FASCINATING INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD OF LAW AND LITERATURE - OBJECTIVITY VS AUTHORITY IN LEGAL NOVELS

FASCINATING INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD OF LAW AND LITERATURE - OBJECTIVITY VS AUTHORITY IN LEGAL NOVELS (GIST OF THE PODCAST)The thesis titled "Objectivity Vs. Authority in Legal Novels" explores how legal narratives reveal the inherent conflict between the ideal of objective justice and the reality of authority-driven systems. It contends that legal novels function as critical mirrors, exposing the tension between the aspiration for impartiality within the legal framework (objectivity) and the often oppressive power wielded by legal authorities (authority). The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from legal studies, philosophy, and literary criticism.At its core, the thesis aims to define and analyze the intersection of "objectivity" and "authority" in legal contexts, examining how these concepts conflict within literary texts. The theoretical foundation is built on key thinkers: Michel Foucault’s theories on disciplinary power (from Discipline and Punish) illuminate how legal systems construct authority while claiming objectivity; Robert Cover’s idea of law as a violent narrative structure (Violence and the Word) helps analyze legal judgment as coercion masked as fairness; Terry Eagleton’s work on ideology reveals how literature critiques the dominant power structures embedded in legal systems; and Rabinowitz’s theory (Before Reading) on narrative conventions aids in understanding how literary form shapes perceptions of legal authority.The thesis will focus on two primary texts: Richard Wright’s Native Son and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange. In Native Son, the study examines how racial prejudice and social hierarchies distort the supposed objectivity of the legal system, particularly in Bigger Thomas’s trial. Comparisons with Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Grisham’s A Time to Kill will highlight varying responses to systemic racism and injustice, including moral resistance and vigilantism.In A Clockwork Orange, the focus is on state authority’s control over individual free will through mechanisms like the Ludovico Technique, which pretends to reform while eradicating autonomy. This section will draw parallels with Franz Kafka’s The Trial (on bureaucratic absurdity) and Herman Melville’s Billy Budd (where order takes precedence over justice), emphasizing ethical dilemmas and the redefinition of objectivity to justify coercion.The concluding chapter will synthesize these analyses, showing patterns of systemic bias, dehumanization, and ethical conflicts across texts. It will argue that legal fiction exposes the flaws of real-world legal systems while offering visions for alternative forms of justice. The thesis will stress the importance of literature in challenging authority and prompting critical reflection on justice. Broader implications include interdisciplinary relevance to law, ethics, and literary studies, with suggestions for future research into non-Western or contemporary legal narratives.Ultimately, this study positions legal novels as vital tools for examining the uneasy balance between justice as an ideal and authority as practice.