Abstract

Racial problem in America has always been a complicated issue in the multi-racial country, which is called the “melting pot”. Light in August, a famous work written by Faulkner focuses on racial issue and tells a tragic story that happens in the famous fictional Town Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County. Combined with the analysis of the plots, character’s language and personality building in the novel, this thesis aims to reveal Faulkner’s contradictory racial outlook. Namely, he sympathized with the blacks out of his morality as an intellectual but meanwhile he demonstrated a little subtle yet deep-rooted discrimination in his presentation of the story. By applying Jung’s collective unconsciousness in psychology, this thesis argues that Faulkner’s discrimination actually inherited from his great grandfather in an unconscious way.
Structurally, this thesis develops its ideas in three parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to the background as well as the public and private racial outlook of William Faulkner, showing the initial standpoint of him. The second part reveals his contradictory racial outlook through analyzing the main characters in the novel by comparisons. The last part explores the causes of Faulkner’s racial outlook through the explanation of his earlier experience with blacks and social values of collective unconsciousness that he had inherited from his ancestors.
The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate Faulkner’s contradictory racial outlook. In a further step, through explicit analysis, this thesis concludes and reveals that because of his conscience as an intellectual, he was against racialism in public. Meanwhile, in private, the psychological influence of collective unconsciousness causes his discrimination.

Key words: William Faulkner; racial outlook; Light in August

摘  要

美国的种族问题一直以来都多民族国家必须面对的棘手难题，因而被称之为“大熔炉”。《八月之光》作为威廉•福克纳的著名种族小说，讲述了发生在著名的虚构小镇，约克纳帕塔法的杰佛逊镇的悲剧故事。
本文结合对文中人物语言、性格塑造和情节的分析，揭示了福克纳矛盾的种族观。也就是作为一个知识分子，在道义层面上他同情黑人，但同时他在作品中又流露出细微又根深蒂固的种族歧视。本论文通过运用荣格心理学“集体无意识”，论证了福克纳的种族歧视在无意识中遗传了其曾祖父的观念。
结构上，本文分三部分展开。第一部分通过简要介绍福克纳的背景以及他道义上和心理上的种族观初步展现他的种族立场。第二部分运用对比法分析了小说中的主要人物，以此具体体现福克纳种族立场中的深刻矛盾。最后一部分通过分析他与黑人关系的早期个人经历以及从祖辈集体无意识中得来的社会价值观，解释了他种族观形成的原因。
总体上，本文的目的是为了揭示福克纳的矛盾种族观，即出于知识分子的良心意识，他在公开场合反对种族主义。但同时，本论文也认为：由于集体无意识在心理上和价值观上的影响，福克纳在内心深处也保留了难以察觉却根深蒂固的种族意识。

关键词：威廉福克纳；种族观；《八月之光》