American Literature
Fall Semester 2015
Giorgio Mariani
On the run: from the South Seas to the American Highway
This module will focus on a traditional theme of US narrative, that of the voyage as a
way to explore self and Other, to reflect on the problem of identity (both individual and
collective), and as an attempt to escape from a world which nevertheless one must
always come back to. The texts we will analyze closely are Omoo (1847) by Herman
Melville; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain, The Road (1907) by
Jack London, and On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac.
Since this is a course imagined for students in their second year of Anglo-American
literature, students are also required to broaden their knowledge of American literary
history by reading on their own the texts mentioned under the heading “Readings” as
well as by studying Part I of "American Literature: A History", edited by Hans Bertens
and Theo D'haen.
Primary texts:
Herman Melville, Omoo
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Jack London, The Road
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Of course, you must read the texts in the original language. If you find a text difficult,
you are welcome to consult its Italian translation (all these texts have been translated
into Italian), but your study text (in class and for the purpose of your papers and exams)
will always be the original English-language text. You can use any UNABRIDGED edition,
but I personally recommend the Penguin editions (except for London’s, which has no
Penguin edition).
Criticism:
John Samson, WHITE LIES. MELVILLE'S NARRATIVES OF FACTS, ITHACA, CONRELL UP,
1989, PP. 57-86
Cinzia Schiavini, LEGGERE TWAIN, ROMA, CAROCCI, 2013, PP. 43-72
Cecelia Tichi, Canonizing Economic Crisis: Jack London's "The Road", AMERICAN
LITERARY HISTORY 23 (1) 2011, PP. 19-31
Robert Holton, "Kerouac Among the Fellahin: 'On The Road' to the Postmodern",
MODERN FICTION STUDIES 41 (2), 1995, PP. 265-83
These materials will be available from the Villa Mirafiori photocopy center.
Additional materials (to be studied on your own)
LITERARY HISTORY
"American Literature: A History", a cura di Hans Bertens e Theo D'haen, London,
Routledge, 2013, Parte I.
READINGS
*Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The American Scholar"
*Herman Melville, "Benito Cereno"
*Walt Whitman, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed"
*Emily Dickinson, "This World is Not Conclusion", "My Life had Stood -- a Loaded Gun",
"My life closed twice before its close", "Tell all the Turh but
tell it slant--", "This was a Poet--It is That"
Henry James, "Daisy Miller"
Stephen Crane, "The Open Boat"
Texts marked with an asterisk (*) are those that also students taking the class for only 6
credits must read.
You are not asked to read any specific critical materials on these texts, besides the
references found in the literary history by Bertens and D'Haen. In any case, you can
find many studies of these texts both on the Net and in the Lingue Library at Villa
Mirafiori.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING CLASSES
James Fenimore Cooper, "The Last of the Mohicans"
Stephen Crane, "The Monster"
Anna Scannavini, “Cooper e l'ultimo dei mohicani”. Ácoma 12 (inverno 1998), pp. 14-
26.
Giorgio Mariani, "Introduzione" a Stephen Crane, "Il mostro", edizione con testo a
fronte, Venezia, Marsilio, 1997.
Students taking this class will be evaluated on the basis of two in-class written exams
and two 3-4 pp. papers, written following the indications given during the course
(students taking the exam but not attending classes will have to see me during office
hours in order to discuss the topic of their paper. There will be no email conferencing:
you must come in person). Students are advised to read and study the booklet "Writing
the Comparison / Contrast Paper", available from the Villa Mirafiori photocopy center,
before writing their papers.
Syllabus
October
M5
T6
W7
General introduction. Introduction to Herman Melville’s work.
Omoo, chs. 1-10
Omoo, chs. 11-21
M12 Omoo, chs. 22-31
T13 Omoo, chs. 32-42
W14 Omoo, chs. 43-53
M19 Omoo, chs. 54-64
T20 Omoo, chs. 65-75
W21 Omoo, chs. 76-82
M26 Huckleberry Finn, chs. 1-5
T27 Huckleberry Finn, chs. 6-10
W28 Huckleberry Finn, chs. 11-15
November
M2
T3
W4
Huckleberry Finn, chs. 16-21
Huckleberry Finn, chs. 22-26
Huckleberry Finn, chs. 27-32
M9 Huckleberry Finn, chs. 33-39
T10 Huckleberry Finn, chs. 40-43
W11 IN-CLASS MID-TERM EXAM
M16 The Road, “Confession”
T17 The Road, “Holding Her Down,” “Pictures”
W18 The Road, “Pinched,” “The Pen”
M23 The Road, “Hoboes That Pass in the Night”
T24 The Road, “Road Kids and Gay Cats,” “Two Thousand Stiffs”
W25 The Road, “Bulls”
M30 On the Road, Part 1, Chs. 1-7
December
T1
W2
On the Road, Part 1, Chs. 8-14
M7
W9
On the Road, Part 2, Chs. 1-6
On the Road, Part 2, Chs. 7-11
M14 On the Road, Part 3, Chs. 1-5
T15 On the Road, Part 3, Chs. 6-11
W16 On the Road, Part 4, Chs. 1-4
M21 On the Road, Part 4, Chs. 5-6 and part 5
T22 Screening of the Walter Salles 2012 movie
W23 In-Class Exam