Date of Award
5-17-2003
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
The story of Sir John Franklin, nineteenth-century British Arctic explorer, has been reinterpreted and reworked by poets, novelists, essayists, and dramatists for more than a century and half. This thesis is an attempt to discover the character and significance of the literary legacy of Sir John Franklin by exploring authors' uses of four common tropes: food, sex, death, and quest. In analyzing these tropes, this thesis focuses primarily on five works of contemporary Canadian literature: Margaret Atwood's short story, "The Age of Lead"; Gwendolyn MacEwen's radio verse play, Terror and Erebus; Geoff Kavanagh's play, Ditch; Mordecai Richler's novel, Solomon Gursky Was Here; and Rudy Wiebe's novel, A Discovery of Strangers. In addition, other works of literature are considered. An appendix lists more than fifty creative works that incorporate Sir John Franklin.
Recommended Citation
Long, Maureen Eleanor, "Food, sex, death, and quest: the literary legacy of Sir John Franklin" (2003). Arctic and Northern Studies. 26.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_arctic_northern/26
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6321