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“COMING AT THE WONDER ITSELF”: MISCLASSIFICATION, MISUNDERSTANDING AND THE INTEGRATED VISION OF RUSSELL HOBAN’S 1967 NOVEL THE MOUSE AND HIS CHILD

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Date Issued:
2022
Abstract/Description:
In 1967, Russell Hoban’s first novel, The Mouse and His Child was published and reviewed as a children’s book, despite the fact that the author considered it not to be directed towards a child audience. Since that time, it has been generally analyzed and evaluated as a work of children’s literature (specifically) and not as literature in the general sense. Because the book deals with adult subjects and concepts it has not fared well with those who have measured its success solely on the basis of its being classified as a children’s book. This thesis hopes to liberate the work from this classification by carefully analyzing the concepts which underpin its action, specifically its ontological speculations, its personification of the fall from grace and the felix culpa, the relationship of the protagonists to their complex antagonist Manny Rat, and, finally, in the symbol of “the last visible dog” which represents the infinite and what lies beyond the self (which, in fact, is actually the self). This thesis also examines how Hoban continued working with these themes and concepts in the novels he wrote after publishing The Mouse and His Child.
Title: “COMING AT THE WONDER ITSELF”: MISCLASSIFICATION, MISUNDERSTANDING AND THE INTEGRATED VISION OF RUSSELL HOBAN’S 1967 NOVEL THE MOUSE AND HIS CHILD.
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Name(s): Richards, Charles , author
Ulin, Julieann , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of English
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2022
Date Issued: 2022
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 77 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: In 1967, Russell Hoban’s first novel, The Mouse and His Child was published and reviewed as a children’s book, despite the fact that the author considered it not to be directed towards a child audience. Since that time, it has been generally analyzed and evaluated as a work of children’s literature (specifically) and not as literature in the general sense. Because the book deals with adult subjects and concepts it has not fared well with those who have measured its success solely on the basis of its being classified as a children’s book. This thesis hopes to liberate the work from this classification by carefully analyzing the concepts which underpin its action, specifically its ontological speculations, its personification of the fall from grace and the felix culpa, the relationship of the protagonists to their complex antagonist Manny Rat, and, finally, in the symbol of “the last visible dog” which represents the infinite and what lies beyond the self (which, in fact, is actually the self). This thesis also examines how Hoban continued working with these themes and concepts in the novels he wrote after publishing The Mouse and His Child.
Identifier: FA00014008 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2022.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Hoban, Russell--Criticism and interpretation
Literature
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014008
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.