"The Art of Questioning": Interrogations of Exceptionalist History and Cultural Mythology in the Novels of Salman Rushdie and William Faulkner

Author

Hannah R. Barnhart, College of William and MaryFollow

Date Thesis Awarded

4-2014

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

English

Advisor

Colleen Kennedy

Committee Members

Simon Joyce

Chitralekha Zutshi

Abstract

This thesis examines the ways in which Salman Rushdie and William Faulkner confront issues of exceptionalism, cultural mythology, and official history. In particular, it studies Faulkner's interrogation of the southern myths such as honor, violence, and white patriarchy perpetuated by the Dunning School, as well as Rushdie's questioning of nationalist memory in India and Pakistan. The aim of this study is to establish connections between writers in the Global South.

Recommended Citation

Barnhart, Hannah R., ""The Art of Questioning": Interrogations of Exceptionalist History and Cultural Mythology in the Novels of Salman Rushdie and William Faulkner" (2014). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 40.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/40

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