An Analysis of James Joyce’s “Araby” from the Perspective of Symbolism_英语论文

摘要

爱尔兰作家詹姆斯·乔伊斯（1882-1941）是英国文学史上最杰出、最具影响力的人物之一。他以对现代主义运动的突出贡献和卓越的意识流写作技巧闻名世界文坛。《都柏林人》（1914）被认为是20世纪西方最著名的短篇小说集。这是詹姆斯·乔伊斯唯一一部短篇小说集，也是他最早的文学作品之一。它真实地描绘了十九世纪末二十世纪初都柏林人们的生活状况。《阿拉比》是乔伊斯描写都柏林人童年生活的最后一个故事。这个故事描述了一个男孩第一次追求浪漫失败的经历。乔伊斯在其中描绘了一个沉闷、忧郁的都柏林，连纯真的孩子也无法摆脱都柏林人精神瘫痪的影响。

本文对乔伊斯在《阿拉比》中运用的象征主义手法进行了详细而深入的分析。通过对故事背景、人物、标题和其它典型形象的象征意义的探究，从而了解作者是如何通过象征主义的手法来反映和强化精神瘫痪和幻灭这一中心主题。

关键词：“阿拉比”  象征主义  瘫痪  “都柏林人”

Abstract

James Joyce (1882-1941), an Irish writer renowned as the great contributor to Modernism and master of stream of consciousness technique, is one of the most prominent and influential figure in English literature. Dubliners (1914) is considered as the most famous short-story collection in the twentieth century in the west. It is James Joyce’s only short-story collection as well as one of his earliest literary compositions. It gives a realistic sketch of people’s life in Dublin in the late nineteenth century. 

“Araby” is the last story of Joyce’s depiction of childhood in Dubliners. The story describes a boy’s failure of his initial quest for romance, in which Joyce pictures a dreary and paralytic Dublin unsuitable for children to live in. After a detailed analysis of the symbolic meaning of the settings, characters, the title and other representative images in “Araby”, this thesis intends to find out how these symbols cooperate to reveal and reinforce the theme of spiritual paralysis and disillusionment. This thesis also aims to display Joyce’s creative techniques in writing through careful studies on the use of symbolism in “Araby”.

Key words: “Araby”  symbolism  paralysis  Dubliners 

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  Introduction to James Joyce 1

1.2  Introduction to Dubliners 2

1.3  Introduction to “Araby” 4

1.4  Structure of the Thesis 5

Chapter Two  Literature Review 7 

2.1  Studies Abroad 7

2.2  Studies at Home 8

2.3  Comments 9

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 10 

Chapter Four  Symbolism in “Araby” 12

4.1  Symbolism in the Settings 12

4.1.1 North Richmond Street 12

4.1.2 The Wild Garden 14

4.2  Symbolism of Characters 14

4.2.1 Mangan’s Sister 14

4.2.2 The Dead Priest 16

4.2.3 Mrs. Mercer 16

4.3  Symbolic Meanings of the Title 17

Chapter Five  Conclusion 19

Bibliography

Acknowledgements