Empire islands : castaways, cannibals, and fantasies of conquest / Rebecca Weaver-Hightower.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weaver-Hightower, Rebecca.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islands in literature.

English fiction--History and criticism.

English fiction.

English fiction--English-speaking countries--History and criticism.

Castaways in literature.

Imperialism in literature.

Cannibalism in literature.

Pirates in literature.

Monsters in literature.

Psychology in literature.

Psychoanalysis and literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (310 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Through a detailed unpacking of the castaway genre's appeal in English literature, Empire Islands forwards our understanding of the sociopsychology of British Empire. Rebecca Weaver-Hightower argues convincingly that by helping generations of readers to make sense of, and perhaps feel better about, imperial aggression, the castaway story in effect enabled the expansion and maintenance of European empire. Empire Islands asks why so many colonial authors chose islands as the setting for their stor

Contents:

Monarchs of all they survey

Disciplined islands : white fatherhood, homosocial masculinity, and law

Voracious cannibals, rapacious pirates, and threats of counterincorporation

"Falling to the lowest degree of brutishness" : wild men, monsters, and the bestial taint

Island parodies and Crusoe pantomimes : resistance from within

The U.S. island fantasy, or cast away with Gilligan.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8166-9870-8

OCLC:

476156613