Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Comparative Literature

Supervisor

Dr. Calin-Andrei Mihailescu

Abstract

Bruno Schulz’s A Street of Crocodiles (1934) and Guy Davenport’s A Table of Green Fields (1993) feature a collection of short stories and events that occur within the realm of dream and nightmare. Their stories transgress the boundaries of fiction and reality, and do not adhere to traditional literary forms of narrative. They present worlds where all inhibitions are let loose, and allow for the expression and pursuit of desires that would normally be hindered by societal hierarchies and moral codes. A carnival reading of the texts, based on Bakhtin’s theory of the carnival as literary genre, allows for an active engagement between reader and text, and provides a better understanding of the dreams, fears, and desires expressed within each respective work.

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