Terror and Fear as Paradigmatic Undercurrents of the Contemporary Society in the Works of Shirley Jackson

master's thesis

• Author: Karla Garčević
• Mentor: Krunoslav Mikulan (mentor)
• Committee member: Lovorka Zergollern Miletić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Đuro Blažeka (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Krunoslav Mikulan (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Teacher Education; Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2018-09-25, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Psychology; Social Psychology
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Theory and History of Literature

Abstract

In this thesis, feelings of terror and fear as paradigmatic undercurrents of the contemporary society in the works of Shirley Jackson will be explored. The thesis is divided into two main parts: historical background and literary analysis. The first part of the thesis presents Jackson's biography including a timeline of her distinguished novels and short stories. It also explains the development of horror as a genre from Ancient Greece and Rome until today and describes characteristics of different categories of horror. The second part analyses Jackson's novels and short stories in a way that shows Jackson's underlying criticism of the contemporary society and how the society or any social group can have a significant effect on the individual. Moreover, the thesis deals with feelings of terror and fear simultaneously present in the characters and in the reader, and how those negative feelings derive from a troubled human mind infected by social pressure and restraints.

Abstract (croatian)

U ovom radu bit će istraženi osjećaji straha i užasa kao karakterističnih naznaka suvremenog društva u djelima Shirley Jackson. Rad je podijeljen na dva glavna dijela: povijesni kontekst i analiza književnih djela. Prvi dio rada donosi biografiju Shirley Jackson uključujući vremenski pregled njenih značajnih romana i kratkih priča. Također opisuje razvoj horora kao književne vrste od antičke Grčke i Rima do danas i značajke različitih kategorija horora kao žanra. Drugi dio rada prikazuje analizu romana i kratkih priča Shirley Jackson kojoj je cilj dokazati prikrivenu kritiku suvremenog društva i kako društvo može imati značajan utjecaj na pojedinca. Nadalje, rad se bavi osjećajima straha i užasa koji su istovremeno prisutni u književnom liku i čitatelju i kako ti osjećaji proizlaze iz poremećenog ljudskog uma pokvarenog društvenim pritiscima i ograničenjima.

• Keywords: horror; terror; fear; contemporary society
• Keywords (croatian): horor; strah; užas; suvremeno društvo
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:147:818119
• Study programme: Title: Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Programme of Study of Primary Teacher Education and Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Programme of Study for Primary Teacher Education with English and German Language; Study programme type: university; Study level: integrated undergraduate and graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja (magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2019-02-07 15:03:05