Structuring Racist Ideologies in Stephen Crane’s “A Dark Brown Dog”: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Ben Khalifa, Taher

doi:10.22049/jalda.2018.26344.1093

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Taher Ben Khalifa

Associate Professor of English Linguistics, Department of English, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.

https://doi.org/10.22049/jalda.2018.26344.1093

Abstract

This paper deals with the study of how racist ideologies are constructed in Crane’s “A Dark Brown Dog” using the CDA framework. Benefitting from the approaching between literature and linguistics, it focuses on the linguistic examination of the (re)construction of whiteness and blackness based on the assumption that racism is: a social, a discursive, and an ideological construct. This tri-dimensional construct is treated within a theoretical triangulation ranging from cognition, society, and discourse. Based on the view of discourse as a process of coding and decoding of meaning, the text of this story is explored at various levels of language use: a) contextual analysis focuses on the study of how the depiction of the setting and the characters serves to draw the scene of racial inequality; b) textual analysis deals with the way narration contributes to the (re)production of racism; and c) identity analysis is devoted to the study of how racial identity evolves across generations. The results showed that: first, the representation of the characters highlights the binary structure of the southern American society marked by the inferiority of the blacks and the superiority of the whites. Second, the way actions and events are narrated reflects the unequal distribution of power between blacks and whites. The existing asymmetry of power is traced in the duality of punishment and obedience. Third, the racist ideologies and race relations evolve across generations depending on: the amalgamations happening at the family level, the evolution of society, and the evolution of its legislations.

Keywords

20.1001.1.2383591.2017.5.2.3.8

Main Subjects

Literature and ethical development

Article Title [Persian]

مطالعۀ ساخت جهان بینی های نژادپرستانه در "سگ قهوه ای تیره" اثر استفان کرِین بر مبنای تحلیل گفتمان انتقادی

Abstract [Persian]

هدف این مقاله مطالعه چگونگی شکلگیری جهانبینیهای نژادپرستانه در داستان "سگ قهوهای تیره" اثر استِفان کرِین است که در آن با بهره جستن از ارتباط نزدیک بین زبان و ادبیات، به مطالعه زبانشناختی بازسازی مفاهیم سیاه بودن و سفید بودن بر مبنای این فرض که نژادپرستی برساختهای اجتماعی، برهانی، و فکری است، پرداخته شده است. چنین مفهوم سه بعدی را میتوان در قالب یک سهوجهی مشتمل بر نظام شناختی، جامعه، و گفتماندر نظر گرفت. با عنایت به تعریف گفتمان به عنوان فرآیندرمزگذاری و رمزگشایی معنا، متن این داستان در سطوح مختلفی از کاربرد زبان قابل استیفاد است که سه مورد را در برمیگیرد: 1- تحلیل بافتی که به مطالعه چگونگی کارکرد زمانجا و شخصیتهای داستان در هدایت صحنهِ نابرابری نژادی میپردازد؛ 2- تحلیل متنی که معطوف به نقش روایت در بازتولید نژادپرستی است؛و 3- تحلیل هویت که هدف از آن مطالعه نحوه شکلگیری هویت نژادی در امتداد نسلهاست. نتایج نشان میدهد که اولاً،بازنمایی شخصیتها حاکی از ساختار دوگانی جامعهِ آمریکای جنوبی بر مبنای دونپایگی سیاهان و ارجمندی سفیدهاست. این ویژگیهای اجتماعی حاصل کنکاش در بافت اجتماعی است. دوماً، نحوهِ روایت کنشها و رویدادهای داستان نشاندهندهِ توزیع نابرابر قدرت در بین سیاهان و سفیدهاست. نوعی عدم توازن قدرت در دوگانهِ تنبیه و اطاعت قابل مشاهده است. این وضعیت به واسطهِ نظام دوگانی جهانبینیها یعنی برتری سفید و دونپایگی سیاه دوام مییابد. سوماً، اثبات میگردد که جهانبینیهای نژادپرستانه و روابط نژادی با توجه به همآمیزی در سطح خانواده، تکامل جامعه، و قوانین آن، در گذر از نسلی به نسل دیگر ظهور و بروز می یابد.

Keywords [Persian]

گفتمان ادبی
نژادپرستی
جهان بینی ها
سفید پوستی
سیاه پوستی
وبرده داری

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Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances

Structuring Racist Ideologies in Stephen Crane’s “A Dark Brown Dog”: A Critical Discourse Analysis

References

References

Volume 5, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
September 2017
Pages 15-46

Structuring Racist Ideologies in Stephen Crane’s “A Dark Brown Dog”: A Critical Discourse Analysis

References

References

Volume 5, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10September 2017Pages 15-46

Volume 5, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
September 2017
Pages 15-46