Date of Award
1994
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
English
First Advisor
Suzanne W. Jones
Abstract
A study of linguistic communities in Sherley Anne Williams' Dessa Rose, this thesis focuses on the relationship between cultural behavior and the use of language. Using anthropological studies on the role of language in society, as well as major criticism of the novel, this paper seeks to prove that only through equalizing linguistic power can the characters achieve a language system which accurately reflects their experience. The paper focuses on four primary communities: the unequal interracial community of Southern slave society, the slave community, the white planter community, and finally the equal interracial community that results after slavery.
Recommended Citation
Roberts, Nanci M., "Finding the words : negotiating linguistic communities in Sherley Anne Williams' Dessa Rose" (1994). Master's Theses. 879.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses/879