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White Lies
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White Lies Hardcover - 1989

by John Samson


From the publisher

The narrative of facts--probably best exemplified in the literature of exploration--was an immensely popular genre in mid-nineteenth-century America. In White Lies, John Samson offers full contextual readings of Melville's five major narratives of facts--Typee, Omoo, Redburn, White-Jacket, and Israel Potter. Samson demonstrates that in these novels Melville critically rewrote the sources on which he drew, in effect making the genre itself a subject of his writing.

In his introduction, Samson discusses Melville's knowledge of the genre and its ideology. He then reads each novel in terms of Melville's confrontation with its sources. In each, Samson says, an unreliable narrator represents particular ideological tendencies in Melville's sources. Melville heightens and extends these tendencies, exposes the contradictions and biases within them, and ends by showing the narrator evading or denying experiences that conflict with his ideology. According to Samson, Melville sees the concept of historical progress as the basis of these biases and evasions.

In these five novels, Melville reveals the conflict between democratic, humanitarian, and individualistic principles, on the one hand, and the forces of racial superiority, religious bigotry, economic determinism, and political conservatism, on the other. Taken together, Samson asserts, these novels deconstruct the intellectual foundations of the form of historical narration endorsed by white patriarchal culture.

Scholars and students of nineteenth-century American literature, specialists in the novel, and other readers of Melville will welcome Samson's provocative reinterpretation of these key works in American culture.

Details

  • Title White Lies
  • Author John Samson
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Cornell Un
  • Pages 260
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York
  • Date 1989-08-15
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Index
  • ISBN 9780801422805 / 0801422809
  • Weight 1.03 lbs (0.47 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.75 in (21.59 x 13.97 x 1.91 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 88043324
  • Dewey Decimal Code 813.3

About the author

John Samson is Associate Professor of English at Texas Tech University.

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White Lies: Melville's Narratives of Facts
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White Lies : Melville's Narratives of Facts
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White Lies : Melville's Narratives of Facts

by John Samson

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White Lies: Melville's Narratives of Facts
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White Lies: Melville's Narratives of Facts

by John Samson

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White Lies by John Samson
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White Lies by John Samson

by John Samson

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New. The narrative of facts-probably best exemplified in the literature of exploration-was an immensely popular genre in mid-nineteenth-century America. In White Lies, John Samson offers full contextual readings of Melville's five major narratives of facts-Typee, Omoo, Redburn, White-Jacket, and Israel Potter. Samson demonstrates that in these novels Melville critically rewrote the sources on which he drew, in effect making the genre itself a subject of his writing. In his introduction, Samson discusses Melville's knowledge of the genre and its ideology. He then reads each novel in terms of Melville's confrontation with its sources. In each, Samson says, an unreliable narrator represents particular ideological tendencies in Melville's sources. Melville heightens and extends these tendencies, exposes the contradictions and biases within them, and ends by showing the narrator evading or denying experiences that conflict with his ideology. According to Samson, Melville sees the concept… Read More
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White Lies: Melville's Narratives of Facts
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White Lies: Melville's Narratives of Facts

by Samson, John

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ISBN 13
9780801422805
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