Dan E. McCall - Böcker

In The Silence of Bartleby, Dan McCall proposes a new reading of Herman Melville's classic short tale "Bartleby, The Scrivener." McCall discuss in detail how "Bartleby has been read in the last half-century by practitioners of widely used critical methodologies—including source-study, psychoanalytic interpretation, and Marxist analysis. He argues that in these elaborate readings of the tale, the text itself may be lost, for critics frequently seem to be more interested in their own concerns than in Melville's. Efforts to enrich "Bartleby" may actually impoverish it, preventing us from experiencing the sense of wonder and pain that the story provides. McCall combines close readings of Melville's tale with a lively analysis of over four decades of commentary, and he includes the complete text of story itself as an appendix, encouraging us to read the story on its own terms.

I am a citizen of somewhere else, proclaimed Nathaniel Hawthorne in his preface to The Scarlet Letter. In many ways, Henry James shared that citizenship. Intrigued by their resolute stance as outsiders, Dan McCall here reassesses these two quintessentially American writers. He focuses on their works and on their connections to American history and culture.Adopting an informal, conversational tone, McCall invites us to join him in a reading of some of Hawthorne's and James's masterpieces—not only The Scarlet Letter and The Portrait of a Lady but their great short stories, extensive notebooks, and other novels as well. He explains the significance of James's book Hawthorne, shows the influence of Emerson on both writers, and conveys throughout James's imaginative debt to Hawthorne. He concludes by comparing their views on what it means to be an American writer.More than a knowledgeable and sensitive guide to two great American literary figures, Citizens of Somewhere Else offers keen observations about reading in general and the way literature is taught in colleges and universities today—suggesting that modern critics are often more concerned with their own agendas than with the substance of the works they analyze. Through McCall's eyes we gain a renewed appreciation both of James and Hawthorne and of the insights that criticism can bring to literature.

I am a citizen of somewhere else, proclaimed Nathaniel Hawthorne in his preface to The Scarlet Letter. In many ways, Henry James shared that citizenship. Intrigued by their resolute stance as outsiders, Dan McCall here reassesses these two quintessentially American writers. He focuses on their works and on their connections to American history and culture.Adopting an informal, conversational tone, McCall invites us to join him in a reading of some of Hawthorne's and James's masterpieces—not only The Scarlet Letter and The Portrait of a Lady but their great short stories, extensive notebooks, and other novels as well. He explains the significance of James's book Hawthorne, shows the influence of Emerson on both writers, and conveys throughout James's imaginative debt to Hawthorne. He concludes by comparing their views on what it means to be an American writer.More than a knowledgeable and sensitive guide to two great American literary figures, Citizens of Somewhere Else offers keen observations about reading in general and the way literature is taught in colleges and universities today—suggesting that modern critics are often more concerned with their own agendas than with the substance of the works they analyze. Through McCall's eyes we gain a renewed appreciation both of James and Hawthorne and of the insights that criticism can bring to literature.