Anxiety And Lostness

John Updike is one of the major contemporary American writers. He has produced many literary works, among which the Rabbit tetralogy wins many prestigious literary prizes and stands as his magnum opus. Updike is known for his realistic and subtle depiction of the American psyche in the latter half of the twentieth century. His fiction reveals his deep insight into the dilemma American middle class is confronted with. His subject is always some variations on the spiritual and communal enfeeblement of contemporary American society, particularly among the suburban middle class.Among his voluminous works, the Rabbit tetralogy is his most successful. First, anxiety and lostness lie at the core of modern American life and thread the Rabbit tetralogy. Existential anxiety serves as the motive that drives his hero to search for meaning in a meaningless universe. Besides, the classic American choice between individual freedom and social claims is posed once again. Second, the series exhibits a keen sense of the time, locality and life of contemporary America. By incorporating historical events into his fiction, Updike not only uses each Rabbit novel to record the tone of his decade, but also makes Harry Angstrom an emblem for his nation, culture and time. Consequently, the dilemma Rabbit is faced with is largely that of the society and culture.The thesis focuses on the anxiety of being which is reflected on Harry Angstrom, and the lostness he suffers due to dreams broken, vigor and vitality draining off, and the national spirit he prides himself on declining. Drawing on the fruit of Updikean critics, the writer in this thesis adopts the traditionally historical and cultural criticism to analyze the Rabbit Angstrom, with the purpose to give a more comprehensive reading of the spiritual, religious, sexual, and mental progress and volatile changes from the 1950s to the 1980s...