Rhetorical analysis of the myth of the lost cause as embodied in Robert E. Lee
Author:
Mead, George Frederick, Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies, University of Virginia
Mead, George Frederick, Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies, University of Virginia
Advisors:
Davis, Janet B., University of Virginia
Prosser, Michael H., University of Virginia
Davis, Janet B., University of Virginia
Prosser, Michael H., University of Virginia
Abstract:
This thesis will focus on a rhetorical analysis of the Lost Cause as embodied by Robert E. Lee. The Lost Cause was a cultural attitude, with a marble reification in the monuments that proliferated throughout the South after 1875 (Wilson 1980, 19). Most of the existing research on Lee and Civil War history ignores a very important post-war development: the general's role as a symbol of a cohesive Southern people with a separate cultural identity. This thesis takes the position that the Lee myth served Southern needs; it helped the region respond to the exigencies of post-war life. This study aims to shed light on the myth.
[Excerpt from the Introduction]
Degree:
MA (Master of Arts)
MA (Master of Arts)
Language:
English
English
Rights:
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
Issued Date:
1994
1994