An Analysis of Vile Bodies from the Perspective of the Round and Flat Character Theory_英语论文

摘要

伊夫林·沃（1903-1966）是一名英国作家，曾被誉为英语文学史上摧毁力和最在成果的讽刺小说家之一。同时，他也被公认为20世纪伟大的英国散文家之一。《邪恶的躯体》是伊夫林·沃第一部成功的作品，它描述了处于第一次世界大战后的英国社会中的主人公亚当追求事业和爱情，但最终被命运捉弄而一事无成的故事。本文从人物塑造的角度对小说进行解读，以福斯特的圆扁形人物理论为基础，试图对小说中的主要及次要人物进行分析与归纳。本文通过对亚当、埃普太太、贞洁、罗斯柴尔德神父四位人物的深入观察，得出结论，即《邪恶的躯体》中的主要人物均属于扁平人物，具有性格单一化、静态化、夸张化的特征。希望本文的分析能丰富对伊夫林·沃的研究，深入揭露战后英国社会的宗教衰落与公民的拜金主义和功利主义等特征，从而进一步揭示这部作品的深刻的主题意蕴和文学价值。并希望引起读者对讽刺小说在人物塑造方面的兴趣和热情。

关键词：《邪恶的躯体》  圆扁形人物理论  伊夫林·沃

Abstract

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), a British writer, was popular as one of the most devastating and fruitful satirists in the history of English literature. He was also recognized as one of the great prose stylists of the English language in the 20th century. Vile Body is the first successful writing of Evelyn Waugh, which narrates the story that the protagonist Adam searched for his career and love but ultimately failed to achieve anything in the Great Britain after the World War I.

This paper interpreted the novel from the perspective of character formation, based on Foster's theory of round and flat characters, and trying to summarize and analyze the behaviors and mental activities of Adam and subsidiary roles in the novel. Through in-depth analysis of the four characters, Adam, Ms. Ape, Chastity and Father Rothschild, this paper concluded that the main characters in Vile Bodies belonged to the category of flat characters, and they had the single, static and exaggerated feature.

Therefore, it is hoped that the analysis in this paper would enrich the study of Evelyn Waugh, and provide an exploration of the decline of British society and worship of money after the war, so as to further reveal the profound thematic implication and literary value of the work. It also intended to arouse readers' interest and enthusiasm in character formation of satirical novels.

Key words: Vile Bodies  round and flat characters  Evelyn Waugh

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  Introduction to Evelyn Waugh and Vile Bodies 1

1.2  The Purpose and Significance of the Thesis 2

Chapter Two  Literature Review 3

2.1  Domestic Literature Review.3

2.2  Foreign Literature Review. 3

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework. 5

3.1  Theory of Round and Flat Characters 5

3.2  Distinction of Round Characters and Flat Characters 6

3.3  Functions of Flat Characters 7

Chapter Four  Character Analysis in Vile Bodies 9

4.1  Round or Flat9

4.1.1 Analysis of Adam. 9

4.1.2 Analysis of Subsidiary Roles. 10

4.2  Main Functions of Flat Characters in Vile Bodies.12

4.2.1 Typical Representatives of A Certain Nature12

4.2.2 Spiritual Significance of the Novel. 14

Chapter Five  Conclusion 17

5.1   Major Findings 17

5.2   Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study 17

Bibliography

Acknowledgements