《盖普眼中的世界》中珍妮的女性主义特征分析_英语论文

Analysis of Jenny’s Feminism Features in The World According to Garp

摘要

约翰·欧文是当代美国最知名的小说家之一，被库特·冯内古特誉为“美国最重要的幽默作家”。他的作品用写实主义的手法，将想象融入现实，表现出独特的写作风格。1980年，《盖普眼中的世界》获得国家图书奖。本书讲述了领先于时代的女权领袖珍妮·费尔兹的私生子T. S. 盖普的一生。这是关于一位成名的母亲和她几近成名的儿子从生到死的故事。他们生活在一个充斥着对性别问题持有各种极端思想，甚至因此而暗藏杀机的世界。他们的人生是当时女权运动的一幅剪影，折射出女权运动对珍妮的人生和盖普的女性主义作家之路产生的深远影响。   

全文共分为三部分，首先结合文本，从女性主义视角分析珍妮的性格特征和思想意识，其次结合时代背景，浅析珍妮女性主义特征的形成原因，然后通过对女性主义典型代表人物的命运和家庭生活遭遇来透视当时女性主义思想和社会思潮，探讨作家如何用他独特的视角丰富读者心灵，让文学在自我虚幻中展开想象，引起人类反思。

关键词:约翰·欧文；《盖普眼中的世界》；女性主义

Abstract

John Irving is one of the most distinguished contemporary American novelists. He is hailed as “the most important humorist in America” by Kurt Vonnegut. His works integrate imagination into reality in a realistic way, showing his distinctive writing style. Irving won the National Book Award for Fiction for The World According to Garp in 1980. The book tells the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields, a feminist leader ahead of her time. This is the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; Theirs is a world of sexual extremes, even of sexual assassinations. Theirs is a silhouette of feminist movement at their times, which has influential impact on Jenny’s life and Garp’s writing career related to feminism.    

This thesis is divided into three parts. First of all, this thesis analyzes Jenny’s characteristics and awareness from the perspective of feminism, combining with the text. Second, it analyzes the reasons for her features of feminism briefly with the background. Then, it aims to see feminism thoughts and social ethos at that time through Jenny’s fate and experiences. It also discusses how Irving enriches the readers’ mind with his unique perspective and attracts human reflection by imagining in literature. 

Keywords: John Irving  The World According to Garp  feminism

Contents

Acknowledgements Ⅰ

Abstract Ⅱ

摘要 Ⅲ

Chapter One Literature Review 1

1.1 Introduction to John Irving 1

1.2 Introduction to The World According to Garp 1

1.3 Present Research on John Irving and His Works 2

Chapter Two Feminism 4

2.1 Definition of Feminism 4

2.2 Features of Feminism 5

2.3 Development of Feminism 6

Chapter Three Jenny's Feminism Features and Her Performance in The World According to Garp 8

3.1 Jenny’s Feminism Features 8

3.1.1 Jenny's Alternatives of Lifestyle and Career: Independence 8

3.1.2 Jenny's Attitude to Male Authority: Challenge 9

3.1.3 Jenny's Answer for Role and Education Methods: Uniqueness 10

Chapter Four Reasons for Jenny’s Feminism 12

4.1 Internal Factors 12

4.2 External Factors 13

Chapter Five Conclusion 14

References 15