Human/Animal Boundaries

[Il Penseroso]

I'm currently preparing (offhandedly) for a presentation I will be doing on how literature has treated the theme of division between animals and humans, however that may be constructed. I will be focusing primarily on Leslie Marmon Silko's novel Ceremony, but I also hope to branch out a little into other works that explore how people separate themselves from non-human animals. Poetry or short stories would be best, seeing as how I won't have much time to devote myself to a full novel unless it's quite short (school work and such). I'm also most interested in works that utilize a unique sense of formal structure or point of view.


Any recommendations?

Would any of Faulkner's short stories fit this description?

[Il Penseroso]

Nothing?

[mayneverhave]

The one that immediately comes to mind is Faulkner's "The Bear"

[Il Penseroso]

That's the one I was thinking of too. I'll have to reread it to see it it will really work out though. Anything else?

[mayneverhave]

Um, perhaps the Horse/pony-beating dream in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment".

I can't think of any poetry that deals explicitly with animals.
Perhaps Burns' "To a Mouse", which is short and deals with animal's naivety towards the future and inability to worry, which leads to their subsequent happiness.

Not sure that's what you had in mind though.

[Shea]

The first thing that comes to my mind is The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Not a long book, but still...

How about To Build a Fire by Jack London?

[Il Penseroso]

Um, perhaps the Horse/pony-beating dream in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment".

I can't think of any poetry that deals explicitly with animals.
Perhaps Burns' "To a Mouse", which is short and deals with animal's naivety towards the future and inability to worry, which leads to their subsequent happiness.

Not sure that's what you had in mind though.



Sadly I have yet to read "Crime and Punishment," and won't be able to finish it in time. I also don't feel very comfortable just working with a segment of a novel I'm not familiar with.

That Burns poem could work actually, now that I think about it. Though I'm not sure how far I'd be able to take it.

Also, this isn't a requirement, but I'd like to stick with somewhat current American fiction/poetry. The presentation is for a Critical Animal Study Conference so I'd like to present works that demonstrate current, or near-current (a hundred years or so) views on how non-human animals are viewed as separate from humans, particularly as defined along moral grounds.

[Il Penseroso]

The first thing that comes to my mind is The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Not a long book, but still...

How about To Build a Fire by Jack London?

I haven't read the Wells book, but it was something that came to mind, and if I had more time, something I'd definitely want to include. Alas, however, with school I'd rather stick to shorter works.

"To Build a Fire" is a good recommendation too. I'll have to give that one more thought.



I realize I've been a bit vague about what I can use for the presentation, and that is sort of the problem. I'm not exactly sure how I want to focus it myself. My initial idea was "tweaked" a bit by the Conference organizer to fit the more "radical" parameters of the project. So, basically, I'm still working it out.


Thanks mayneverhave and Shea.

[Il Penseroso]

anything else?

[manolia]

How about E A Poe's "The black cat"?

There is referance of animal abuse in two D H Lawrence novels ("Sons and lovers", "Women in love") too..

[Il Penseroso]

Thanks manolia, I'll keep that in mind.

I've decided to use Terry Tempest Williams' The Village Watchman (http://users.ipfw.edu/ruflethe/thevillagewatchman.htm)


but I'm still looking for other suggestions too.

[papayahed]

Cujo?

[Il Penseroso]

Well, the novel's probably too long, and the movie may not fit the academic parameters of the conference. Also, my presentation title is something to the effect of Boundaries of Life: Looking Between the Lines, so there should be lines, I suppose.

[applepie]

I haven't read the Wells book, but it was something that came to mind, and if I had more time, something I'd definitely want to include. Alas, however, with school I'd rather stick to shorter works.

"To Build a Fire" is a good recommendation too. I'll have to give that one more thought.



I realize I've been a bit vague about what I can use for the presentation, and that is sort of the problem. I'm not exactly sure how I want to focus it myself. My initial idea was "tweaked" a bit by the Conference organizer to fit the more "radical" parameters of the project. So, basically, I'm still working it out.


Thanks mayneverhave and Shea.


It isn't a very long story. You can read the whole thing in maybe an hour or two.

There is one that comes to mind for me, I'm not sure if it would fit with what you are doing. The story is called "A Man Called Horse" and it is about him being treated as if he was an animal.

[Il Penseroso]

It isn't a very long story. You can read the whole thing in maybe an hour or two.

There is one that comes to mind for me, I'm not sure if it would fit with what you are doing. The story is called "A Man Called Horse" and it is about him being treated as if he was an animal.

I'm quite the slow reader; I sincerely doubt that I'd make it through in an hour or two. I also would like something that I can read two or three times to get a good interpretation.

That "A Man Called Horse" looks good though; I'll have to look into how long it is (my library luckily has it). Thanks.

[byquist]

Joyce Carol Oates has a short story about a lady who protects her woods from hunters. She accosts a hunter and later a deer rampages into her house. You should be able to google to find out the title.

[RyanMB]

The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy is largely about a boy and a wolf for a large portion of the early book.

[nebish]

Town Smokes is a collection of short stories by Pinckney Benedict: all are set in modern rural Kentucky; each story is about human behaviour but there is always an animal event inside or alongside (blacksnake,giant hog,dogs,etc - often hunted or killed).

[Wakaba]

shooting an elephant by george orwell