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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The Creation of Radical Empathy in "Let the Great World Spin"

Glore, Anna K.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1513350608859531

Abstract Details

, Bachelor of Arts, University of Toledo, English.
Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin provides an intimate reading of its characters, and insight on their lives, successes, and traumas. In my paper, I will argue that this intimate reading allows for light to be shed on the empathy that these characters have, either prior to a certain experience or because of an experience. Expanding upon this, I will also differentiate between good deeds for the sake of one's self, and actions that exemplify radical empathy, which is the ultimate form of taking on the perspective of another. To support this claim, I have focused in on three characters from Let the Great World Spin that embody empathy the most. I will compare and contrast how these three use empathy, and the differences they have in acting upon it. I will cite specific passages from the novel, and illustrate how these characters take shape from the beginning. In addition, I will use critiques on Let the Great World Spin to strengthen my argument. More specifically, I will explain why critics see these good deeds as a poverty versus charity case, rather than a case where radical empathy is created. Backing up my claim will be McCann himself, in various interviews, as well as scholars on McCann and his work. I hope to illuminate the idea of empathy as a whole, and allow for my audience to understand that is a visceral element in literature throughout history.
Melissa Gregory , Dr. (Advisor)
Ben Stroud , Dr. (Advisor)
23 p.
Literature
Empathy; radical empathy; Let the Great World Spin; Colum McCann; trauma; New York; 9-11

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Glore, A. K. (2017). The Creation of Radical Empathy in "Let the Great World Spin" [Undergraduate thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1513350608859531

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Glore, Anna . The Creation of Radical Empathy in "Let the Great World Spin" . 2017. University of Toledo, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1513350608859531.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Glore, Anna . "The Creation of Radical Empathy in "Let the Great World Spin" ." Undergraduate thesis, University of Toledo, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1513350608859531

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

uthonors1513350608859531
440
© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo Honors Theses and OhioLINK.