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With headlines rift with political horrors, international diplomacy gone awry, and terrorism a daily threat, Alyson Gross ’04 (Killingworth, Conn.) is studying contemporary literature to bring order out of chaos and supply structured analysis to a world gone mad.
Gross, a double major in German and international affairs, is studying the common literary theme of the picaro in three novels for a yearlong honors research project: Gunter Grass’ The Tin Drum (1959), Ursula Hegi’s Stones from the River (1994), and Hussain Al-Mozany’s Mansur’s Roman der Duft des Abendlandes (2002).
She presented her research at the 18th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research, hosted April 15-17 at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, Ind.
“The picaresque novel is a literary device which chronicles the adventures and misadventures of those who are deemed by society to be delinquent,” she says. “Picaresque literature most often emerges when the author’s world is in a state of crisis. Consequently, the author creates a chaotic world in which the picaro must live, a world that represents the author’s real, often corrupt world.”
“The common denominator of these three books is that their authors criticize the corrupt society, whether it be Nazi Germany with Grass, or Iraq under Saddam Hussein in Mansur,” Gross adds. “Using the alternative perspective of the outsider, of the picaro, rips away the veil of placid society. Because the picaro is a literary character without roots, he is an outsider who can expose corruption and wrongdoing. In essence, he is the person who can see that ‘the emperor wears no clothes.’ These novels provide alternative perspective on a flawed society that refuses to see its own evils.”
Gross says her study has a special poignancy because all three novels can be examined as literature but also as social documents on contemporary times.
“These three novels all help readers to re-examine social and political actions over the last decades. Analyzing this literature allows me to take into consideration politics and history, to see how literature can give creative voice to serious issues,” she says.
The picaro character has been an integral part of German literature since the Thirty Year War, says Gross’ adviser, Margarete Lamb-Faffelberger, associate professor of German.
“The picaro is an outsider; he sees the superficiality and self-deception of society and is able to reveal flaws to a society that prefers to wear blinders,” she explains. “These three books are windows into modern-day German culture and politics.
“Mansur’s novel, for example,” continues Lamb-Faffelberger, “is a very strong criticism of how Germans today deal with the millions of southern Europeans and Arabs who work and live in Germany but are denied civil and social protections because there are no asylum laws. There are millions of these so-called guest workers, many of them Turks, and how they are treated has echoes back to social policies under the National Socialists. A novelist can tackle these issues sometimes with greater force than a politician.”
Gross says she sought Lamb-Faffelberger to advise her on the thesis because “I always enjoyed her classes and how she sought to make our studies relevant. I enjoy writing and researching, I enjoy analyzing literature, and thought we would be a perfect match. I like how we can put a contemporary spin on current events in literature. Like most Lafayette faculty, she is always accessible, always eager to spend hours discussing your project.”
While Lamb-Faffelberger praises Gross for her analytical and foreign language skills, she is especially dazzled by her ability to write.
“She writes with such elegance,” the professor says. “Many people can study literature, but when it comes time to write about it, their own words fail them. That is not the case with Alyson; she is an exceptional writer.”
A member of Delta Phi Alpha, the German honor society, and the Alpha Phi sorority, Gross sings with Cadence, an a cappella women’s chorus, and serves as a writing associate and resident adviser.
Gross says upon graduation she will seek employment with a bank because she is intrigued by fraud prevention. In the future, she may attend graduate or law school.
“I want to get out there in the world,” she says, “and keep my long-term options open. Lafayette and my dual major have given me the options to explore the world and that is what I intend to do.”
She is a graduate of Haddam-Killingworth High School.
Honors thesis projects are among several major opportunities at Lafayette that make the College a national leader in undergraduate research. Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty-two students were accepted to present their work at the annual conference this month.
A National Leader in Undergraduate Research. Alyson Gross ’04 presented her honors research on picaresque novels with Margarete Lamb-Faffelberger, associate professor of German, at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.