First Advisor

Jennifer Ruth

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English and University Honors

Department

English

Subjects

Peter S. Beagle. Last unicorn -- Criticism and interpretation, Peter S. Beagle -- Greek influences, Plato -- Influence, Fantasy fiction, American -- History and criticism

DOI

10.15760/honors.95

Abstract

Since its publication in 1968, Peter S. Beagle’s enduring fantasy novel The Last Unicorn has captured both the popular and critical imagination. While several critics have noted that Beagle seems to incorporate various aspects of Plato’s philosophy, none have dedicated a focused analysis to this specific textual feature. This thesis explores the way in which The Last Unicorn both invokes and subverts Plato’s dualistic conception of "reality" and "truth", and concludes that it does so in order to construct a vision of reality that recognizes transient, human experiences and knowledge are just as "true" as transcendent, timeless experiences and knowledge. Special attention is paid to the presence of Plato’s theory of forms, in which he explores the nature of reality and knowledge; his famous Allegory of the Cave, frequently used to illustrate the theory of forms; and his idea of the philosopher-king.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/11940

Download

Share

COinS