Culting fictions: An enquiry into cult writers and their readerships

McAvoy, Joe (2004) Culting fictions: An enquiry into cult writers and their readerships. MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Full text available as:
[thumbnail of 10390752.pdf] PDF
Download (3MB)
Printed Thesis Information: https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b2298290

Abstract

This is an examination of the phenomenon of cult fiction. Starting with the Romantic poets this thesis shows that our understanding of contemporary cult fiction (from the 1960s to the late 1990s) is inextricably bound up with the failure of literary radicalism, a point I support through studies of Allen Ginsberg and Irvine Welsh. I will examine the factors that separate cult reading strategies from more conventional modes of interpretation, and by doing so I will analyse current opinions and recent research carried out in the area. Once I have established a framework for determining what makes a cult book I will bring it to the study of Douglas Coupland's Generation X (1991) and Don DeLillo's Mao II (1992). In doing so I will highlight the dangers and extremes of cult interpretation, which will be followed by an in-depth look at Mark Chapman, who shot dead singer John Lennon in 1980, and in particular his reading of JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951).

Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
Qualification Level: Masters
Keywords: Modern literature.
Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
Supervisor's Name: Supervisor, not known
Date of Award: 2004
Depositing User: Enlighten Team
Unique ID: glathesis:2004-71171
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 10 May 2019 10:49
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2021 13:12
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/71171

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year