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The role of Emersonian transcendentalism in Alan Ball’s American Beauty and Six Feet Under
The role of Emersonian transcendentalism in Alan Ball’s American Beauty and Six Feet Under
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Authors
Doreste Martín, Blanca
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Advisor
Irizarry Rodríguez, José M.
College
College of Arts and Sciences - Arts
Department
Department of English
Degree Level
M.A.E.E.
Publisher
Date
2011
Abstract
This thesis explores the manner in which Ralph Waldo Emerson‘s nineteenth century
transcendentalist thought as described in his essays, Nature, The American Scholar, and Self
Reliance, is present and appropriated in Alan Ball‘s HBO series‘, Six Feet Under (SFU), and
film, American Beauty (AB). The discussion demonstrates that a modernized version of
Emersonian transcendentalism is part of Ball‘s two works, mainly through his exploration of
death, and it is within this topic that the protagonists of AB and SFU are able to transcend and
appreciate life.
The thesis also explores the manner in which Alan Ball creates a space in AB and SFU
for the critique and questioning of societal taboos and controversies. The methodology used
consists of the literary analysis of specific SFU episodes and scenes in AB. The results
demonstrate that Emersonian transcendentalism is clearly present in Ball‘s works and that most
of his protagonists are indeed able to transcend as Emerson describes in Nature, The American
Scholar, and Self Reliance.
Keywords
Transcendentalism in literature,
Online streaming service-series,
Ball, Alan,
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Online streaming service-series,
Ball, Alan,
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
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