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Henry James: Seven Stories and Studies (1961) — Redacteur, sommige edities11 exemplaren

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male
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Duke University (PhD|English)
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Professor of English
Korte biografie
Professor Stone joined the English department in 1956, having taught at the University of Virginia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Duke University, and Newcomb College. He was one of the instigators of the controlled-materials method of teaching the writing of research papers and was a productive author himself. As a specialist in American literature he published more than 70 scholarly articles on authors such as Herman Melville and Henry James as well as seven books, including Henry James: Seven Stories and Studies, What Was Naturalism? and The Battle of the Books. Fulbright teaching grants took him to the National University of Mexico in 1966 and to the University of Buenos Aires in 1968. On his retirement in 1984, his colleagues in the English department established the Edward Stone Award to honor each year's outstanding English major.

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The main focus of Stone's book, which he sets up in the prologue, is to trace the evolving themes of optimism and pessimism in American literature (and its past influences). He does this by dividing his attentions between four symbols or concepts - An Animal, A Color, A Life, and a Phrase - and tracing how attitudes towards those focal points changed with the cultural shifts throughout the early centuries of America's dawn.

The bulk of the discussions in the book are existential in nature, having to do mostly with the perception of where mankind and the individual stand in the grand scheme of things. In "An Animal," Stone outlines the multiple references to ants over the years when used for both comparison and contrast to people (both singular and plural). White is the closely examined in A "Color" as a symbol for death or the lack of existence. The individual chosen for "A Life" is Edward Eggleston, who drifted away from religion throughout his writing career. Finally, "A Phrase" explores "Nothing at all," and delves deeply into the growth of the existentialist movement as writers and philosophers alike grappled with "being and nothingness."

Through all four section, Stone relies heavily on historical context as well as textual evidence from a multitude of sources as he traces what he sees as a steady shift from optimism and hope to pessimism and despair as the newly formed America slowly evolved from rural naturalism to industrialized capitalism. His attention to the minutia of the literary output of this period of history is both impressive and daunting, but he more than makes his case for what he sees as a progressive move of the national culture from a "half glass full" to a "glass half empty" societal outlook. Stone's work is expansive, and fans of literature, philosophy, and history will all find more than enough food for thought.
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smichaelwilson | May 15, 2015 |
Book Description: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. 1961. A trade paperback in good to very good- condition. A tight, clean, sound copy in color illustrated black wraps with very minor overall shelf wear mainly in the form of some light wrinkling and creasing on the spine.
 
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Czrbr | Jun 7, 2010 |

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9
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1
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31
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#440,253
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½ 3.5
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2
ISBNs
1