Thesis
Representations of homelessness in contemporary American literature and popular culture
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
05/2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004104
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/124763
Abstract
This thesis explores representations of homelessness using Kristra Ratcliffe's feminist-rhetorical methodology of Rhetorical Eavesdropping to render audible the cultural logics of neoliberalization and racism that both cause and exacerbate houselessness. Dominant narratives that portray houselessness as a result of personal failure serve to disguise increased privatization, cuts to social services including public housing and healthcare, and environmental deregulation that are principally responsible for the displacement, exploitation, and disposability of human beings for the purpose of capital accumulation. John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and Cherrie Moraga's Heroes and Saints are analyzed dialectically for their depictions of colonialism and accumulation through displacement. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Sonia Nazario's Enrique's Journey, and Annamarie Tailfeathers' narrative in Desiree Hellegers' No Room of Her Own are explored as counter narratives that centralize the voices of houseless people, complicate stigmatization, and render audible the material realities of houselessness. Hubert Selby Jr.'s Last Exit to Brooklyn, Mary Harron's American Psycho, and indie-rock band alt-J's hit song, "Fitzpleasure," are interrogated for their underlying themes of gendered and racialized violence in accordance with capitalist ideology. This project therefore attempts to outline common threads for understanding the complex and varied realities of houselessness and concludes by identifying the prevalence of these themes in programs intended to aid the fight for housing justice.
Metrics
23 File views/ downloads
28 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Representations of homelessness in contemporary American literature and popular culture
- Creators
- CHELSEA LYNN RATZLAFF - Washington State University, Department of English
- Contributors
- Desiree E Hellegers (Advisor) - Washington State University, Department of English
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of English
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900890786201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis