University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Rhetorical dimensions of 20th century depression memoirs: Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, William Styron's Darkness Visible, & Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind

Martinez, Jermaine

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/90555

Description

Title
Rhetorical dimensions of 20th century depression memoirs: Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, William Styron's Darkness Visible, & Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind
Author(s)
Martinez, Jermaine
Issue Date
2016-04-20
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
O'Gorman, Ned
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
O'Gorman, Ned
Committee Member(s)
  • Miller, Peggy
  • Murphy, John
  • Kral, Michael
Department of Study
Communication
Discipline
Speech Communication
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Rhetorical Theory
  • Rhetorical Criticism
  • Mental Illness
  • Narrative
  • Depression
  • Public Argument
  • Autobiography
  • Mood Memoirs
  • Emotion
  • Selfhood
  • Authenticity
  • 20th Century
Abstract
"This is a rhetorical analysis of three popular autobiographical acts about depression from the American 20th century: Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, William Styron’s Darkness Visible and Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind. This dissertation explores the question: how do these memoirs of depression work as rhetorical texts? Two distinct, yet interrelated, levels of analysis are undertaken through an orientation of ""deep reading"" in an effort to illuminate the rhetorical dimensions of these enduring and best selling autobiographical works. First, I review the ways these authors generate identification with readers in the face of a suffering that casts its agents as unreliable narrators. Second, I demonstrate how these texts enter into dialogue with technical and public discourses of their time, shifting the grounds of appeal towards more personal considerations. Both of these analyses work to illuminate how these popular books emerge as rhetorically powerful interventions in 20th century discourses on depression, mental illness, and meaningful living more generally."
Graduation Semester
2016-05
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90555
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2016 Jermaine Martinez

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