Faculty Mentor

D. Michael Jones, ETSU

Abstract

The 1950s nuclear family is perhaps one of the most lingering cultural mythologies in American consciousness. Despite its unachievable nature, the ideal family and its many predetermined roles has haunted the ideology of the past century, shaping our narratives around gender roles, propriety, and social sensibilities. While many narratives perpetuate these family ideals, others, such as Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita and David Lynch’s 1990 television series Twin Peaks, showcase the many ways that the typical family system fails, most of all in its treatment of the daughter. Despite their differences in time, context, and form, these two narratives speak to the same cultural anxieties and flaws surrounding gendered expectations, familial abuse, and the ways that those most vulnerable are failed by their broader societies. This proposal will compare these two key texts and discuss how they reflect one another, their core similar themes, and the wider cultural ideas that both texts speak to.

Document Type

Culminating Research Project

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Available for download on Monday, May 03, 2027

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