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An Interpretation of >Ragtime< by E.L. Doctorow from the Perspective of Fromm’s Freedom Theory, Master thesis, World Literature, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China 2023 [application of Fromm's theories to art]. [doi.org/10.27328/d.cnki.gshsc.2023.000987]

  • [Chinese abstract not available] >Ragtime<, published in 1975, is the fourth novel written by Jewish-American novelist E. L. Doctorow, for which he was awarded >the 1976 National Book Critics Circle Award<. Doctorow focused on the important figures in three families to explore the fate of different classes in the United States, and he didn’t try to write a grand history of the entire United States to reflect that time. He perfectly presented three very different American family freedom dilemmas in >Ragtime<: One was a wealthy middle-class white family, the other was a Jewish family from European immigrants, and the last was a black family, which genuinely reproduced the microcosm of all classes in that era. At present, some scholars have explored >Ragtime< from different angles such as feminist criticism and new historicism. Because of its unique writing style and ingenious narrative techniques, there are also many scholars studying the narrative strategy of the novel. However, there is a lack of comprehensive comments on the dilemma of freedom of the protagonists, the mechanism to negative freedom and how to realize positive freedom in the novel. From the perspective of Fromm’s freedom theory, we can find that the freedom dilemma of an individual in modern society makes people confused. So manipulation and being manipulated, a desire to destroy, automaton conformity, and other mechanisms of negative freedom come into being. As for Fromm, to be a complete human being, to be truly free must be achieved through the spontaneous love and creative labor of the individual. Based on Fromm’s view of freedom, the interpretation of >Ragtime< is of guiding significance for individuals in today’s society to move from freedom dilemma to positive freedom. Ultimately, the liberation and free and all-around development of human beings is the highest value orientation for realizing a community with a shared future for mankind, which promotes the human beings to move towards a better tomorrow.

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Metadaten
Author:Liang Peng
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2023
Release Date:2024/04/04
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Peng_Liang_2023
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Articles / Artikel
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Articles / Artikel
Licence (German):
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