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    Literary Analysis of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides and Timothy Findley's Not Wanted on the Voyage

    Number of Pages: 6

     

    Summary of the research paper:

    In six pages these works are contrasted and comapred in terms of writing styles, themes conveyed, roles of women, settings, storylines, symbols, and characterizations. Seven sources are cited in the bibliography.

    Name of Research Paper File: TG15_TGvirnot.rtf

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    Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
    the oppressive atmosphere of a social patriarchy that steadfastly refused to die with the passage of time. Two innovative postmodern authors, Canadian-born Timothy Findley (1930-2002) and American Jeffrey Eugenides  (1960- ), explored the role of women and societal perceptions of that role in two very different but equally thought provoking novels. In Findleys bestseller, Not Wanted on the  Voyage, he examines female subservience within the biblical context of the story of Noahs ark. Eugenides elected to take a more contemporary approach with a setting in the American  Midwest (Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the early 1970s), where the image of young womanhood that was perpetuated by popular culture strongly influenced collective actions and attitudes. At the time of  his death in June of 2002, Timothy Findley had achieved a level of critical success that most authors can only dream about, but in terms of name recognition, he remained  a virtual unknown outside of his native Canada. Born in Toronto in 1930, Findley was a homosexual who devoted considerable time and energy to social causes. Like William  Shakespeare, Findley had received his theatrical education as an actor, which gave him a particular affinity for words that became his literary trademark. He occasionally collaborated with his partner,  screenwriter Bill Whitehead, and was encouraged to embark upon a writing career by his friends, actress Ruth Gordon and playwright Thornton Wilder (OMalley and Potash). After writing a series  of short stories, Findleys first novel, The Last of the Crazy People, was published in 1967 and by the time his controversial interpretation of one of Christianitys most beloved stories,  appeared on bookshelves in 1986, his reputation as a sardonic and gifted wordsmith was secure. As for Jeffrey Eugenides, he was born on the other side of Lake Ontario, 

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