Twofold identities : Norwegian-American contributions to Midwestern literature
"Twofold Identities is a study of Midwestern American literature as well as of Norwegian-American immigrant texts. Many readers have judged the latter to be a mere reflection of immigrant experience, a judgment that is neither fair nor correct. These American writers were forced to confront an essentially modern experience complicated by the contextual duality of bilingualism. For early Midwestern immigrant writers and their readers, the task of homemaking in a new setting was a philosophically challenging and highly problematic endeavor. These Midwestern writers were not lost, divided, or rootless. They had the unique privileged ability to draw on the resources of two worlds. As writers they enjoyed - and helped to strengthen - twofold identities."--Jacket
Criticism, interpretation, etc
xii, 240 pages ; 24 cm
9780820462301, 0820462306
51900550
| Preface | ix | ||
| Introduction Charting a Double Landscape | 1 | (20) | |
| Chapter One Writing for the Diaspora: The Case of Torbj��rg and John Lie | 21 | (22) | |
| Chapter Two Travel Narratives and Religious Literature: The Literary Assimilation of Nils N. R��nning | 43 | (22) | |
| Chapter Three Recollections of a Double Past: Two Immigrant Autobiographies | 65 | (32) | |
| Chapter Four Immigrant Religion as Heritage and Renewal: Waldemar Ager's Christ Before Pilate and I Sit Alone | 97 | (32) | |
| Chapter Five In Defense of an Ethnic Culture: Waldemar Ager's On the Way to the Melting Pot and Sons of the Old Country | 129 | (28) | |
| Chapter Six Their Fathers' God and the Jeremiads of Ole E. R��lvaag | 157 | (28) | |
| Chapter Seven Reading Immigrant Literature in Two Countries: R��lvaag Criticism since the 1930's | 185 | (26) | |
| Epilogue Established in a Dual Context | 211 | (8) | |
| Bibliography | 219 | (16) | |
| Index | 235 |