Abstract

Joyce Carol Oates is an American novelist. As a female writer, she is good at expressing her sympathy and care for the weak, especially the women. The Falls, which was published in 2004, is viewed as one of her great works. Since its publication, it has attracted great attention. The novel reveals common Americans’ love, marriage and family life. It depicts two main female characters, Ariah and Nina, who fight against the authority bravely to get their equality in the male-dominated society. Bases on the theory of feminism, this paper attempts to explore how they fight against the authority to strive for equal rights and survival of self-esteem.
The thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction to Joyce Carol Oates and The Falls. Chapter Two mainly focuses on the theory of feminism. Chapter Three makes an analysis of the feminist consciousness embodied in the novel. Chapter Four draws the conclusion.

Keywords: Joyce Carol Oates  The Falls  Feminism

摘要

乔伊斯·卡罗尔·欧茨是美国当代著名小说家,作为一名女性作家，她善于以女性的视角表现对弱小人物，尤其是女性群体的命运的关切和同情。《大瀑布》是她的一部佳作，自出版以来，一直备受文学评论界的关注。在这部小说中，欧茨塑造了两个敢于反抗强权，争取自己平等权利的女性形象—阿莉亚和妮娜。本文将以女性主义理论为依据，剖析她们敢于和男权社会以及强权政治作斗争，从而争取自身权利及自尊生存的无畏精神。
本论文分为四章。第一章简单介绍作者欧茨及其著作《大瀑布》。第二章详细展示女性主义。第三章重点分析女性主义在这部小说中的体现。第四章是论文的结论。

关键词:欧茨;大瀑布;女性主义

Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Research on Joyce Carol Oates and Her Works
 Joyce Carol Oates (1938--) is one of the most eminent writers in the United States. To date, she has published thirty-nine novels, nineteen collections of short stories, numerous plays and nonfiction works to her name—as well as those of her pseudonyms Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly. She is a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and has been twice-nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature. In 2006 Oates won the Chicago Tribune Literary Prize for Lifetime Achievement. Critic Robert H. Fossum once said, “Oates may be the finest American novelist, man or woman, since Faulkner” (Milazzo, 156). In John Updike’s review of You Must Remember This in The New Yorker, he praised her as “one of America’s most prominent women of letters” (Updike, 1987).