American self-identification: A strategy of maintenance traced in the red badge of courage, the great gatsby and catch-22

ROSTAMDOKHT, Amir, Prof. Djuhertati Imam Muhni, M.A.,Ph.D

2010 | Tesis | S2 Pengkajian Amerika

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The tensions of historical and cultural belonging and relations to colonialism, nationalism and racism in their diverse forms, in general, help in assuming what self-concept America takes for her self- and the way she identifies –recognizes and associates- her self through foreign relations and policies to relate herself and contribute to the rest of the world, or the ‘other’- enable us to imagine what identity America represents at certain eras. Wars for America have always played a significant role in the definition, representation and negotiation of identity and can be understood as global in scope but national in design. The present study traces the qualitative transformation of America’s identity through the study of war trilogy of Civil War, World War I and World War II. The three novels of The Red Badge of Courage, The Great Gatsby and Catch-22 are chosen as literary referents, responding to each war. As our endeavor was directed to explain that America identified herself and evolved throughout her history of wars -firstly by achieving a balance in her self-concept in the Civil War, secondly by increasing awareness of American nationalism by stepping into World War I as a self-styled associated power, and thirdly by promoting a national and global image, unique and superior to other nations and able to save the rest of the world- the novel trilogy serve as a particular 'archive' to facilitate analysis of the contested character of American identity.

Kata Kunci : Self,Other,Identity,Identification,America,Civil war,World war I,World war II