EXPLAINING SELECTION: EXAMINING UPTAKE IN THEORY AND LITERATURE

Abstract

This project has at the very least a dual purpose. It seeks to elaborate on uptake, applying to it theories from sociology, linguistics, history, and philosophy, and to illustrate the process of uptake in Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South and demonstrate the applicability of rhetorical concepts to literary texts by generating a reading of that novel. In Chapter 1, "Explaining Selection in Theory," I offer two principles, habitus and narrative memory, to explain selection, which Anne Freadman claims is the central mechanism of uptake but does not thoroughly account for. In Chapter 2, "Exploring Selection in Literature," I use the events of the first two chapters of North and South to explore the ways that habitus and narrative memory guide characters' selections. Close attention to uptake in the novel reveals the ways that Margaret's powerlessness makes the subtle power dynamics of communication central to her ability to navigate her world.