Abstract:John Irving is one of the most distinguished contemporary American novelists. He is hailed as “the most important humorist in America” by Kurt Vonnegut. His works integrate imagination into reality in a realistic way, showing his distinctive writing style. Irving won the National Book Award for Fiction for The World According to Garp in 1980. The book tells the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields, a feminist leader ahead of her time. This is the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; Theirs is a world of sexual extremes, even of sexual assassinations. Theirs is a silhouette of feminist movement at their times, which has influential impact on Jenny’s life and Garp’s writing career related to feminism.    

This thesis is divided into three parts. First of all, this thesis analyzes Jenny’s characteristics and awareness from the perspective of feminism, combining with the text. Second, it analyzes the reasons for her features of feminism briefly with the background. Then, it aims to see feminism thoughts and social ethos at that time through Jenny’s fate and experiences. It also discusses how Irving enriches the readers’ mind with his unique perspective and attracts human reflection by imagining in literature. 

Keywords: John Irving  The World According to Garp  feminism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Literature Review-1

1.1 Introduction to John Irving-1

1.2 Introduction to The World According to Garp-1

1.3 Present Research on John Irving and His Works-2

Chapter Two Feminism-4

2.1 Definition of Feminism-4

2.2 Features of Feminism-5

2.3 Development of Feminism-6

Chapter Three Jenny's Feminism Features and Her Performance in The World According to Garp-8

3.1 Jenny’s Feminism Features-8

3.1.1 Jenny's Alternatives of Lifestyle and Career: Independence-8

3.1.2 Jenny's Attitude to Male Authority: Challenge-9

3.1.3 Jenny's Answer for Role and Education Methods: Uniqueness-10

Chapter Four Reasons for Jenny’s Feminism-12

4.1 Internal Factors-12

4.2 External Factors-13

Chapter Five Conclusion-14

References-15