英语论文Community Lost Community Gained.docx

英语论文Community Lost Community Gained.docx

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英语论文CommunityLostCommunityGained

CommunityLost,CommunityGained

——AStudyofToniMorrison’sNovelBeloved

Contents

AcknowledgementsⅠ

AbstractinEnglishⅡ

AbstractinChineseⅢ

Introduction1

ChapterOne:

IntroductionofToniMorrisonandBeloved5

1.1AShortIntroductionofToniMorrisonandHerWorks5

1.2TheBackgroundofBeloved7

1.3TheStoryofBeloved8

ChapterTwo：

CommunityLost11

2.1TheClearing11

2.1.1TheClearingandBabySuggs’ImaginedCommunity11

2.1.2SetheandtheClearing13

2.2TheTragedyofSethe15

ChapterThree:

DeepReasonsfortheLossofCommunity18

3.1EnvyandPride18

3.1.1Envy19

3.1.2Pride22

3.2TheSystemofSlavery23

3.3Reciprocity27

ChapterFour:

Reintegration30

4.1TheRoleofDenverinReintegration30

4.1.1Denver’sSacrifices30

4.1.2Denver’sHeroicStatus31

4.2TheEffortsoftheCommunity35

4.3TheRoleofBelovedinReintegration38

Conclusion40

Bibliography42

Acknowledgments

IowethedeepestgratitudetoProfessorWangGuanglin,mythesissupervisorandtutorformyMAstudy,whohashelpedmeimmeasurablyinpreparingandcomposingthisthesiswithenlighteningguidanceandhasdevotedhisprecioustimetoreadingandrevisingeachdraftwithgreatcareandpatience.Withouthisconstructivesuggestionsandadvice,thispaperwouldneverhavestartedandcometoacompletion.Hisexpectationsofmewillspurmeontoexploretheunknownsandscalenewheightsinmyfutureprofessionalcareer.

MygratitudealsogoestoallmyotherteachersinShanghaiInstituteofForeignTradefortheirinformativeandinspiringcourses,tofriendsandauthorswhosebooksandarticlesIhaveread.FromallofthemIhavelearnedagreatdealwhichIamunabletoattributetowhomeverindividually.

Finally,Iamparticularlygratefultomyparentsfortheirunfailingsupportandforstayingclosenomatterhowgreatthedistance.

Abstract

ThethemesofracialoppressionandcommunityplayanimportantroleinAfricanAmericanwriters’fictions.FewAmericanwriters,however,havewrittenaboutcommunitywiththeconsistencyandcommitmentasMorrisondoes.CallsforthereturntohomeandtocommunityarelongstandingthemesofMorrison’sworks.WiththethematicprominenceofAfricanAmericancommunityinherworks,Morrisoncriticallyexploresthepossibilitiesandlimitationsofcommunityasasanctuaryfromovertsocialoppression.

ThroughanalyzingtheinclusionandexclusionofthecommunityinBeloved,MorrisonshowshowhomesandcommunitiesserveasplacesforAfricanAmericanstogatherstrength,formulatestrategy,andrest,evenastheyareinsufficienttothetaskof"solving"institutionalandsocialills.

ThehistoryofracismintheUnitedStatesmakesitimperativeforblackAmericanstoresistracialoppressionthroughcollectiveactsofaffirmation,empowerment,andresistance.ForMorrison,thesitesforsuchactsarethefamilyandthecommunity.InBeloved,MorrisonadoptsthehistoricalgenreoftheslavenarrativetoreconstructthetraumatichistoryofslaveryintheinterestsofpresentandfutureAfricanAmericancommunity.

ThethesisexaminesMorrison’sliteraryconstructionofcommunityinBeloved,disclosesslaveryandwhiteoppressionastherootsofviolenceinAfricanAmericancommunityandshowshowAfricanAmericansdevelopedtheirsenseofcommunitythroughthebondofthestruggle.

KeyWords:

community,violence,slavery,reintegration

提要

种族压迫和共同体这两个主题在非裔美国作家的小说中起着非常重要的作用，然而，几乎没有任何一个美国作家能像托尼·莫里森那样持之以恒地把回归家园和共同体作为永恒的主题。

以非裔美国共同体作为她的重要主题，托尼·莫里森探索了共同体作为躲避外界社会压迫的避难所的可能性和局限性。

通过分析共同体的包容性和排斥性，莫里森揭示了非裔美国人可以在家园和共同体里获得力量和休息，即使它们并不足以解决社会弊端。

本文揭示了奴隶制度和白人社会的压迫才是非裔美国黑人暴力的根源，同时显示了非裔美国人是如何通过斗争来逐步形成他们的共同体。

关键字：

群体，暴力，奴隶制，重建

Introduction

“Community”usuallysignalsintimate,authentic,anddeeplyegalitariansocialrelations.WhenRaymondWilliamssummarizedthehistoryoftheword“community”inKeywords:

AVocabularyofCultureandSociety,abookpublishedin1976,henotedthatthedifferentandoverlappingusagesfromthefourteenthcenturyoncouldberoughlydividedintotwocategories.Inonesenseoftheterm,communityindicates“actualsocialgroups,”whileintheotheritsignals“aparticularqualityofrelationships”（Williams1976,75）.Williams’discussionprimarilytreatsthissecondsenseofcommunity,highlightingthequalityofimmediacy,directness,andconcretenessgenerallyascribedtocommunalrelations.Theconceptofcommunityhedescribes,andwhichstilllargelyholds,isofanorganic,relativelysmall,geographicallyboundsocialunitmarkedbyattributesofspontaneityandauthenticity.Thesecharacteristicsformthe“essence”ofcommunity.

Williams’remarksontheconceptofcommunityhighlightitsutopiandimensionsratherthanitsphysicalgeography.WhatWilliamsfoundmoststrikingaboutcommunitywastheoverwhelminglypositiveconnotationsofthis“warmlypersuasive”word:

“unlikeallothertermsofsocialorganization（state,nation,society,etc.）itseemsnevertobeusedunfavourably,andnevertobegivenanypositiveopposingordistinguishingterm”（Williams1976,76）.Thoughcommunitycanbesaidtooccupyamedialpositionbetweennationandtheindividual,thepublicandtheprivate,Williams’spointaboutthewaywehavecommonlyconceivedofcommunalrelationsisvalid.Whenwetalkaboutcommunity,wetalkaboutsomethinggood.

SamiraKawashismorespecificthanWilliamsabouttheaffectiveattributesofcommunity.Inthe1990s,shewrites:

“Aswetypicallyunderstandit,communityprovidestheindividualwithmeaningandpurposes,withasenseofbelongingtosomethinglargerandmorepowerfulthantheself”（Kawash1997,176）.KawashelaboratesontheintuitiveunderstandingofcommunityinexpresspoliticaloppositiontothelargersociopoliticalunitoftheAmericannation;community,shewrites,alsoprovidesitsmemberswith“astrongfoundationforresistingtheoppressionofsystemicandinstitutionalprejudicethatcontinuetostructureAmericanpoliticalandsociallife”（Kawash1997,176）.ThoughWilliams,too,notedthelinktoalternativeformsofgrouplivingandthe“polemicaledge”thattwentieth-centuryusagehassometimesgiventothe“community”,theyearssincehisdiscussionhaveservedtopoliticizemoreovertlytheconceptofcommunity,transformingitfromasemi-privaterealmofauthenticitytoanarenaofpotentialsocialandpoliticalempowerment.

Sincetheriseofthenewsocialmovements,however,NorthAmericanminoritynovelistshaveincreasinglyworkedtodevelopstrategiesforcriticallyaffirmingnewstylesofcommunityasresourcesforpsycho-politicalempowerment.Theirworksoffictionharnessavarietyofformalstrategiesinordertorearticulatetheconceptofcommunitywhilesimultaneouslyposing,withurgency,questionsaboutthemechanismsofinclusionandexclusionatworkincommunities,abouttheusesandabusesofcollectiveaction,aboutgroup-individualrelations.

StylesofcommunityplayanimportantroleinAfricanAmericanfiction.Moreover,thecivilrightsandlatertheblackculturalnationalistmovementhadastrongimpactonracialconsciousnesswhichcontinuestoaffectmorerecentliteraryrepresentationsofcommunity.ThepoliticizationofcommunitywithinandtovaryingdegreesagainstthenationisastrongthemeinAfricanAmericanwriting,butalsointhewritingofotherminoritygroupsintheUS.AfricanAmericanliteraturehasalong,continuousconcernwiththeconceptsofcommunityandrace,anditstheoristshavedevelopedcriticalinsightsintothepossibilitiesandlimitationsofcommunitythathelpilluminatestylesofcommunityenvisionedbyotherminoritywriters.

Inthisthesis,IexamineMorrison’sliteraryconstructionofcommunityinBeloved.Evercomplex,Morrison’sneoslavenarrativeoutlinesadialecticalrelationshipbetweenidentityformationandcommunityformation,andinsiststhatbothareshapedandupheldtoasignificant-butnotabsolute-degreebyracistinstitutionaldiscoursesandmaterialpractices.ForMorrison,theconstructedcharacteroftheselfandthecommunitydoesnotinvalidatehumanagency,eventhoughitmaythreatentoincapacitateit.

Morrison’sneoslavenarrativecanbeseenasrecoveringantebellumandrejectingpostbellumrepresentationsofslaveryandslavesforthepurposeofpositingautonomyforcontemporarycommunitiesofAfricanAmericans.AlthoughthepotentialforinterracialsolidarityisimplicitinMorrison’sconstructionofcommunity,Morrisonhasdeepskepticismtowardsaprogramofintegration.

Thisthesiscoversfourpartsbesidesanintroductionandaconclusion.ThefirstpartisanintroductionofToniMorrisonandherworks,includingthebackgroundofBelovedandthemainstoryofBeloved,whichgivesreadersaroughideaofBeloved.Inthesecondpart,byanalyzingtheclearingandBabySuggs’imaginedcommunity,theauthorindicatesthattheclearandboundlessfreedomtoloveanddanceintheworldcannotbesoughtbytheimaginationalone.Thethirdpartisananalysisofthedeepreasonsforthelossofcommunity.Thispartdisclosesthattheslaverysystemitselfisthebasicreasonforthelossofcommunity.People’sprideandenvycausesthebreakdownofsolidarityintheslaverysystem.Thefourthpart,whichisthefocusofthethesis,analyzestheprocessofreintegrationintothecommunity.Throughtheeffortsofthebravegirl,Denver,whoisalsoavictimofbeingoutsidethecommunity,andtheeffortsofotherpeopleinthecommunity,theprotagonistsarereintegratedintothecommunityatlast.Belovedprovidestheclearestexampleofindividualtraumarootedinsocialoppressionbeingpubliclyworkedoutthroughtheritualizedand