Researcher ORCID Identifier
0000-0001-8068-0218
Graduation Year
2022
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Foreign Languages
Reader 1
Kevin Vennemann
Reader 2
Marc Katz
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2022 Ruby K Hoffman
Abstract
This thesis investigates the construction of masculinity and its role in the construction of the image of America in two books by Friedrich Gerstäcker (Flußpiraten des Mississipi and Streif- und Jagdzüge durch die Vereinigten Staaten Nord-Amerikas). The portrayal of men in these books reflects a largely traditional and hegemonic masculinity, but it contains a number of nuances that complicate that model. With particular attention to the interaction of this masculinity and nature in the American backwoods, a particular image of a successful, real, American man becomes visible. This thesis analyzes how Gerstäcker’s outsider (German)—but immersed—perspective produces a familiar but explicit form of ‘truly American masculinity.’
Recommended Citation
Hoffman, Ruby, "Aus Deutschland nach Westen: Eine Analyse der Westen-Abenteuerliteratur von Friedrich Gerstäcker" (2022). Scripps Senior Theses. 1983.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1983
