Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers
The present research argues that it seems not all writers and their works may fall into an omnipresent ideology trap as Althusser conceives it; or unlike what Althusser holds, not all fictional characters are ‘interpellated”. Therefore, this research gives focal attention to reconsidering Althusser...
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University of Kurdistan
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Critical Literary Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://cls.uok.ac.ir/article_62522.html |
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| author | Ali Ahmadi Azyta Aryan |
| author_facet | Ali Ahmadi Azyta Aryan |
| author_sort | Ali Ahmadi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present research argues that it seems not all writers and their works may fall into an omnipresent ideology trap as Althusser conceives it; or unlike what Althusser holds, not all fictional characters are ‘interpellated”. Therefore, this research gives focal attention to reconsidering Althusser notion of ideology and his Ideological State Apparatus, ISAs, especially the cultural ISA through a descriptive-analytical method. Reed’s novel, The Free-Lance Pallbearers (1967), enjoying circumstantial artistic, religious, ethnic, racial, and literary characters, presents protagonists who not only refute or subvert this domineering ideology but also reshape and redefine it, making it necessary to reconsider Althusserian definition of literature as a cultural ISA. The novel, parodying “the Afro-American tradition of first-person, confessional narratives” is read as a microcosm to repudiate Althusser’s macrocosmic notions of reality. All through, the findings indicate that through the course of the novel, Reed subverts the dominant cultural and ideological discourse of American society through questioning the White standards from language and notions of reality to the ruling system.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4b483aa83b5844ffab7e88203e702c9a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2676-699X 2716-9928 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Kurdistan |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Critical Literary Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-4b483aa83b5844ffab7e88203e702c9a2024-12-15T21:58:43ZengUniversity of KurdistanCritical Literary Studies2676-699X2716-99282023-01-015110712410.34785/J014.2023.013Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance PallbearersAli Ahmadi0Azyta Aryan1Department of English Language and Literature, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IranAssistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran,The present research argues that it seems not all writers and their works may fall into an omnipresent ideology trap as Althusser conceives it; or unlike what Althusser holds, not all fictional characters are ‘interpellated”. Therefore, this research gives focal attention to reconsidering Althusser notion of ideology and his Ideological State Apparatus, ISAs, especially the cultural ISA through a descriptive-analytical method. Reed’s novel, The Free-Lance Pallbearers (1967), enjoying circumstantial artistic, religious, ethnic, racial, and literary characters, presents protagonists who not only refute or subvert this domineering ideology but also reshape and redefine it, making it necessary to reconsider Althusserian definition of literature as a cultural ISA. The novel, parodying “the Afro-American tradition of first-person, confessional narratives” is read as a microcosm to repudiate Althusser’s macrocosmic notions of reality. All through, the findings indicate that through the course of the novel, Reed subverts the dominant cultural and ideological discourse of American society through questioning the White standards from language and notions of reality to the ruling system. https://cls.uok.ac.ir/article_62522.htmlideological state apparatusesreligious state apparatusesthe free-lance pallbearersrealityinterpellation |
| spellingShingle | Ali Ahmadi Azyta Aryan Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers Critical Literary Studies ideological state apparatuses religious state apparatuses the free-lance pallbearers reality interpellation |
| title | Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers |
| title_full | Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers |
| title_fullStr | Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers |
| title_short | Exposing Althusser’s State Apparatuses through Ishmael Reed’s The Free-Lance Pallbearers |
| title_sort | exposing althusser s state apparatuses through ishmael reed s the free lance pallbearers |
| topic | ideological state apparatuses religious state apparatuses the free-lance pallbearers reality interpellation |
| url | https://cls.uok.ac.ir/article_62522.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aliahmadi exposingalthussersstateapparatusesthroughishmaelreedsthefreelancepallbearers AT azytaaryan exposingalthussersstateapparatusesthroughishmaelreedsthefreelancepallbearers |