To what extent are the characters in the novel “They shoot the horses, don’t they” influenced by the historical and social context?

Koğar, Begüm Gülce (2012) To what extent are the characters in the novel “They shoot the horses, don’t they” influenced by the historical and social context? Other thesis, TED Ankara College Foundation High School.

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Abstract

This paper focuses on Horace McCoy’s masterpiece They Shoot Horses, Don’t They with regard to the influences of social-economic conditions of the Great Depression period on selected characters. McCoy narrates the story of ordinary people who fell down to the bottom of society in the aftermath of Great Depression; and he creates a masterpiece by narrating the ordinary stories of desperation in an extraordinary storyline, which is of a dance marathon. Robert and Gloria are the main characters examined, their inner talks, dialogues with each other and other competents generate the main line of story and, by this way, socialpsychological mindsets of people who suffered from Great Depression are depicted. In addition to Robert and Gloria couple, Kid, Mattie, Jackie and Mario will also be examined regarding their back stories, present conditions which dragged them into such a desperation and their deformed but still alive hopes and expectations. The existential themes given subtextually enrich the plot as well as it enriches the content of this paper. In this sense, desperation, death, sarcasm and hope could be qualified as the keywords of this paper. In this context, McCoy’s novel gives us a chance to be acquainted with the Great Depression period at a multidimensional level; all characters present us a different and distinctive part of what had been happened. Due to these points, this novel is worthy of study and in this paper the influence of that period on the characters is examined.

Item Type: Thesis (Other)
Additional Information: Supervisor: Mine Mavioğlu, IB Notu: C
Uncontrolled Keywords: Horace McCoy, They Shoot Horses
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PE English
P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Depositing User: Kamil Çömlekçi
Date Deposited: 10 Jul 2012 08:11
Last Modified: 12 Apr 2019 09:41
URI: http://tedprints.tedankara.k12.tr/id/eprint/241

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