American Research Journal of English and Literature

Ainembabazi Earnest Bangirana

This paper examines how Orson Welles uses deep focus photography to stage a social critique of materialistic fetishism in Citizen Kane. The paper is premised on the analysis of materialist fetishism and how Welles propounds it using deep focus and other related techniques like long takes and close ups. In this paper, I uphold Russel W. Belk’s (1985) definition of Materialism as an orientation that reflects the importance a consumer (person) attaches to worldly possessions (291 297). A materialist is defined in this paper as any person who believes in Belk’s philosophy. Fetishism is defined in this paper according to Karl Marx (1990) as “anything to which more respect or attention is given than is normal or sensible” (165). This paper is grounded in the Marxist branch of sociological criticism. According to Terry Eagleton (1976), the task of Marxist literary criticism “is to show the text as it cannot know itself, to manifest those conditions of its making (inscribed in its very letter) about which it is necessarily silent” (428). According to George Lukacs (1963), “literature should reflect the real world” (70). I conclude that through the use deep focus photography, Orson Welles makes timeless criticism of capitalism and the ills of materialism. Until society overcomes these problems, it is likely that Citizen Kane will continue as a perpetually contemporary reminder on what is truly important in this money driven world.

Ameera Khamar Chalikkuzhi

This research study examines the literary trends that have emerged in response to the post-truth era, characterized by the blurring of fact and fiction. By analysing contemporary literature, author interviews, reader surveys, and critical analysis, this study explores how literature reflects and responds to this complex socio-political climate. The study pinpoints and examines the blurring of the lines between reality and fiction by authors, the frequency of satire and irony, and the use of narrative techniques, reader engagement, and the influence of political influences. The results advance knowledge of how literature influences public dialogue and critical thinking in the post-truth era.

Monika Aswal

Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis as a Framework for analyzing the profound psychological Dichotomies in “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (Louis, 1886). In essence, by Peeling the veil off the complex nature of the book’s characters and their behaviour that alludes to the id, ego, and superego, this study highlights the perennial consequence and topicality of the novel in contemporary times. The research offers a gripping account of Dr. Jekyll’s drawings Towards Mr. Hyde, who embodies his suppressed desires and unfettered self. This is what excavates the clash between Jekyll’s desires, and the embedded, tight, moral requirements, characterizing Victorian society. The paper also explores how Dr. Jekyll epitomizes the ego, constantly battling the call for restraint. This is an interesting investigation into the hidden psychological issues underlining humanity’s long-standing conflict between decadence and Submission. Jekyll’s dead suppressed superego comes to life with the death of Dr.Lanyon. It is a crucial turning point that brings out the revival of ethics in him, dismantling his unleashed id’s facade and instigating an intensive introspection on the effects of his deeds. Finally, the investigation uncovers the eerie aftermath of Dr. Jekyll’s last hand-written will. This text is a sign of warning showing what Can happen if you repress your urges or true feelings deep in yourself – it reflects how deadly this Suppression could be. This paper brings out the deep psychology of Stevenson’s masterpiece Through Freudian theory. Repression is imposed by sentiment and reticence. Now there is a conflict between the need for expression and the compression of repression. To overcome this conflict, the author revisits his emotions through literary art and other arts in a valiant or disgusted form. Like a pressure cooker, if Vishal is not out, then the pressure cooker is blasting. This mode of self-expression is a safety-values tool for humans. This detailed analysis exposes deep truths about human behaviour, societal contradictions, and the search for identity. In short, it illustrates how relevant it is to strike a balance between personal wishes and societal demands nowadays.

Dr. Osman Alteyp

This research paper attempts to identify the following: first, the nature and circumstances under which the nasal sound /n/ changes to the lateral sound when /n/ is between /ɒ/ and /l/ in the word ‘online’ /ɒnlain/; second, why /ɒ/ is assimilated by /n/ in ‘only’ /ɒnli:/ and ‘online’ /ɒnlain/; third, what reasons lead to the delateralization of the sound /l/ after the sounds /ɔ:/ and /ɑː/ in the words ‘talk’ /tɔ:k/ and ‘calm’ /kɑːm/; and lastly, the proper definition of the process under which the sound /n/ and /l/ lose their distinctive features. The most important results are the following: the sound /n/ and /l/ lose their lateral and nasal features after the back vowel /ɒ/ in ‘online’ /ɒnlain/. Moreover, the English sound /l/ loses its feature after the sounds /ɔ:/ and /ɑː/ in the words ‘talk’ /tɔ:k/ and ‘calm’ /kɑːm/. Denasalization is a phonological process under which the sound /l/ loses its lateral feature.

Dr. Hongqin Zhao

Story as an idea and instrument is prevailing in qualitative research. It is meanwhile the most problematic and challenged apparatus due to its unsystematic accountability to validate research outcomes. It is often perceived to be more subjective than objective in academic executions. This paper connects the instrument of story with its unseeingly related concept of measure to build a theoretical perspective on the methodological considerations and applications. The method of biographical narrative is used to illustrate the quality of data through a framework to decern the characteristics, e.g. the temporary dimension for analyzing the process of changes and explanations of meanings; while the narrative of the lived experience is perceived to be authentic when vigorously collected. Using such elements to measure story for research sees the objective prominence and the quality of real records that produce both truthful and meaningful outcomes.

EA Gamini Fonseka, BA, MA, PhD, FRSA

This paper attempts to investigate semantically and metaphorically the cat-woman identity dilemma projected in the short story from a comparison of the plight of the cat and the American wife in their respective roles. The American wife’s husband remains glued to his book while the cat’s owners are busy with cleanliness issues during rain. Hemingway creatively demonstrates how their frustration as a pet and a guest in the hotel respectively, merges them into a unique psychological oneness. The rainy weather rouses in both a sensation desperately seeking care and caress with nobody around to respond to it. They both miss what they need in their physical and psychological constitutions although the chilly atmosphere is conducive for many sensational adventures. Hemingway’s creativity in representing their pathetic condition precipitated by the conflicts within them is tremendously powerful. While identifying the metaphors he has used in presenting this portrait of psychological loneliness, an attempt is made here to assess their semantic and symbolic impact. As the paper is designed for study purposes, Hemingway’s trajectory is followed by systematically analysing the achievements he makes at every juncture in his narration. Accordingly, the discussion under the twelve themes: 1) cat-woman metaphors; 2) the cat and the American wife; 3) The Hotel Riviera, Rapallo, Italy; 4) setting; 5) cat rescue mission; 6) the hotelier’s courtesies; 7) cat search; 8) disappointment; 9) self-realization; 10) self-search; 11) cat solution to frustration; and 12) godsend of a cat, aims at a coherent and thorough understanding of the short story.

Lin Wang1

The Hugo Award for The Three-Body Problem has greatly contributed to the influence of China’s science fiction, attracting a large number of potential readers. Compared to serious literature, science fiction places greater emphasis on the scenario-based experience of readers. The introduction of reception aesthetics into translation demonstrates the transformation from translators-centered approach to readers-centered approach. Thus, readers are constantly aligning themselves with their own experience, emotion and interest rather than mechanically reading the text, showing a dynamic relationship between the work and readers. In this sense, the translation studies of science fiction can be combined with reception aesthetics. This paper, based on reception aesthetics, explores translation strategies of Flowers for Algernon through a comparison of three concepts of horizon of expectations, appealing structure and implied readers and suggests methods for better expectations by readers.

Liu Yaxin

Halliday claims that foregrounding refers to the highlighting of linguistic features that contribute to the overall meaning intended by the writer in a text. According to Mukarovsky and Leech, foregrounding can be achieved through deviation and parallelism. To date, there have been a few stylistic studies on foregrounding in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Nevertheless, these studies have primarily focused on the thematic and aesthetic effects created by foregrounding. By analyzing The Great Gatsby from a foregrounding perspective, it is demonstrated that foregrounding is an effective tool for revealing the protagonist’s inner world. This study aims to prove that Gatsby’s anxiety, which is exposed through deviation and parallelism patterns, is not just status anxiety but cultural anxiety that has been overlooked by previous critics who have primarily focused on the psychological aspects of the protagonist. Furthermore, Gatsby’s inability to alleviate his cultural anxiety highlights the plight of all urban residents resulting from the interplay between intellectual relationships and a money economy. It is argued that applying Bhabha’s mimicry theory to understanding the essence of Gatsby’s anxiety revealed by the foregrounding patterns, and exploring the reasons for his inability to escape his anxiety through Simmel’s theory of the metropolis and mental life, is of great significance for revealing the inner world of American people in the 20th century.

Jialu Song

After the birth of cloned sheep Dolly in 1997, cloning technology, especially human cloning, has become a controversial topic since the end of the last century. It has brought infinite impact to both natural science and human science in the world. Although up to now, there has not been a successful attempt at human cloning, people have never stopped worrying about this issue. Drama and science fiction frequently address this subject. The most important contemporary British female dramatist, Caryl Churchill, tells of alternative father-son relationships in the age of cloning and exposes the identity crisis of human clones in her play A Number. In this paper, the identity paradox, value inquiry, and subjectivity of clones are interpreted separately to feel the identity crisis of clones and to experience Churchill’s thoughts on the technological advances on the identity of clones and the relationship between clones and human beings.

Jebun Ara Geeti, PhD

This paper aims to clarify whether the National Literature of America is cohesive or integrated in regard to the spontaneous presence of African-American culture. It is apparent that African presence in American literary studies is noticeably insignificant even though it has significantly helped shaping the policy, government, Constitution, and the entire history of American culture. In “Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination,” Toni Morrison presents a different perception of “Americanness” in connection to the standing of African literary studies in America. The author notes that the basic traits of American literature has evolved from an awareness of “Americanness” that consciously refuse to integrate the irresistible presence of the Black. It is important to note that the common characteristics of American Literature have never incorporated the Black presence which could have been perceived as a true image of an unsettled plight of African American people. Indeed, an artificial presence of Africanism is generated by the white authors and critics that has triggered as well as established an idea of “Americanness” which is meticulously termed by Morrison as “American Africanism”. That projected concept of “American Africanism” is actively engaged in defining the shadowy presence of the Black within American Literature. The framework of “American Africanism” is not only Eurocentric but also strongly supported by American scholars and the entire education system in order to suppress the issues of class, Afro-American scholarships, exercise of power, and social engagement. This paper aims to explore why national literature of America is never influenced by African-American presence and what are the noticeable influences that have remarkably slowed down the robust presence of Africanism in the mainstream literature of America.