摘要
拉尔夫•埃里森是当代著名美国黑人作家，也是二十世纪最有作用的美国小说家之一，而其最负盛名的作品《看不见的人》于1965年被评为美国二战以来最重要、最有作用的小说。小说主人公虽然是黑人，英语毕业论文，但其主旨远远突破了传统“种族”小说的限制，而指向了全世界人类所共同面临的精神命题——身份及存在问题。结合二战以来世界范围内经济发展相对较快，传统信仰体系部分解体，因而精神世界相对迷茫空虚的具体语境，《看不见的人》就像一尊醒世钟，引发了文学界、哲学界的持续关注，讨论和思考。
本文认为，《看不见的人》就是一个存在主义思想的试验场，主人公的种种证明自己，“希望自己被看到”的努力与尝试，都是关于自我身份的确认过程。本文从“极限境遇”、身份之模糊、自由选择的反复尝试和反求诸己，目光回移四大侧面，用存在主义理论略论主人公的心理活动和实践尝试，充分挖掘小说的多层次内涵。
其探讨结果，增强了小说的思想力度，尝试发掘了其关于当今社会精神困境的“启示影响”，并且关于全人类所共同关切的终极问题“我是谁，从哪里来，到哪里去”提供了一个尝试性的思考维度。
关键词：看不见的人，存在主义，身份确认，自由选择，精神危机
Abstract
Ralph Ellison is one of the most famous contemporary African-American writers, as well as the most influential American writers of the twentieth century. His most prestigious book Invisible Man was named the most important and influential novel of the United States since World War II in 1965. Although the protagonist is a black person, the book goes far beyond traditional “race novel”, with its aiming at the universal issue— identity and existence. Worldwide economic boom since the end of World War II contributed to the disintegration of the traditional belief systems, which leads to the relatively spiritual vacuum globally. Given the specific situation, Invisible Man severs as a reminder, triggering the continuous discussion from both literary and philosophy circles.
This thesis argues that the Invisible Man is the embodiment of existentialism. All the efforts and attempts the hero adopted were out of the purpose to prove myself, to be seen and then confirm his self-identity. The thesis mainly falls into four main sides, “the limited circumstances”, the ambiguity of identity, attempts to reach free choice, looking inside oneself for the answer. Analyze hero's acts and attempts in the light of existentialism to enhance the meaning of the book.
The result of this thesis will be a supplement to the existing research and serve as a guide out of the “spiritual crisis” nowadays. It may also be an enlightenment in a new dimension to try to answer the ultimate question – who am I, where I am from and where I shall go.
Key words: invisible man, existentialism, identity confirmation, free choice, spiritual crisis ，英语论文范文 |
