Suchergebnisse

Abstract
This article explores the political dimension of Junot Díaz's work, focusing on the figure of the dictator as depicted in the footnotes to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, in an attempt to analyze his view of the "dangers of dictatorship" in both literature and politics and to prove that the political attitudes of writers influence the way their literature "does" politics. Thus, a thorough analysis of the footnotes exposes The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao as a story about a nerd in New Jersey "dictated" by the narrator, which is challenged by the story of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo who "dictated" the recent history of the Dominican Republic.

Abstract
This article analyzes the documentation available in an attempt to settle the controversy over the "true" date and place of birth of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavo Vassa, the African. Several original documents are analyzed, and the data is compared to the information provided by the author himself in his The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself, first published in London, in 1789. According to these documents (a baptismal record and a muster book), he was not born in Africa, in Igboland (in today's Nigeria) as he argued in his autobiography, but in South Carolina, as he declared before those who recorded the information in the official documents. The issue of authenticity is more relevant for historical research than for literary criticism; in the case of the latter, the accuracy of the data does not significantly impact upon the literary value of his work. In conclusion, the dispute is pertinent only in the liminal space where the two contexts (historical research and literary analysis) overlap, and it currently operates with information whose relevance and usefulness depend on the framework against which it is judged.

This paper is an analysis of Jack Kerouac's 1954-letter to Robert Lax and it emphasizes that the American author's (temporary) conversion to Buddhism was not a mere reaction against his Christian belief and tradition, but the result of a natural, informed realization of the possibility to accept, to celebrate distinction, to bridge the differences through compassion. The analysis partly mirrors Jack Kerouac's own etymological method and highlights the differences between his own and the traditional interpretation of the terms karuna and agape. The conclusion is that, even though Kerouac's understanding of certain religious concepts might sound subjective, it provides the reader with a valuable perspective on the two spiritual traditions which enabled the American author to naturally turn to Buddhism, albeit temporarily; it also facilitates the analysis of his writing.

Abstract
This article analyzes the concept of food in Cormac McCarthy's dystopian, (post-)apocalyptic fiction, aiming to prove that in the American writer's universe the act of eating is deprived of its social and spiritual dimension, being restricted to its basic functionality similar to that of a meal-replacement product. The analysis draws a parallel between the concept of manna in the Exodus and the types of foodstuffs and their functionality in the novels Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West and The Road, showing that food is one of the constituent ingredients of McCarthy's desert imaginary and is interpreted as a crucial weapon in the fight against death and dehumanization.