| Stephen King is one of the most successful writers in contemporary America who is highly reputed as having a remarkable talent for writing best-selling gothic fictions. However, gothic fictions have long been contemptuously regarded as something superficial, merely concerning horror, death, murder and suffering.This thesis aims to eliminate people's misunderstanding of gothic fiction by exploring the aesthetic values of Stephen King's Pet Sematary. The whole thesis is based on two theories: the aesthetic theory of the sublime and the aesthetic theory of tragedy. Theoretically, the aesthetic category is not limited pure beauty, but touches upon things that are seemingly not beautiful.People's fear of death, gloomy and terrifying scenes, and grotesque and dreadful animals are three major sources of the sublime in Pet Sematary. Meanwhile, the destruction of Louis's family is considered to be the source of tragic aesthetics and will arouse the readers'intense fear and compassion. |
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