解读《他们仰望上苍》中珍妮的自我成长_英语论文

An Interpretation of Janie’s Self-growth in Their Eyes Were Watching God

摘要

佐拉·尼尔· 赫斯顿是20世纪美国文学史上重要作家之一。当代著名黑人女作家爱丽丝·沃克将赫斯顿视为自己的“文学之母”。她的著作《他们眼望上苍》自70年代以来，已成为美国文学的经典作品之一。佐拉·尼尔· 赫斯顿在小说中成功塑造了一位光彩夺目的黑人女性角色——珍妮。小说通过剖析珍妮的三段婚姻,展现她逐步冲破传统世俗的束缚，从一个懵懵懂懂的少女成长为一个有着自己声音的成熟女性。《他们眼望上苍》拓宽了黑人文学的主题和视野，是一部描写黑人女性成长的力作。

本文将根据成长小说的共性特征来探讨小说主人公自我成长的历程。论文共分为五章。第一章介绍作者的生平以及小说的内容。第二章介绍成长小说的起源、发展及其主要特征。第三章从小说人物上进行分析,主要包括成长的引路人和主人公生命中一位成长的伙伴。第四章从成长小说的结构特点来进行分析，主要包括情节模式和小说中体现出的顿悟。第五章是对全文的总结。

关键词：成长小说；《他们眼望上苍》；言语权；自我成长

Abstract

Zora Neale Hurston is one of most important writers in American literature in the 20th century. Alice Waller regards Hurston as her literary fore-mother. Since the 1970s, her masterpiece Their Eyes Were Watching God has became one of the classical works in American literature. In this novel, Zora Neale Hurston successfully shaped a shining and influential character who was named Janie. By analyzing three marriages of Janie, the novel shows how she breaks the traditional bondage, grows into a mature woman and eventually gains her own voice. Their Eyes Were Watching God expands the theme and horizon of black literature. It is a masterpiece of describing the growth of black women.

This thesis will discuss how the novel reveals the progress of protagonist’s self-growth, based on the common features of initiation novel. It is divided into five chapters. Chapter one introduces the author and the novel. Chapter two introduces the initiation novel and studies its origin, development and major features. Chapter three analyzes the protagonist’s growth from the perspective of characters, mainly covering the initiation guides and a crucial initiation companion in her life. Chapter four analyzes the novel from the perspective of its structure, mainly exploring the basic plot pattern and the epiphany manifested in the novel. Chapter five is the conclusion.

Key Words: initiation novel  Their Eyes Were Watching God  voice  self-growth