Linking Genesis to Modern Day Castaway Narratives

Author

Shawndra Russell

Date of Award

2005

Degree Name

English

College

College of Liberal Arts

Type of Degree

M.A.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

John Young

Second Advisor

Kathleen Rodier

Third Advisor

Dolores Johnson

Abstract

This thesis analyzes two castaway novels, Lord of the Flies and John Dollar, and compares these novels to segments of Genesis, focusing primarily on the story of Adam and Eve. To compare and contrast these three works, I pulled out eleven similar ideas found in each text which formed eleven different chapters. This project evolved into offering an alternative way to interpret these castaway narratives as retellings of the creation story. The characters in John Dollar and Lord of the Flies become Adam and Eve type figures as they try to survive on Edenlike islands. At the same time, this thesis shows how Genesis can be interpreted as the original castaway tale. This thesis also shows that each text contains the common theme of trying to understand humankind’s “natural condition”—our innate human characteristics such as our tendency to “fall.”

Subject(s)

Castaways in literature.

Golding, William,-- 1911-1993. Lord of the flies.

Wiggins, Marianne. John Dollar.

Adam (Biblical figure)

Eve (Biblical figure)

Recommended Citation

Russell, Shawndra, "Linking Genesis to Modern Day Castaway Narratives" (2005). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 817.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/817