- Padova, Italy
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The definition of Jewish-Canadian identity is far from being an easy task: in the Jewish-Canadian identity two cultures meet, namely the more ancient Jewish culture and the more recent Canadian one, on Canadian soil. The first part of... more
The definition of Jewish-Canadian identity is far from being an easy task: in the Jewish-Canadian identity two cultures meet, namely the more ancient Jewish culture and the more recent Canadian one, on Canadian soil.
The first part of this dissertation aims at analysing and discussing the main aspects of these two cultures in order to highlight their similarities and differences in the attempt to define a Jewish-Canadian identity, which is necessarily hyphenated, because of its dual nature. The distinctive trait of such identity, whose features will be explored in the first part of my thesis, lies precisely in the word ‘hyphenated.’ After an examination of the main traits of Canadian and Jewish history and literary traditions, it will clearly appear that even though there is an identity proper to Jewish-Canadians, this identity is definitely not steady and it will be widely questioned in the course of the analysis. I will look at this complex issue through a specific and circumscribed lens: Mordecai Richler’s novels. I deem this to be a fertile way to tackle this theme as Richler is
not only a renowned novelist, but also a journalist and satirist, who represents an icon of modern Canadian written production. The importance of his writing is not simply found in
his excellent novels: as a matter of fact, his characters, whose features will be further analysed from many points of view, are expressions of this non-unitary but distinctly Jewish-
Canadian identity.
To bring this multi-layered identity into focus, I will deal with the representation of Montreal from the writer’s viewpoint, not simply because it is an essential feature in Richler’s writing but also because it represents a special example in the Canadian
panorama due to the considerably vast presence of Jewish-Canadians; in the second chapter I will deal with hyphenated identities in Richler’s novels, particularly focusing my attention on two novels, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney’s Version, but I will draw a mapping of Jewish-Canadian identities also basing my thesis on many heterogeneous novels
by Richler, such as The Incomparable Atuk, St. Urbain Horseman, Salomon Gursky was here, and Son of a Smaller Hero.
The third and last chapter will eventually deal with
Richler’s choice to represent anti-heroes as his novels’ protagonists instead of traditional Jewish heroes, and the purpose and importance of the employ of humor, satire and black humor in his novels.
The first part of this dissertation aims at analysing and discussing the main aspects of these two cultures in order to highlight their similarities and differences in the attempt to define a Jewish-Canadian identity, which is necessarily hyphenated, because of its dual nature. The distinctive trait of such identity, whose features will be explored in the first part of my thesis, lies precisely in the word ‘hyphenated.’ After an examination of the main traits of Canadian and Jewish history and literary traditions, it will clearly appear that even though there is an identity proper to Jewish-Canadians, this identity is definitely not steady and it will be widely questioned in the course of the analysis. I will look at this complex issue through a specific and circumscribed lens: Mordecai Richler’s novels. I deem this to be a fertile way to tackle this theme as Richler is
not only a renowned novelist, but also a journalist and satirist, who represents an icon of modern Canadian written production. The importance of his writing is not simply found in
his excellent novels: as a matter of fact, his characters, whose features will be further analysed from many points of view, are expressions of this non-unitary but distinctly Jewish-
Canadian identity.
To bring this multi-layered identity into focus, I will deal with the representation of Montreal from the writer’s viewpoint, not simply because it is an essential feature in Richler’s writing but also because it represents a special example in the Canadian
panorama due to the considerably vast presence of Jewish-Canadians; in the second chapter I will deal with hyphenated identities in Richler’s novels, particularly focusing my attention on two novels, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney’s Version, but I will draw a mapping of Jewish-Canadian identities also basing my thesis on many heterogeneous novels
by Richler, such as The Incomparable Atuk, St. Urbain Horseman, Salomon Gursky was here, and Son of a Smaller Hero.
The third and last chapter will eventually deal with
Richler’s choice to represent anti-heroes as his novels’ protagonists instead of traditional Jewish heroes, and the purpose and importance of the employ of humor, satire and black humor in his novels.
Research Interests:
The focus of my thesis is the Australian Aboriginal literature, particularly the novel Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. In the first part of my dissertation, I found it necessary to introduce Aboriginal culture and history, in order to... more
The focus of my thesis is the Australian Aboriginal literature, particularly the novel Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. In the first part of my dissertation, I found it necessary to introduce Aboriginal culture and history, in order to inform the reader about the past and the present of this fascinating island, especially in relation to the British colonization. The legacy of colonialism is a current and controversial issue, but everyone would agree that it changed the history of Australia forever. Nowadays, we can speak about post-colonialism: we have a post-colonial literature in English. Aboriginal culture has not disappeared after colonization; even though it lost an important part, it found a new mode of communication in the passage from the oral to the written tradition. It is still present in Australia, and we will see to what extent it influenced the literary production of Aborigines, who felt the need of handing down their past for the reasons I will analyze below. For this purpose, not only did I use Aboriginal novels, but also I used political speeches, articles and reviews, most of which have been written in the last few years.
Then I laid the ground for the above mentioned novel, which is the heart of my research. I examined both Aboriginal and British influences and how they affected the structure and the language of this book, which is in turn divided into two parts.
The first part represents the past of Aborigines and it can be considered an historical account, while the second is a more recent history of the author’s mother and relatives. Through the analysis of a passage taken from the novel, I described the
main features of the novel, and its relation with other Aboriginal books. Particularly interesting are the stylistic choices: to a close analysis, Pilkington’s Aboriginal
origins clearly appear to the surface. The mechanism which is at the bottom of those choices will be highly considered, also thanks to the works of post-colonial scholars.
The third and last part of my thesis deals with the filmic adaptation of this novel, which is probably better known than the book itself. I decided to make the reader acquainted of the initial difficulties the film experienced, due to its delicate topic and to the prejudices still existing towards an expensive film which wasn’t considered prestigious and successful. Luckily, it was widely appreciated and it also won an important prize. Finally, I compared two scenes of the film which I consider
particularly interesting and meaningful: by using language and filmic techniques, I show how they reflect the opposition between Aboriginal and British cultures.
Then I laid the ground for the above mentioned novel, which is the heart of my research. I examined both Aboriginal and British influences and how they affected the structure and the language of this book, which is in turn divided into two parts.
The first part represents the past of Aborigines and it can be considered an historical account, while the second is a more recent history of the author’s mother and relatives. Through the analysis of a passage taken from the novel, I described the
main features of the novel, and its relation with other Aboriginal books. Particularly interesting are the stylistic choices: to a close analysis, Pilkington’s Aboriginal
origins clearly appear to the surface. The mechanism which is at the bottom of those choices will be highly considered, also thanks to the works of post-colonial scholars.
The third and last part of my thesis deals with the filmic adaptation of this novel, which is probably better known than the book itself. I decided to make the reader acquainted of the initial difficulties the film experienced, due to its delicate topic and to the prejudices still existing towards an expensive film which wasn’t considered prestigious and successful. Luckily, it was widely appreciated and it also won an important prize. Finally, I compared two scenes of the film which I consider
particularly interesting and meaningful: by using language and filmic techniques, I show how they reflect the opposition between Aboriginal and British cultures.