Literature
MINING FOR MEANING: A STUDY OF MINIMALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE by JEREMY ROBERT BAILEY, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN ENGLISH Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Approved
Wendell Aycock Chair of the Committee
Sara Spurgeon
Scott Baugh
Ralph Ferguson Dean of the Graduate School
December 2010
Copyright 2010 Jeremy Robert Bailey
Texas Tech University, Jeremy Robert Bailey, December 2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my dissertation director, Dr. Wendell Aycock, for the instruction he gave me while a student in his classes and agreeing to work with me on this project. I will forever be grateful for your advice, encouragement and patience. I would also like to thank Dr. Sara Spurgeon, Dr. Bryce Conrad, and Dr. Scott Baugh for their ideas and willingness to serve on my committee. I have appreciated the advice and kind words of many of classmates and friends who have been supportive and excited about this project. Thanks for listening to my ideas and allowing me to vent my frustrations. I would also like to thank Annie, my wonderful wife, for reading my work and putting up with me for the past few years. I look forward to future adventures with you. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to my children--Taylor, Connor and Ashton.
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Texas Tech University, Jeremy Robert Bailey, December 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Minimalism in Visual Arts Minimalism in Music Minimalism in Literature Rationale and Methodology II. ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S CONTRIBUTION TO LITERARY MINIMALISM Repetition in “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I” Heavy Dialogue and Ambiguity in “Hills Like White Elephants” III. RAYMOND CARVER: “THE FATHER” OF AMERICAN MINIMALISM A Minimalist Version of the Unreliable Narrator in “So Much Water So Close To Home” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” Silence as a Form of
Approved
Wendell Aycock Chair of the Committee
Sara Spurgeon
Scott Baugh
Ralph Ferguson Dean of the Graduate School
December 2010
Copyright 2010 Jeremy Robert Bailey
Texas Tech University, Jeremy Robert Bailey, December 2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my dissertation director, Dr. Wendell Aycock, for the instruction he gave me while a student in his classes and agreeing to work with me on this project. I will forever be grateful for your advice, encouragement and patience. I would also like to thank Dr. Sara Spurgeon, Dr. Bryce Conrad, and Dr. Scott Baugh for their ideas and willingness to serve on my committee. I have appreciated the advice and kind words of many of classmates and friends who have been supportive and excited about this project. Thanks for listening to my ideas and allowing me to vent my frustrations. I would also like to thank Annie, my wonderful wife, for reading my work and putting up with me for the past few years. I look forward to future adventures with you. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to my children--Taylor, Connor and Ashton.
ii
Texas Tech University, Jeremy Robert Bailey, December 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Minimalism in Visual Arts Minimalism in Music Minimalism in Literature Rationale and Methodology II. ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S CONTRIBUTION TO LITERARY MINIMALISM Repetition in “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I” Heavy Dialogue and Ambiguity in “Hills Like White Elephants” III. RAYMOND CARVER: “THE FATHER” OF AMERICAN MINIMALISM A Minimalist Version of the Unreliable Narrator in “So Much Water So Close To Home” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” Silence as a Form of