Racism in the Life and Works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft Through "The Horror at Red Hook" and “The Shadow over Innsmouth”

Szabó, Flóra Zita (2018) Racism in the Life and Works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft Through "The Horror at Red Hook" and “The Shadow over Innsmouth”. BA/Bsc, Szegedi Tudományegyetem.

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Abstract

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, American writer, poet and essayist, was one of the most significant contributors to twentieth century horror literature. He was the one who created cosmic horror, a subgenre of horror, and the base world for the well-known Cthulhu myth. However, his contribution to literature, while undeniably important, is not something that could make the fact that Lovecraft was xenophobic, an anti-Semite and a racist disappear. Such views are present in his works as well. As in the twenty-first century there is a great emphasis put on the fight for equal rights, these ideas make many readers uncomfortable, many of whom believe that Lovecraft should not be read at all. In this thesis I would like to argue that Lovecraft is deserving of attention in spite of his racism, and that in certain cases said racism even adds to the reading experience. To support this argument, I will take a closer look into Lovecraft’s life, examine the reasons behind his racist views, and analyse two of his short stories, “The Horror at Red Hook” and “The Shadow over Innsmouth.” Although racist elements can be found in both works, “The Horror at Red Hook” has been put under mostly negative criticism, while “The Shadow over Innsmouth” is known as one of Lovecraft’s best works. During the analysis of these two works I wish to find an answer to what causes the difference in the perception of the works, focusing on the way racism is present and the role it plays in them.

Institution

Szegedi Tudományegyetem

Faculty

Faculty of Arts

Department

Angol Tanszék

Discipline

Humanities

Institute

Angol-Amerikai Intézet

Specialization

anglisztika

Supervisor(s)

Item Type:	Thesis (BA/Bsc)
Subjects:	06. Humanities
Depositing User:	szerkesztő BTK
Date Deposited:	2019. Apr. 25. 10:08
Last Modified:	2019. Apr. 26. 09:53
URI:	https://diploma.bibl.u-szeged.hu/id/eprint/74273

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