通过文学伦理学分析汤姆的悲剧命运英语论文Word文档格式.docx

通过文学伦理学分析汤姆的悲剧命运英语论文Word文档格式.docx

《通过文学伦理学分析汤姆的悲剧命运英语论文Word文档格式.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《通过文学伦理学分析汤姆的悲剧命运英语论文Word文档格式.docx（15页珍藏版）》请在冰点文库上搜索。

论文作者姓名：

宣卓玲

申请学位专业：

英语

申请学位类别：

文学学士

指导教师姓名（职称）：

康莲萍（副教授）

论文提交日期：

2013年05月20日

AnAnalysisofUncleTom’sTragedyfromthePerspectiveofEthicalLiteraryCriticism

Abstract:

UncleTom’sCabinisarealisticworkwhichiswrittenbythefamousAmericannovelistHarrietBeecherStowe.Itisthemasterpieceoftheabolitionistliterature,famouspoetHenryWadsworthLongfellowregardsthebookas“oneofthegreatesttriumphsrecordedinliteraryhistory”.Extensiveresearcheshavecomeoutbymanycriticsathomeandabroadsincethenovelwaspublished,inwhichmostresearchersanalyzedUncleTom’stragicfatefromhischaracterorsocialreasons.Forexample,ZhangXiujianwhowroteAnAnalysisofUncleTom'

sTragedyfromHistoricalReasonthoughtthatthecruelslaveryledUncleTom’slifetotragedy.ZhengQinwroteAnAnalysisoftheCharacterTomintheNovelUncleTom'

sCabinandthoughtTomwastoosubmissivewhichledhimselftoatragiclife.Duetotheprofoundelementsinethicsandmoralityinthisnovel,thethesisanalyzesUncleTom’stragedyfromtheperspectiveofethicalliterarycriticism,whichwasputforwardbyProfessorNieZhenzhaoin2004.Ethicalliterarycriticismisanapproachtoanalyzeliteratureonthebasisofintroductionofethicalmethodsaswellastheassimilationofthem.ThispaperaimstoanalyzethecausesofUncleTom’stragiclifethroughtwolayersofrelationship,namelyhuman-otherrelationshipandhuman-societyrelationship.Throughtheanalysis,thethesisprovesthatitistheindifferenceofinterpersonalrelationshipandtheunharmoniousethicaldilemmaoftherelationshipbetweenpeopleandsocietythatactuallyleadTom'

slifetotragedy.ThroughanalyzingUncleTom’stragicfatebythetheoryofethicalliterarycriticism,thethesisaimstoprovideanewperspectivetoanalyzethisnovel.

Keywords:

UncleTom’sCabin;

HarrietBeecherStowe;

ethicalliterarycriticism;

ethicaldilemma;

tragedy

从文学伦理学角度分析汤姆叔叔的悲剧命运

摘要：

《汤姆叔叔的小屋》是美国著名小说家斯托夫人发表的一部现实主义作品，是废奴文学的代表作，著名诗人亨利·

华兹华斯·

朗费罗称该书是“文学史上最伟大的胜利”。

此小说先后引起了国内外很多评论家的广泛研究，多数研究者从汤姆叔叔性格或社会原因分析他的悲剧命运。

张秀见从历史原因出发分析奴隶制导致汤姆叔叔悲剧的起因，郑瑾通过人物分析认为汤姆叔叔的逆来顺受性格造成了他的悲剧。

鉴于《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中涉及到了伦理道德因素，本文采用2004年我国著名学者聂珍钊教授提出的文学伦理学理论对汤姆叔叔的悲剧命运进行分析。

文学伦理学是在借鉴、吸收伦理学方法基础上融合文学研究方法而形成的一种用于研究文学的批评方法。

笔者分别从人与他人、人与社会两个关系层面来分析造成汤姆叔叔悲剧的原因。

通过分析笔者认为正是人与人之间人际关系的冷漠、人与社会之间不和谐的伦理困境使得汤姆的人生最终走向悲剧。

本文旨在通过运用文学伦理学理论分析主人公的悲剧命运，对解读该小说提供一种新的视角。

关键词：

《汤姆叔叔的小屋》；

斯托夫人；

文学伦理学理论；

伦理困境；

悲剧

Contents

NumberofPages:

15

1Introduction1

2TheTheoryofEthicalLiteraryCriticism2

2.1TheConceptionofEthicalLiteraryCriticism2

2.2TheMannersofEthicalLiteraryCriticism3

3TheEthicalDilemmaofInterpersonalRelationship4

3.1TheRelationshipbetweenSlaveOwnersandSlaves4

3.2TheInterpersonalRelationshipinBlackCommunity6

4TheEthicalRelationshipbetweenPeopleandSociety8

4.1TheLimitationofSlaverytoUncleTom'

sFreedom8

4.2TheOppressionofPlantationEconomyonUncleTom10

5Conclusion11

Notes12

References13

Acknowledgements14

Declaration15

AnAnalysisofUncleTom’sTragedyFromthePerspectiveofEthicalLiteraryCriticism

1Introduction

HarrietBeecherStowe,asoneofthewell-knownAmericannovelists,sheisalsoanAmericanabolitionist.WhenshemovestoCincinnatiwithherfathertobeateacherandstartstowrite,sheisverysympathetictothebitterexperienceofblackslavesandabhortotheslaverysystem.Soin1850swhenanti-slaverymovementreachedupsurge,HarrietBeecherStowebegantowriteandpublishedUncleTom’sCabinononeperiodicalofabolitionismserially.ThroughshapingtheheroTomandotherslaves,thisworkdenouncestheguiltofsouthernslaverywhichsharpenstheconflictbetweenthesouthernandthenorthernAmerica.EvenPresidentLincolnoncemetMrs.Stoweandnamedher“Soyouarethelittlewomanwhowrotethebookthatstartedthisgreatwar”.1

Whenthisnovelemerged,itattractedgreatattentionandreceptionathomeandaboard.Manycriticsresearchedthebookfromdifferentangles.ForexampleEricJ.Sundquist,theauthorofNewEssaysonUncleTom’sCabin,thoughtonlywomencouldownedthemoralauthoritytosavepeoplefromcruelslavery.CuiWawhowroteTheInterpretationofFamilyEthicsonUncleTom’sCabininterpretedfamilyethicsfromtheperspectiveofethicalliterarycriticism.FamouspoetHenryWadsworthLongfellowregardedthebookas“oneofthegreatesttriumphsrecordedinliteraryhistory”.2Inhisjournal,hewrote:

“HowsheisshakingtheworldwithherUncleTom'

sCabin!

”“UncleTom’sCabinisthemostpowerfulandmostenduringworkofarteverwrittenaboutAmericanslavery,”saidAlfredKazin.3FrederickDouglasspraisedthenovelas“aflashtolightamillioncampfiresinfrontoftheembattledhostsofslavery.”4VanWyckBrooksbelievedthat,removedfromtheatmosphereinwhichitwaswritten,UncleTom’sCabinremainedagreatfolkpictureofanageandanation.

Usually,peoplearemorelikelytointerpretUncleTom’stragedyfromhispersonalityofsubmissionandloyaltyorhistoricalreason.Forexample,ZhangXiujianwhowroteAnAnalysisofUncleTom’sTragedyfromHistoricalReasonthoughtthatthecruelslaveryledUncleTom’slifetotragedy.ZhengQinwroteAnAnalysisoftheCharacterTomintheNovelUncleTom’sCabinandthoughtTomwastoosubmissivewhichledhimselftoatragiclife.However,wehaveanewmethodofcriticizing—EthicalLiteraryCriticism.Thetheoryprovidesuswithanewangleofviewtointerpretthestory.ThispaperisgoingtoanalyzeUncleTom’stragedybyusingthistheory.

2TheTheoryofEthicalLiteraryCriticism

Theethicalliterarycriticismisanewmethodofliterarycriticism.itismainlyappliedtointerpretandanalyzeliteraryworksaswellasstudythewritersandthequestionsconcerningliterature.

2.1TheConceptionofEthicalLiteraryCriticism

Theethicalliterarycriticismisanewmethodofliterarycriticism.ItisputforwardbyNieZhenzhao,aprofessorofCentralChinaNormalUniversity,whohadmademeticulousinvestigationandresearchintothehistoryandcurrentsituationofliterarycriticismtheoryandmethodinChinaandabroad.Ethicalliterarycriticismexplainsandcommentsthedifferentlifewithitsmoralfeaturesfromethicalperspective.Atthemeantime,itgivesanethicalevaluationbyusingtermssuchasethics’incest,ethicaltaboo,ethicalchaos,ethicalconsciousness,ethicalsituation,ethicalidentity,ethicalchoice,etc.5Ethicalliterarycriticismdoesnotsimplyjudgethemoralvalueofhistoricalliteraturefromtheperspectiveofmoralstance.Insteaditemphasizesthereturnofhistoricalethicalscene,whichmeansweshouldinterprettheliteraryworksonthebasisofmoralstanceofthattime,digouttheobjectiveethicalreasonsoftheliteratureandanalyzetheethicalfactorsthatleadtothesocialeventsandaffectthecharacter’sfate.Ethicalliterarycriticismexplainstheevents,charactersandotherliteraryquestionsfromtheperspectiveofethicsandmakemoraljudgmentfromahistoricalstandpoint.Actually,Ethicalliterarycriticismisaimedtonotonlyillustratetheethicalandmoralcharacteristicsofliteraturebutalsoresearchtherelationshipbetweenliteratureandsociety,writersandthereadersfromthepointofethicsandmorality.

2.2TheMannersofEthicalLiteraryCriticism

Withthedevelopmentofsociety,literaturebecomesanimportantpartinhumanhistory.Therefore,literaturecannotsurpassordenyhistory.Itteachesustofindandanalyzeethicallineandethicalcomplexwhenweuseethicalliterarycriticismtoreadworks.Ethicallineandethicalcomplexarethebasicelementsofliteraryethicalstructure.Ethicalliterarycriticismattemptstointerpretthemoralphenomenarecordedinliteratureonahistoricalanddialecticalbasis,andexploretherelationshipbetweenanindividualandsociety,anindividualandothers,anindividualandnature,andanindividualandselfsoastocomprehendliteraryworksbetter.6Ontherelationshipbetweenanindividualandsociety,ethicalliterarycriticismputstruth-seekingasastartingpoint,historicallyinheritstheethicalstatusofthecommunity;

Ontherelationshipbetweenanindividualandnature,thetheoryyearnsforbeautyandpublicizesnaturalharmonyofethics;

Ontherelationshipsbetweenmanandothers,thetheoryseekstoshowtheethicalsignificanceandthecomplexityofhumanrelationship;

Ontherelationshipbetweenmanandself,thetheoryputsholyasthestartingpoint,conveysthemoraldesireofanordinarymanturningtoasaint.

IfweexplainthetragedyofUncleTombyethicalliterarycriticism,wecanfindthatinthatsocietywhereslaverywasrampant,theinterpersonalrelationshipinblackcommunitywasindifferentandnogoodnessexistedbetweenslavesandslaveowners,histragedywasinevitable.

3TheEthicalDilemmaofInterpersonalRelationship

Therelationshipbetweenanindividualandothersisanimportantpartoftheethicalliterarycriticism.Byanalyzingthisrelationship,theauthorcanillustratethecomplicatedhumanrelationshipandethicalsignificance.ThispaperanalysestherootofthetragicfateofUncleTomfromtheethicalrelationshipbetweenUncleTomandslaveowners,betweenTomandotherslaves.

3.1TheRelationshipbetweenSlaveOwnersandSlaves

Accordingtoethicalliterarycriticism,goodnessplaysanimportantroleintherelationshipbetweenanindividualandothers.Itisthepreconditionofthemutualunderstandinginpracticalactivities.UncleTom,asablac