Existentialistic Writing in the Short Stories of J.D.Salinger_英语论文

摘要

《九故事》是美国现当代著名作家J.D.塞林格的代表作，自一九五三年初版以来，被世界公认为当代经典短篇小说集。该作品收集了塞林格的九篇短篇小说，各自讲述了不同的故事，但都通过以小说的形式，对不同的典型人物的描写，进而反映了现当代美国人的生存状况和生存困境。

本论文选取了《九故事》中的四篇短篇小说，从存在主义的角度，尝试从存在的焦虑、异化和荒谬这三个方面分析不同人物的生存状态。

同时，通过对其中的存在主义因素予以解读，探索小说中人物在恶劣生存环境中的自由选择与自我救赎。本论文希望挖掘出小说的深层内涵，以及主人公困于生存的境遇，并因此引起读者对人类生存状况的关怀，以及唤起人类对解决所面临的社会现实问题的思考。

关键词: 《九故事》  J.D.塞林格  存在主义  

Abstract

Nine Stories, the representative of the contemporary American writer J.D.Salinger, has been hailed as a world-renowned compilation of short stories since its publication in 1953. It is a collection of nine different short stories and reflects the existence condition of the contemporary American through the portrayal of typical protagonists. 

This thesis, from the perspective of existentialism, attempts to explore the existence condition of different characters in Nine Stories mainly from three aspects: anxiety, alienation and absurdity. 

Meanwhile, through the interpretation of the existential factors in the selected short stories, this article also analyzes the freedom of choices as well as redemption of humans under the wretched living environment. The objective of the paper is to explore the profound meaning of the narratives and better interprets the circumstances where the characters are confined in survival, thus arousing people to the concern of human’s existence condition as well as provoking reflection on solving the social reality problems.  

Key words: Nine Stories  J.D.Salinger  Existentialism  

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  A Brief Introduction to J.D. Salinger 1

1.2  Introduction to Nine Stories 2

Chapter Two  Literature Review 4

2.1  Previous Studies on the Short Stories of J.D.Salinger Abroad 4

2.2  Previous Studies on the Short Stories of J.D.Salinger at Home 5

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 7

3.1  Overview of Existentialism 7

3.2  Overview of Common Themes Related to Existentialism—Anxiety (Angst), Alienation, Absurdity and Choice 9

Chapter Four  Existentialistic Analysis of J.D.Salinger’s Short Stories 12

4.1  Anxiety of Existence in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” 12

4.2  Alienation of Existence in “For Esmé —With Love and Squalor” and  “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” 15

4.3  Absurdity of Existence in “De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period” 20

Chapter Five  Conclusion 22

Bibliography

Acknowledgments