本科英語專業(yè)文學類畢業(yè)論文

1、<p>　　The Cry of the Marginalized People in Multiculturalism</p><p>　　—The Analysis of The Loons and Its Deeper Cultural Connotation</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>

2、;　　Canada is a country based on multiculturalism, in which the white dominate the mainstream culture, while the aboriginal culture is in the condition of marginalization. In The Loons, Margaret Laurence describes a margi

3、nalized minority girl--Piquette’s short but miserable life, who keeps struggling to blend into the mainstream society, but finally ends herself with hopelessness. Laurence also describes the tragic ending of the loons un

4、der the development of human civilization, along with Piquette’</p><p>　　Key Words: Multiculturalism; Marginalization; Artistic features;</p><p>　　Post-colonial feminism; Ecological environment&

5、lt;/p><p>　　多元文化下邊緣人的吶喊</p><p>　　——解析《潛鳥》及其深層文化內(nèi)涵</p><p><b>　　摘 要</b></p><p>　　加拿大是個有著多元文化的國家，其中白人占據(jù)著主流文化，土著文化處于邊緣化狀態(tài)。在《潛鳥》中，瑪格麗特?勞倫斯描述了一個被邊緣化了的少數(shù)民族女孩--皮格特短暫而悲

6、慘的一生。她為融入主流社會而不斷的奮斗與抗爭，卻最終帶著絕望結(jié)束了自己的生命。勞倫斯還將潛鳥在人類文明的不斷發(fā)展中走向滅亡的悲慘經(jīng)歷穿插在對皮格特一生的描述當中。該論文主要由四部分組成，在第一部分的簡介中，作者介紹了《潛鳥》寫作時的歷史文化背景，勞倫斯文學創(chuàng)作的變化，及《潛鳥》的主要內(nèi)容。在第二部分中，作者呈現(xiàn)了勞倫斯所塑造的皮格特這一復雜多變的性格特征，還有小說中的兩大表現(xiàn)手法--象征和雙關(guān)，它們的應用使這篇小說雖短卻意味深長。在第三

7、部分中，作者揭示了《潛鳥》的兩個主要深層文化內(nèi)涵：一個是后殖民女性主義思想，呼吁人們?yōu)榈谌澜绲呐誀幦?quán)益；另一個是勞倫斯的生態(tài)觀，她在這篇小說中表達了對生態(tài)問題的深切關(guān)懷，呼吁人們保護生態(tài)環(huán)境。在結(jié)尾中，作者用三組詞總結(jié)了該論文的主要內(nèi)容，即高藝術(shù)性、社會性、思想性。</p><p>　　關(guān)鍵詞：多元文化；邊緣化；藝術(shù)特色；后殖民女性主義；生態(tài)環(huán)境</p><p><b>　

8、　Contents</b></p><p>　　Abstracti</p><p><b>　　摘 要ii</b></p><p>　　1 Introduction1</p><p>　　2 Artistic Appreciation of The Loons4</p><p>

9、;　　2.1 Distinct Description of Piquette’s Complicated Characters4</p><p>　　2.1.1 Piquette’s Coldness and Stolidity in the Beginning4</p><p>　　2.1.2 Piquette’s Great Devotion to Life Four Years

10、 Later5</p><p>　　2.1.3 Piquette’s Hopelessness After the Failure of Marriage6</p><p>　　2.2 Symbolism in The Loons7</p><p>　　2.2.1 The Symbolism of the Environments7</p>&

11、lt;p>　　2.2.2 The Symbolism of the Spirit8</p><p>　　2.2.3 The Symbolism of the Ending9</p><p>　　2.3 Pun in The Loons9</p><p>　　3 The Deeper Cultural Connotation in The Loons12

12、</p><p>　　3.1 Post-colonial Feminism12</p><p>　　3.2 Ecological View in The Loons---Conflicts Between Human Civilization and</p><p>　　Ecological Environment13</p><p>　

13、　4 Conclusion15</p><p>　　References17</p><p>　　Acknowledgements19</p><p>　　畢業(yè)設(shè)計（論文）知識產(chǎn)權(quán)聲明20</p><p>　　畢業(yè)設(shè)計（論文）獨創(chuàng)性聲明21</p><p>　　The Cry of the Marginali

14、zed People in Multiculturalism</p><p>　　—The Analysis of The Loons and Its Deeper Cultural Connotation</p><p>　　1 Introduction</p><p>　　Canada is a country with multi-culture, multi

15、-ethnics, and multi-religions, which is composed of immigrants and aboriginal peoples. Because of the complicated composition of the ethnics, for one thing, Canadian culture has various and colorful features, for another

16、, there exists serious national contradiction and conflict of interests resulting from different culture, traditions, customs, religions, and some other values. Canadian national literature is rooted in the multicultural

17、ism.</p><p>　　Nation assimilation is a kind of phenomenon that a nation or a part of a nation loses its own national features, becoming another nation. [1] For a long time, the Canadian mainstream culture wa

18、s possessed by British and French culture, while aboriginal culture was oppressed and assimilated, resulting in their low social status and education level. Hence, Canadian writers in that period were almost the descenda

19、nts of white settlers, whose literary themes were living conditions of the white. At th</p><p>　　From the 1960s to the 1980s, it is an unprecedented booming period for Canadian national literature. The subje

20、cts of literary works in that period became increasingly diverse, and works focused on the female psychology and living conditions of minorities increased. Meanwhile, there emerged a large number of outstanding writers,

21、and Margaret Laurence was the best representative. White person as Laurence was, she did not make the white culture the center of her literary works. Laurence stayed seve</p><p>　　Margaret Laurence was born

22、in a little prairie town of Canada in 1926. After graduation in 1947, she married Jack Laurence, who was an engineer. In 1949, they moved to Britain, and then moved to Ghana in Africa, where Laurence bore two children. H

23、er life experience in Africa offered her abundant writing resources. As a result, her early works was centered on the African life and their fight for survival, freedom, and independence.</p><p>　　In 1957, t

24、he Laurences settled back to Canada, thus her literary creation entered a new period. Her literary themes began to completely turn to Canadian life, in which the most famous are the Manawaka series short stories, includ

25、ing four long stories ----The Stone Angel, A Jest of God, The fire-dwellers, The diviners and a collection of short stories---A Bird in the House. The five stories laid the foundation of Margaret Laurence’s status in Can

26、adian literature, and made her rise to fame all ar</p><p>　　The collection of short stories---A Bird in the House published in 1970 gathered Laurence’s eight short stories, which are closely related. This is

27、 a collection with a nature of biography. Through the telling of the little heroin--Vanessa Macleod, the author showed from the eye of a kid the complicated characters under the complicated environment. The Loons is one

28、of the most wonderful stories in Manawaka series. Manawaka is a virtual environment, whose prototype is the birthplace of Margaret La</p><p>　　The 1970s was an alternate period of Canadian old and new cultur

29、al policies. As a new writer focusing on social life, Margaret Laurence had deep feelings about Canadian multiculturalism, and she turned the literary theme to the living conditions of marginalized people in the multicul

30、tural environment. In The Loons, Laurence used the first-person narrative of the little heroin Vanessa, who told the Metis girl Piquette Tonnerre’s life. She lived in a shack in a clearing of the thicket, as is said <

31、/p><p>　　This paper is composed of four parts. In the introduction, the author introduces the cultural and historical background in the writing of The Loons, the course of Laurence’s literary creation, and the

32、main content of The Loons. In the second part, the author shows Piquette’s complicated characters, and the two important figures of speech in the story--symbolism and pun, which make The Loons short but with great power.

33、 In the third part, the author reveals two deeper cultural connotations in The </p><p>　　2 Artistic Appreciation of The Loons</p><p>　　There are great artistic features in The Loons. Laurence su

34、ccessfully represents Piquette’s complicated and changeable characters with simple words. The usage of symbolism and pun is the biggest feature in The Loons, which makes the story short but with profound power.</p>

35、<p>　　2.1 Distinct Description of Piquette’s Complicated Characters</p><p>　　A successful character is full of complexity and contradictions, and is constantly changing. [4] By using the first person

36、narrative, Laurence showed Piquette’s complicated and changeable characters. In The Loons, “my” eyes were focused on the two close contacts between Piquette and “I”, which showed the distinct change of her characters. Th

37、e changing process of Piquette’s character is divided into three period: the first is her coldness and stolidity in Diamond Lake, the second is her great dev</p><p>　　2.1.1 Piquette’s Coldness and Stolidity

38、in the Beginning</p><p>　　Generally speaking, character is decided by the living environment. In the story, Piquette’s character is decided by both social environment and family environment.</p><p

39、>　　In terms of social environment, after the failure of Riel’s revolt, Metis lost their lands, completely becoming the lowest social class, as a result, they could not find their right position in the white mainstream

40、 society. As falfbreeds of French and Indians, among themselves they spoke a patois that was neither Cree nor French. They did not belong among the Cree of the Galloping Mountain reservation, further north, and they did

41、not belong among the Scots-Irish and Ukrainians of Manawaka, eithe</p><p>　　In terms of family environment, Piquette grew up in a family lacking warmth and love with each other. Her mother took off several y

42、ears ago. Having lost the hostess in the family, her father and grandfather gradually threw themselves into the drinking world. As a result, the family became worse and worse, and Piquette as a child was responsible for

43、the whole housework. It can not be avoided that Piquette became cold and stolid in such a family.</p><p>　　As her brother with a face that seemed totally unfamiliar with laughter, Piquette was also a person

44、who was not welcome: with her hoarse voice and her clumsy limping walk and her grimy cotton dresses that were always miles too long. [3] In Diamond Lake, “I” noticed that her broad coarse-featured face bore no expression

45、--it was blank, as though she no longer dwelt within her own skull, as though she had gone elsewhere. [3] When “I” approached her, she looked at “me” with a sudden flash of scorn; </p><p>　　2.1.2 Piquette’s

46、Great Devotion to Life Four Years Later</p><p>　　Laurence stressed comparison when showing Piquette’s great devotion to life four years later. Having met Piquette in a cafe four years later, “I” was greatly

47、surprised. She was almost another person, “her face, so stolid and expressionless before, was animated now with a gaiety that was almost violent.” “She laughed and talked loudly with the boys around her. Her lipstick was

48、 bright carmine, and her hair was cut short and frizzily permed.” [3] Her great change was presented not only in her appea</p><p>　　2.1.3 Piquette’s Hopelessness After the Failure of Marriage</p><

49、p>　　Piquette’s marriage is doomed to be a failure. “My” mother said, “either her husband left her, or she left him”. It can be guessed that they fell in love with each other in the beginning, and he was attracted by t

50、he Indian girl’s wild beauty and great energy, while Piquette also desired the true love with the white man. This marriage was unusual in the mainstream society. Her husband either could not bear others’ mock and pressur

51、e from society, or looked down upon Piquette’s shortcomings because</p><p>　　People will become psychologically abnormal, even twisted when the basic needs can not be fulfilled. [5] After the failure of marr

52、iage, she came home with two babies and broken-heart. She’d put on an awful lot of weight, and she looked a mess...a real slattern, dressed any old how. She was up in court a couple of times--drunk and disorderly. [3] Cl

53、early，she became completely hopeless after the failure of marriage, living a life as her father and grandfather, just like a walking body. At last, sh</p><p>　　The cruel life destroyed her vulnerable dignity

54、, and the cold society broke up her fragile dream. She woke up in sufferance through marriage, but ended herself with hopelessness.</p><p>　　In the story, Piquette’s character changed greatly with ups and do

55、wns. Her complicated character is vividly depicted by simple words and distinctive style, which is one of the most successful aspects in the description of characters in The Loons.</p><p>　　2.2 Symbolism in

56、The Loons</p><p>　　Symbolism is the biggest feature in The Loons. There are two clues in The Loons, in which one is Piquette’s destiny, and the other is the destiny of the loons. The loon, as the second clue

57、 of the story, is closely connected with the direct description of Piquette. In other words, the loon represents Piquette, and the loon is a symbol of Piquette. Symbolism in the story is showed in three aspects: the symb

58、olism of the environments, the symbolism of the spirit, and the symbolism of the ending.</p><p>　　2.2.1 The Symbolism of the Environments</p><p>　　The Canadian loon is a kind of living creature

59、that got close to extinction. They originally lived in the primitive forests, like Diamond Lake. But with the development of human civilization, nature is gradually destroyed, and the primitive forests are in danger. Whe

60、n “I” went to Diamond Lake for the first time, it was in a favorable condition, but was used as a resort. Many villas and piers had been built, and large pieces of lands were occupied by humans, so the loons were forced

61、to move to th</p><p>　　When “I” came to Diamond Lake again after getting the news of Piquette’s death, the loons had been marginalized to an extreme extent. Diamond Lake had been re-named, and the whole plac

62、e had been changed into a national park. What was more terrible was that the place had become very “prosperous”: “the one store had become several dozen, and the settlement had all the attributes of a flourishing resort-

63、-hotels, a dance-hall, cafes with neon signs, the penetrating odours of potato chips and hot dog</p><p>　　Nevertheless, Piquette and the Metis nation had lost their home, too. What they lost was not only the

64、 lands, also the spirit. [6] At the beginning of the story, Laurence showed their marginalized conditions. The Tonnerres lived in an undeveloped area far away from a Canadian little town, almost in a primitive condition.

65、 But around their “shack” were “wooden packing cases, warped lumber, discarded car types, ramshackle chicken coops, tangled strands of barbed wire and rusty tin cans”, [3] showing</p><p>　　“People can see th

66、eir nests just up the lake shore, behind the logs.” “That evening I went out by myself, scrambling through the bushes that overhung the steep path, my feet slipping on the fallen spruce needles that covered the ground. W

67、hen I reached the shore, I walked along the firm damp sand to the small pier that my father had built, and sat down there.” [3] Scrambling, steep path, sleeping and the fallen spruce needles that covered the ground, all

68、these words showed that the living environ</p><p>　　2.2.2 The Symbolism of the Spirit</p><p>　　The loons never appeared directly in the novel, and Laurence just described their voice constantly.

69、 Their ululating sound was a symbol of Piquette’s unceasing fight against society and destiny. The “ululating sound” was their criticism to the hurt of industrial civilization to their home, and the “coldness” in the voi

70、ce was their cry to the miserable destiny, which was like Piquette’s characters. The cry of the loons was a symbol of Metis’ fight against their marginalization in the white mainstr</p><p>　　In the story, th

71、e loon is to human is what Piquette is to white society. [8] Although their home was occupied by humans, they did not simply give up pursuing a piece of land appropriate to them. Just like the loons, Piquette did not yie

72、ld to their increasing marginalization, fighting against sense of belonging. No matter what the fight was, negative, active, or the extreme fight in the last, she never ceased it. Both Piquette and the loons are accorded

73、 in the pursuit of “the root”, and only Piqu</p><p>　　2.2.3 The Symbolism of the Ending</p><p>　　Both Piquette and the loons came to a tragic ending in a cruel society, though they both tried th

74、eir best to fight against the destiny.</p><p>　　When “nature” was irresistibly changed to “society” with the trend of industrial civilization, the loons lost their remaining land. Their reservation became a

75、prosperous resort, even the nights was just like daytime with the shinning neons. They could not survive in both space and time, so when coming to the Diamond Lake again, “I” never once heard that long-drawn call.</p&

76、gt;<p>　　The same with the loons, Piquette, with her own way, pursued the so-called love, dignity, and sense of belonging, but she chose a wrong way, in which she lost herself. She could not change the difference

77、in nature between the aboriginal people and the white people, and could not change the society with more serious racial discrimination. Finally, she was unable to integrate into the mainstream society, and lost her natio

78、nal soul, becoming a marginalized person in a marginalized nation. Her death</p><p>　　The loon is a kind of Canadian bird in danger, and their ululating sound and their destiny properly reflected living cond

79、itions of the Metis. Piquette’s short life represented the whole marginalized people. The symbolism of the loons makes the character more vivid and clear.</p><p>　　2.3 Pun in The Loons</p><p>　　

80、The feature of short stories is that the authors use dapper language to express deeper connotation. In The Loons, Laurence not only showed symbolism of the loons, also used many puns, which had the function of deeper sym

81、bolism and hint. The author shows several examples to express the functions of pun.</p><p>　　Piquette was picking up stones and snail shells and then dropping them again. “Who gives a good goddamn?”</p>

82、;<p>　　This sentence showed the marginalized condition of Piquette and the whole Metis. “Who gives a good goddamn?”, this sentence was not only a rebuff to me, also self-mockery. Nobody cared them, nor did themsel

83、ves. On the one hand, they were driven by white people to live in the marginalized place of cities, and their own national culture was gradually eroded by the suppression and assimilation of the government, so they had l

84、ow status in economy and politics, let alone their cultural status. The at</p><p>　　Galloping Mountain was now a national park, and Diamond Lake had been re-named Lake Wapakata, for it was felt that an India

85、n name would have a greater appeal to tourists.</p><p>　　Indian culture was once the mainstream culture in North America. With the invasion of European settlers, Indian culture gradually disappeared, only so

86、me distinctive surnames left. Superficially, “an Indian name would have a greater appeal to tourists” seemed that Canadian government paid attention to Indian culture, while in fact, it showed the devastating strike to n

87、ative American culture under the high-pressure cultural policy. As is said, a thing is valued if it is rare. Generally speaking, p</p><p>　　C. I did not know what had happened to the birds. Perhaps they had

88、gone away to some far place of belonging. Perhaps they had been unable to find such a place, and had simply died out, having ceased to care any longer whether they lived or not.</p><p>　　This sentence showed

89、 the ending of the loons directly, also implied the real reason for Piquette’s death. “Having ceased to care any longer whether they lived or not”, it seemed the author’s thinking about the real reason for Piquette’s dea

90、th. When “my” mother mentioned Piquette’s death, she just said “the shack caught fire”, which seemed an accident. But when not finding the loons for the second time in Diamond Lake, “I” had deep thinking about the destin

91、y of the loons and the real reason for P</p><p>　　Besides the three classic examples above, there are also a lot of words in the story showing different meanings, especially the description of the Tonnerres’

92、 living conditions at the beginning. “As the Tonnerres had increased, their settlement had been added to, until the clearing at the foot of the town hill was a chaos of lean-tos, wooden packing cases, warped lumber, disc

93、arded car types, ramshackle chicken coops, tangled strands of barbed wire and rusty tin cans.” [3] Laurence continuously us</p><p>　　In The Loons, Laurence showed Piquette’s contradictory and miserable life

94、with strong feelings and concise language, revealing the loons’ ecological tragedy, a girl’s tragedy even with constant fight against destiny, and an aboriginal nation’s tragedy in social marginalized conditions.</p&g

95、t;<p>　　3 The Deeper Cultural Connotation in The Loons</p><p>　　By the description of a short story in The Loons, Laurence revealed deep cultural connotation, within which post-colonial feminism and p

96、rotection of the ecological environment are the most important ones.</p><p>　　3.1 Post-colonial Feminism</p><p>　　Post-colonial feminism is a new academic school springing up in the 1980s, which

97、 began as criticism of both Western feminism and post-colonial theory. [12] Post-colonial feminist criticism holds the viewpoint that females were often subjected to what has been called “double oppression”, that is, the

98、y were discriminated not only for their position as colonized people but also as women. They must fight against gender discrimination as well as colonialism and racialism. Post-colonial feminists were</p><p>