Stagnated Stream Of Time

Conjuring myriad images:brilliant scholar, eccentric writer, erudite lexicographer, dramatist, critics, Dr. Samuel Johnson composed his most extensive philosophical novel in 1759-The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia in which he arranged multitudinous thoughts such as optimism, romanticism. In addition, many issues of life are examined in it, including happiness, marriage, education, death and so on. Meritoriously, while exposing various forms of life and different thoughts, Johnson's outlook on these subjects in Rasselas is positive, sharp, and not biased.Though this novel has received much critical attention, especially the last chapter which is titled with "The conclusion, in which nothing is concluded" has been covered and investigated by many critics, the present thesis below tends to concentrate on the "stagnated stream of time" in Rasselas, which has received less critical attention both from abroad and home. Through a perusal of Rasselas in the background of his biography, his other works, and philosophy of time by Martin Heidegger, this thesis aims to give a full picture of Jonson's convictions of time in Rasselas.The introduction first points out the relative background knowledge of Johnson and Rasselas which is followed by the review of relative literature made by critics and scholars from abroad and home. Through collating the remarks and commentaries, the thesis finds out that among the immense body of scholarship surrounding Rasselas, research into stagnant time of Rasselas is absent. Carrying out this exploration is very necessary and important in revealing Jonson's insight into time and life. Intensified efforts are made through elaborating from different aspects such as narrative time, history time and philosophy.Next, in Chapter One, an extensive and systematic study of Rasselas's life in the Happy Valley enables us to see time's important position in the text. Then, the thesis contemplates the inner core of narrative and an inner pattern emerging out of this work and examines the significance of conversations in Rasselas with reference to Bakhtin's theory of conversation in Chapter Two. In Chapter Three, associated with Martin Heidegger's outlook of being and time, history time in Rasselas is explored and examined with great efforts. Finally, in Chapter Four, through classifying the treasure in Rasselas, this thesis brings forward three sorts of treasure-time, desire and memory and then emphasizes the integral of past, present and future.The whole thesis is summed together in the last part-the conclusion. And this chapter points out the positive impact and significance of time in Rasselas and attributes the prince's depression and sorrow to the stagnant time in the Happy Valley. Life is a journey without end; correspondingly, history is a stream without end in time. In order to keep Rasselas's history flowing along this trend, he embarks on a journey outside the Happy Valley.