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Indlæser... The Great Traditionaf Marjorie Hill Allee
Newbery Adjacent (197) Indlæser...
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Belongs to SeriesMerritt Lane (1)
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There is romance here, although of a muted kind - thankfully, it does not overshadow the story - and social commentary, although not the kind I expected. Somehow, I thought that Allee would address the theme of women in the sciences more directly, perhaps discuss the difficulties and barriers female students faced - The Great Tradition was published in 1937, after all. But no mention is made of any of any of that, and Allee treats the topic of women studying biology and biochemistry in a perfectly matter-of-fact fashion, as if it is no more than what could be expected. After my initial surprise, this approach really appealed to me, giving the narrative a very contemporary feel - I can only imagine how liberatory it must have felt, for young women reading it at the time!
Unfortunately, its incorporation of racial themes, in the form of the sub-plot involving Delinea Johnson, an African-American students attempting to gain her Masters in one year, in order to gain a teaching position at a prestigious Negro college - although probably very progressive for the time - does feel dated. I say "unfortunate," because although some of the vocabulary used is dated or offensive - "Negro" and "Colored" are used, rather than "African-American," and one character uses the term "N*gger" a few times - and some of the themes and ideas might not sit well with contemporary audiences, I don't think Allee's narrative itself is racist, and I would hate to think that readers would be put off of reading it, for that reason. In fact, Charlotte, the character who uses the word "n*gger," and who embodies racial prejudice in the story, in shown to be wrong, and eventually (believably or not) at least partially changes her mind.
Questions of social commentary (anachronistic or otherwise) aside, The Great Tradition is just an engaging story, one that read well, and makes the reader care about its characters. I only wish that Allee had written a sequel, in which we get to follow Merritt on her six months study in the tropics! ( )