The New Gothicism In The Shawshank's Redemption By Stephen King

From the perspective of weirdness and gothic contradiction, the thesis studied The Shawshank's Redemption by Stephen Edwin King. Besides the traditional features such as darkness, death, decay and madness, peculiarity is just the most prominent feature of this new Gothic fiction. It seems that most people pay more attention to the metaphorical meaning of the novella and the hero from the perspective of myth archetype. Simultaneously, few people observe the fiction is an uncanny and weird story filling with gay sexual promiscuity. As a great new gothic writer, King uses this kind of work to lead the trend of new gothic novels. Being a grand writer of horror-fiction, King had created plenty of short stories and sixty books by the year of 2000 in the course of his writing career. In the whole American publishing history, it is truly a wonder. Stephen was honored the 2003 medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the 54th National Book Awards Ceremony, though he has been awarded lots of regards and laurels. In making the announcement on behalf of the Board of Directors, Neil Baldwin, executive director of the Foundation, made a comment that Stephen King's writing was securely rooted in the great American tradition. His work glorifies the spirit-of-place and the abiding power of narrative. He crafts stylish, mind-bending page-turners that contain profound moral truths-some beautiful, some harrowing-about our inner lives.Compared with Stephen King's works or the plenty of money he has got, his another attraction is the Gothicism in his novel. He has incorporated into his imitable art that is the very embodiment of a postmodernist aesthetic. The unprecedented levels of readership and media attention have been matched with critical enthusiasm. These critics evaluate and judge each of Stephen's work in micro and macro perspectives. In Shawshank's Redemption, from new Gothic angle, King showed the readers the hero Andy's miraculous fugitive and especially the spirit of perseverance and patience. It is necessary to make a thorough investigation and study on Shawshank's Redemption to learn how the ample expression of the originality of new Gothic in Shawshank's Redemption gives readers a new insight into contemporary American society and culture. However, critics did not do so. Therefore, it is the author's intention in this thesis to explore the themes from the angle of new Gothic and to discuss the new Gothic world unfolded in Shawshank's Redemption in comparison with Gothic tradition.This thesis consists of five parts, with three chapters coming between the introduction and conclusion.Chapter One deals with Gothic tradition of American literature and Stephen King's new Gothicism. It is analyzed from three aspects: gothic tradition of American literature, the influence of gothic tradition of American literature on King and his new Gothicism. In the Chapter Two, the thesis mainly focuses on the Gothic elements in the novel. This chapter consists of two sections: the Stephen King-styled horror and absurd living circumstances.Chapter Three analyzes the Gothic conflicts in the novel: humanity and autocracy, freedom and imprisonment and hope and institutionalization.This essay reveals the specific artistic charm in his work and provides the reader with a new view to interpret Stephen King's work and through the detailed discussion of various aspects of Stephen King's new Gothic world, with the hope to reveal the apparent changes that new Gothic stresses on, from the vital events such as history, culture and political institutions to the weak individuals. One origin of this transformation is that when an old literature tradition continues in a new era, it must blend conventions with inventions to keep abreast of the times. What is more, the modern world shows the solicitude for human beings. Thus it is exposed that human soul is deep in confusion after its desires of material life are satisfied in a prosperous society. In a word, in the heart of Stephen's new Gothicism is a profound awareness of the most emotional and deep-seated American anxieties. Behind the absurdity and terror, his world mirrors the problems of America. Only from the sobering perspective is a reader fully capable of experiencing the true torment of contemporary American society.