Masculinity and the Paradox of Violence in American Fiction, 1950-75

By Maggie McKinley

Book Overview

Masculinity and the Paradox of Violence in American Fiction, 1950-75 explores the intersections of violence, masculinity, and racial and ethnic tension in America as it is depicted in the fiction of Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, James Baldwin, and Philip Roth.

Maggie McKinley reconsiders the longstanding association between masculinity and violence, locating a problematic paradox within works by these writers: as each author figures violence as central to the establishment of a liberated masculine identity, the use of this violence often reaffirms many constricting and emasculating cultural myths and power structures that the authors and their protagonists are seeking to overturn.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1501326473
• ISBN13: 9781501326479
• Release Date: October 2016
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"