The graduation thesis文档格式.docx

1、China West Normal UniversityIn Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement forThe Degree of Bachelor of ArtsUnder the Supervision of Yuan YuMay 2010OutlineThesis statement: This paper aims to analyze the helplessness in Thomas Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles through the tragedy of Tess, which shows his s

2、ympathy to the poor people. Introduction . The Tragedy of Tess in Moribund SocietyA. Tesss Tragedy in Moribund Society1. Tesss Pregnancy 2 .Angel Clares Desertion 3. Tesss DeathB. The Causes of Her Tragedy1. Family Background of Tess in the Patriarchy System 2. Tesss Resistance to the Traditional Mo

3、ral Concept3. The Hypocritical Religion at that Time4. The Characteristics of Tess. Thomas Hardys Attitude Reflected in the NovelA. Disclosure of the Cruelty of the Capitalistic Society B. Sympathy towards the PoorC. Expression of His Helplessness in Such a Relentless World. ConclusionSchool of Fore

4、ign Languages, CWNU, Nan Chong, China, 637002Abstract: Tragedy is a kind of literary creation, which is not a simple artistic form or technique but the repeat of real society. Tess of the dUrbervilles is regarded as the most successful tragic masterpiece of Thomas Hardy. He presents a vivid picture

5、of the tragic life of Tess. In order to defeat the unfortunate fate, Tess is brave enough to resist the decadent society, the traditional moral concept and the hypocritical religion. Through the description of Tesss tragedy of fate, Hardy expresses his indignation towards the society and sympathy to

6、wards the poor. He accuses the cruel society and conveys his helplessness to all lives. Keywords: Tragedy, Tess, Helplessness. IntroductionThomas Hardy is a famous British poet and novelist. As a “humanitarianism” writer （Guerard 1963: 56）, he thinks peoples lives are miserable. Most of his works ha

7、ve something in common, that is the futility of mans effort to struggle against the cruel and “unintelligible fate, chance and circumstance” （Howe 1967: 67）. He exposes the hypocritical morals, laws, and religious capital. In his works, he widely uses contrast in various levels and ranges. Among the

8、m, the conflict between humans character and the natural environment and peoples fight for their fate are outstanding. He thinks it is the conflict between the character of people and the environment that cause the destruction. This is fully embodied in Tess of the dUrbervilles. It is regarded as Ha

9、rdys most successful tragic novel. Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for rural women and expresses his helplessness in such a relentless world. As is known to all, Tess of the dUrbervilles is the masterpiece of Thomas Hardy. It tells a story about a beautiful, diligent and honest v

10、illage girl, Tess, who experienced a miserable life. One day, her father got a piece of news that they were the descendents of a noble family -dUrbervilles. Tesss parents urged her to claim kinship with the remaining dUrbervilles. Though she was reluctant to do this, in order to help the family gett

11、ing through the hardship, she came to the dUrbervilles where she met Alec dUrbervilles who set a trap for Tess and raped her. To escape the gossip and help her family, Tess left home and went to work on a farm, where she met Angel Claire. After Angel persistent pursuit of Tess, the two characters fe

12、ll in love with each other and got married. Then in the wedding night, Tess confessed her past to Angel and begged for forgiveness, but Angel left her in disgust.Tess of the dUrbervilles is one of the Hardys tragedies, a masterpiece which brings him into a number of literary critics notice. It refle

13、cts the “real society and social system and morals” of the writers （Douglas 1961: 34）. Therefore, it is easy to know the history of his age. Some critics research the writing background from the tragedy of Tess. Some scholars have put emphasis on the tragedy of Tess for a long time. Some scholars ma

14、ke researches for the tragedy of the hero Angel Clare. This paper will analyze Hardys helplessness through the description of Tesss tragedy. It concentrates on Tesss tragedy in Moribund Society and the causes of her tragedy, which reveals Thomas Hardys helplessness in the tragedy of Tess, and shows

15、his sympathy to the poor people. Tesss tragedy is caused by several factors. These factors intermingle with each other and finally make Tess in desperate. Tess lives in the moribund society that is corrupted and cruel. People are eroded by the old and traditional thought. Her tragedy firstly comes f

16、rom her pregnancy. Then Angel abandons her. Finally, Tess resists to the unequal affair and meets her death.1. Tesss Pregnancy Tess came from a farmers family, the dDurbeyfield. She lived in a poor but peaceful life, but all her tragedy began in one evening of late May, the sudden death of the only

17、horse. At that time, Tesss father got a piece of news from a parson that they were the decedents of the noble family -dUrbervilles, which was an ancient family once renowned in England. They still had rich relatives. Tesss parents were over delighted about this news. Her mother persuaded her to visi

18、t the dUrbervilles to claim the kinship. To help the family getting through the hardships, she reluctantly agreed with such fool suggestion. Unwillingly, the girl came in contact with dUrbervilles. There she met Alec dUrbervilles who was a demon, he was shrewd and crafty wrote a letter by his mother

19、s tone, asked Tess to look after a littler fowl-farm, which was her hobby. Alec laid on his fathers money and power harms other to benefit him, and resorted to all means to satisfy his absurd fleshly desires. Tess worked there for four months and raped by Alec. Tess was heartbroken, she came back ho

20、me. Later she gave birth to a child, who died later because of disease. Tesss pregnancy made her felt disgraced in front of people, she did not go out during the daytime but only the deep night. She could not forgive herself to made such stupid mistake and felt ashamed. Finally she left her hometown

21、 and began her next level of miserable life.2. Angel Clares Desertion Without financial support, Tess has to leave home and goes to work at a distant farm, where she meets Angel Clare who comes from a wealthy pastor family. He despises the class prejudice and the rank idea, he wants to live simple a

22、nd fresh village life, to be independent, so he comes to the farm tries hard to grasp agricultural technology. Tess fell in love with Angel, but she cannot get rid of her past. She is contradictory, whenever thinks of her and Alec and the dead child, she is heartbroken and full of guilty. But after

23、Angels persistent pursuit of Tess, the two become engaged.On the wedding night, too honest to keep any secret, she confesses to Angel about Alec and the child. Angel is shocked by the fact, he could not believe Tess has such shameful experience. Angel has the same past as Tess, but he cannot forgive

24、 Tess as Tess forgives him. He no longer sees the woman he once has seen and has married only hours ago. He cannot accept this fact “Tess! Say it is not true! No, it is not true” （Hardy 2004: 156）! However, this is the truth! Angel could not believe the mess in front of him, he is crashed, has nothi

25、ng in his mind! Although Tess is sincere, Angel still “looked upon her as a species of impostor, a guilty woman, in the guise of an innocent” （Hardy 2004: 158）. The most terrible thing is his blameless: “Dont, Tess, dont argue. Those are just country peoples ways, perhaps you were weak and could not

26、 refuse this man because your ancient noble blood has ruined thin, because ” （Hardy 2004: 160）. In this sense, Angel is colder than Alec. Tess does not give in to Alecs violence, but she is wrecked by Angels prejudice which leaves her in total darkness in her life. Despite Tess is so painful, so hea

27、rtbroken, Angel abandoned her and left for Brazil.3. Tesss DeathAfter Angels leaving, Tess can only come back to her own family, only finds that her family remains impoverished and she even has no place to stay. In order to support the family, she goes outside to find a job in a farm where she meets

28、 Alec again. He takes advantages of the dDurbeyfields poverty and continues to tempt poor Tess. Her tragic fate is moving on and on. Unfortunately enough, Tesss father died and the family is expelled from their cottage. They have no food to eat no place to liv Frightened, Tess writes to Angel to tel

29、l him that she loves him and needs him, and begs him to forgive her and return to her. For a long time, Tess did not receive any reply from Angel. Finally she writes him the last letter under a completely disappointed condition: “O why have you treated me so monstrously, Angel I can never, never, ne

30、ver forgive you! You are so cruel, cruel indeed! I will try to forget you. It is all injustice I have received at your hands” （Hardy 2004: 163）. At the end of hope, Tess is possessed by Alec again. However, the tragedy has not finished yet. Angel Clare comes back! After the hardship and illness he e

31、xperienced in Brazil, Angel realized how much Tess loves him, how unfair he treated Tess, so he comes back to ask Tesss forgiveness, but only finds that Tess has lived with Alec again. She says to Angel: “It is too late, too late! Do not come close to me, Angel! No, you must not, keep away” （Hardy 2004: 202）. Angel left with a broken heart. Later, Tess stabbed Alec in the heart and killed him, she hated the man who cheated her again and again and destroyed her life. Tess comes to the train station and finds Angel. The two escape and