JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Dirty Work of Empire: Imperialist Deep Time in Poe's "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains".

  • Published In: J19: The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists, 2024, v. 12, n. 1. P. 477 1 of 3

  • Database: America: History and Life with Full Text 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Roy, Shaibal Dev 3 of 3

Abstract

This essay studies Poe's story "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" (1844) which depicts "Bedloe" a man from a past imperial struggle in India participating in a present imperial struggle in the United States through a time-lapse narrative. I argue that Poe here prefigures the "white man's burden" critique of empire—the view that empire most harms the white men who are its instruments. In making this claim Poe both reifies the racial category of whiteness and advances a critique of US expansionist politics. Thus I read Poe's story as a critique of empire and a defense of imperial instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:J19: The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists. 2024/03, Vol. 12, Issue 1, p477
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2024
  • ISSN:2166-742X
  • DOI:10.1353/jnc.2024.a939669
  • Accession Number:180392087
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of J19: The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists is the property of Johns Hopkins University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Looking to go deeper into this topic? Look for more articles on EBSCOhost.