“Something isn’t right here”: American exceptionalism and the creative nonfiction of the Vietnam War

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dc.check.chapterOfThesisChapters of thesis - 1,2,3,4
dc.check.date2020-11-15T09:38:44Z
dc.check.embargoformatE-thesis on CORA onlyen
dc.check.infoPlease note that Chapters 1-4 (pp.38-192) are unavailable due to a restriction requested by the author.en
dc.check.opt-outNot applicableen
dc.check.reasonThis thesis is due for publication or the author is actively seeking to publish this materialen
dc.contributor.advisorGibbs, Alanen
dc.contributor.advisorAllen, Grahamen
dc.contributor.authorGriffin, Ross
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-17T09:38:44Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.date.submitted2015
dc.description.abstractIn this thesis, I argue that few attempts were as effective in correcting the exceptionalist ethos of the United States than the creative nonfiction written by the veterans and journalists of the Vietnam War. Using critical works on creative nonfiction, I identify the characteristics of the genre that allowed Paul John Eakin to call it ‘a special kind of fiction.’ I summarise a brief history of creative nonfiction to demonstrate how it became a distinctly American form despite its Old World origins. I then claim that it was the genre most suited to the kind of ideological transformation that many hoped to instigate in U.S. society in the aftermath of Vietnam. Following this, the study explores how this “new” myth-making process occurred. I use Tim O’Brien’s If I Die in a Combat Zone and Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War to illustrate how autobiography/memoir was able to demonstrate the detrimental effect that America’s exceptionalist ideology was having on its population. Utilising narrative and autobiographical theory, I contend that these accounts represented a collective voice which spoke for all Americans in the years after Vietnam. Using Neil Sheehan’s A Bright Shining Lie and C.D.B. Bryan’s Friendly Fire, I illustrate how literary journalism highlighted the hubris of the American government. I contend that while poiesis is an integral attribute of creative nonfiction, by the inclusion of extraneous bibliographic material, authors of the genre could also be seen as creating a literary context predisposing the reader towards an empirical interpretation of the events documented within. Finally, I claim that oral histories were in their essence a synthesis of “everyman” experiences very much in keeping with the American zeitgeist of the early Eighties. Focussing solely on Al Santoli’s Everything We Had, I demonstrate how such polyphonic narratives personalised the history of the Vietnam War.en
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Version
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationGriffin, R. 2015. “Something isn’t right here”: American exceptionalism and the creative nonfiction of the Vietnam War. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.en
dc.identifier.endpage211
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/2063
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity College Corken
dc.rights© 2015, Ross Griffin.en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/en
dc.subjectAmerican literatureen
dc.subjectCreative nonfictionen
dc.subjectVietnam Waren
dc.subjectAmerican exceptionalismen
dc.subjectAutobiographyen
dc.subjectMemoiren
dc.subjectLiterary journalismen
dc.subjectOral historyen
dc.subjectCultural politicsen
dc.subjectLiterary theoryen
dc.subjectCultural theoryen
dc.subjectGenre theoryen
dc.subjectWar writingen
dc.subjectWar literatureen
dc.thesis.opt-outfalse
dc.title“Something isn’t right here”: American exceptionalism and the creative nonfiction of the Vietnam Waren
dc.typeDoctoral thesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhD (Arts)en
ucc.workflow.supervisora.gibbs@ucc.ie
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