"Shaping and Cutting and Improving and Adding": Acknowledged and Hidden Influences in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials

<p>This thesis aims to identify and analyse the most prominent influences on Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It looks particularly at the difference between the authors' attitude towards influences they happily acknowledge and those influences which they attempt to conceal because they cause them anxiety (in the case of Westerfeld) or embarrassment (in the case of Pullman). This focus, combined with the speculative analysis of His Dark Materials' influence on Extras, the fourth book of the Uglies series, is intended to show the variability of literary influence. Comparative close readings throughout the thesis display the variety of ways influences are used within the texts, and illustrate the factors on which their use is dependent: the compatibility of the latecomer text with its precursor, the author's opinion of the earlier work, and the reading the author makes of the precursor text. Pullman's acknowledgement of influences is dependent on whether he considers them worthy precursors (in the case of Heinrich von Kleist, William Blake, and John Milton) or an embarrassing ancestor (in the case of C. S. Lewis). Westerfeld's is dependent on how similar his precursor works are to his own texts, as he does not acknowledge the obvious influence of Aldous Huxley, but happily names Ray Bradbury, John Christopher, Ted Chiang, and Charles Beaumont as influences. The thesis shows that the use of literary influences is not straightforward as one author may, as Westerfeld and Pullman do, display different attitudes to and appropriate precursor texts in differing ways within one work.</p>

"Shaping and Cutting and Improving and Adding": Acknowledged and Hidden Influences in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials

<p>This thesis aims to identify and analyse the most prominent influences on Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It looks particularly at the difference between the authors' attitude towards influences they happily acknowledge and those influences which they attempt to conceal because they cause them anxiety (in the case of Westerfeld) or embarrassment (in the case of Pullman). This focus, combined with the speculative analysis of His Dark Materials' influence on Extras, the fourth book of the Uglies series, is intended to show the variability of literary influence. Comparative close readings throughout the thesis display the variety of ways influences are used within the texts, and illustrate the factors on which their use is dependent: the compatibility of the latecomer text with its precursor, the author's opinion of the earlier work, and the reading the author makes of the precursor text. Pullman's acknowledgement of influences is dependent on whether he considers them worthy precursors (in the case of Heinrich von Kleist, William Blake, and John Milton) or an embarrassing ancestor (in the case of C. S. Lewis). Westerfeld's is dependent on how similar his precursor works are to his own texts, as he does not acknowledge the obvious influence of Aldous Huxley, but happily names Ray Bradbury, John Christopher, Ted Chiang, and Charles Beaumont as influences. The thesis shows that the use of literary influences is not straightforward as one author may, as Westerfeld and Pullman do, display different attitudes to and appropriate precursor texts in differing ways within one work.</p>

The Magician, the Savior, and the Cyborg

The chapter analyses female protagonists in recent young adult movies with a focus on the educational side of such productions. The text approaches femininity and empowerment of three well-known heroines: Hermione (from the Harry Potter series), Lyra (from His Dark Materials Season 1 TV series), and Alita (from Alita: Battle Angel). The chapter centers on the roles played by the three characters in the economy of the respective cinematic productions and on how their girlhood is framed by the visual text. The author's purpose is to unearth interpretations of gender-specific roles that impact the young viewers and their understanding of femininity. The chapter intends to open a conversation about the implication of possible worlds theory and social cognitive theory in interpreting depictions of girlhood in fantasy and Sci-Fi young adult movies. From the magician (Hermione) to the (supernatural) savior (Lyra) and ending with the cyborg (Alita), the analysis will also take into account tenets of feminism, Techno Feminism, and behavioral psychology.

Holistic Principle and Motives of Re-Union

Doktori disszertációm elemzésének tárgya a kortárs brit gyermek- és ifjúsági irodalom meghatározó szerzőjének, Philip Pullmannak His Dark Materials (magyar fordításban Az Úr sötét anyagai) című, sokat vitatott fantasy könyvtrilógiája. Dolgozatomban arra kívánok rámutatni, hogy a trilógia mélyén feltárul az értő olvasó számára egy határozottan érzékelhető vallásosság jelenléte, amely a nyugati szépirodalomból, keresztény teológiából és filozófiából táplálkozik. A disszertáció átfogó célja annak bebizonyítása, hogy a His Dark Materials című trilógiát az un. „re-enchantment” („újra-elvarázsolódás”) jellemzi. A disszertáció elsődleges hipotézise annak bebizonyítása, hogy mivel holisztikus alapelv hatja át a trilógia (narratív) felépítését, az újra-egyesítés vágya Pullman művének magától értetődő témája. A második hipotézisként azt kívánom bebizonyítani, hogy a magától értetődő témája (az újra-egyesítés szándéka) által a His Dark Materials nemcsak a „mainstream” keresztény vallás kritikáját testesíti meg, hanem az alternatív spirituális irányzatok kritikáját is. A disszertáció harmadik hipotézise, hogy bár Pullman fantasy trilógiáját gyakran tekintik műfaj-újító irodalmi alkotásnak, azonban a holizmus újra-elvarázsolt irányelve miatt elkerülhetetlenül megismétli a vallásos fantasy műfajának konvencióit.