topic of homelessness in American literature. Beverly Allen nurtured (among other things) a deep appreciation for books, reading, libraries and research. Paul Allen and Karina O’Malley taught me about compassion for others. Mark Allen showed me how much fun literary studies could be. Rachel Baum loaned me books about testimony which became the basis of Chapter Five and the Conclusion. I’d like to thank all of these people as well as my friends and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha who have helped and encouraged me as I wrote this. (Tom Ullmer asked me if I would put his name in one of my books, but I told him I wouldn’t.) Special thanks to Kimberly Guinta, Farideh Koohi-Kamali, Jerry Nadelhaft, and everyone at Routledge for their interest in and support of this project. Finally and most importantly, thank you Johanna. There is no way I could have completed this or any of my significant undertakings without you (nor would I have wanted to). You provided comfort, support, patience, love. This book is dedicated to you. H o m e l e s s n e s s in A m e r ic a n Lit e r a t u r e
The list of books you might like
