Late-stage capitalism in the works of George Saunders

master's thesis

• Author: Antonio Elijaš
• Mentor: Sven Cvek (mentor)
• Committee member: Jelena Šesnić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Hrvoje Tutek (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2022-09-21, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to explore the phenomenon of late-stage capitalism, which has gained major publicity in recent discourse, but the term itself has a fifty-year history. The term encompasses many issues, among which are the commercialization of culture, molding together of the economic and cultural spheres, supremacy of technology and transnational corporations, and the alienation and exploitation of workers. Since the impact of late-stage capitalism is extremely pervasive, the literary world is also impacted by it, which is very much visible in the works of George Saunders, both in their subject matter and their formal aspects. Saunders exposes the greed of those in power and showcases the powerlessness of the average person to fight back against a system that seems to have no alternative in sight. The reading analyzes works from all of his short story collections, pinpointing “Sea Oak”, among others, as a vessel for critique of the late-capitalist-controlled media that dumbs down the language and provides a distraction to the uneducated in their pursuit to potentially become more active and critical citizens. Saunders’ use of first-person limited point of view in his narrative is used to expose the false promises of more freedom and choices at a time when hyper-individualism impacts the society as a whole. It also explores the postmodern workplace that Saunders so deftly characterizes by using corporate doublespeak and creating situations where readers feel for the protagonists who have their personal freedoms stripped away and are vulnerable to the threat of replacement.

• Keywords: late-stage capitalism; commodification; commercialization; doublespeak
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:775885
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: TEFL; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2022-09-22 10:57:57