Department of English Language and Literature
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Browsing Department of English Language and Literature by Author "BAYRAK, Zeynep Gülten"
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Item DEMYSTIFYING THE IMAGE OF A FIERCE CITY IN PETER ACKROYD’S LONDON: THE BIOGRAPHY AND DAN LENO AND THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM(2021-11-09) BAYRAK, Zeynep Gülten; TEKİN, KuğuThe city of London is a significant element in most of Peter Ackroyd’s works. He often combines his works with the theme of violence and crime in London and observes the negative effects of the city on the characters. The thesis specifically examines respectively the relationship between violence and London’s socio-cultural constructions from Ackroyd’s perspective. By analysing London: The Biography and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem, whether it is fictional or non-fictional, London has always been represented as a violent living being in Ackroyd’s works. In his works, London is not described as a setting, it is always regarded as a fierce and corrupt landscape in constant progress by affecting its habitants and their interactions in history and even in the present. To this end, in the first chapter, crime fiction is analyzed by investigating the improvements in the genre, and also Londoners’ interest in fictional violence is examined in terms of London’s violent and dark character. In addition, the representation of the city in literature, its images, and the experiences of its dwellers are identified. Also, the literary career of Peter Ackroyd, his writing style called “English tradition” and his perspective are investigated. In this chapter, Ackroyd’s London is portrayed as a violent living being and his works reveal the dark and fierce nature of the city. The second chapter is dedicated to explain the theoretical background of violence by benefiting from some theorists’ theory of violence and their opinions. In addition, the representation of violence in literature and its significance as a literary device that contains brutality is identified. The third chapter explores the representation of violence in Ackroyd’s London: The Biography and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem. Also, London as a fierce city, and Londoners who are shaped by the fierceness and brutality of the city is analyzed. In the conclusion part, it is concluded that London is represented as an irrational and fierce city in both of Ackroyd’s works. Ackroyd's two works, as in most of his works reveal the negative effects of the city on Londoners and the relationship between the barbarity of Londoners and London’s cruel nature.