Abstract:John Updike is recognized as one of the most versatile and prolific American authors of the contemporary period. Of his numerous works, Rabbit tetralogy represents his highest point of success. Rabbit Redux which is the second volume of the series is a book with historicity which is achieved by Updike’s integrating many social events and typical characters into the fiction. Through analyzing the image of the black militant Skeeter, this thesis probes into the awakening of blacks’ national consciousness as well as the bewilderment of the whites brought by the turbulent 1960s America so to help the readers make an in-depth comprehension of racial discrimination and the impact of civil rights movement brings to the whole society.

-

Keywords:  Skeeter  Rabbit Redux  racial discrimination  civil rights movement

           national consciousness

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Updike and Rabbit Redux-1

1.2 The Significance of the Thesis-2

1.3 The Structure of the Thesis-3

Chapter Two Civil Rights Movement in 1960s-4

2.1 Main Reasons for Civil Rights Movement-4

2.1.1 Racial Discrimination-4

2.1.2 The Counter-culture Movement-5

2.1.3 The Vietnam War-5

2.2 The Influence of Civil Rights Movement-6

Chapter Three Skeeter, a Black Militant-8

3.1 The Disillusion of the Dream for Equality-8

3.2 The Awakening of National Consciousness-9

3.3 The Winner in the Fight against the Whites-11

Chapter Four Conclusion-13

References-14