A Study Of Them From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Joyce Carol Oates is an outstanding contemporary female writer in America. Her workshave won lots of awards and she has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature formany times. As a diligent and prolific writer, she has published plenty of novels, short stories,poems and literary essays, as well as plays and movie scripts. Her plays have been staged inBroadway theater of New York City. Her greatest achievement lies in novel writing. Most ofher works reflect the dark side of contemporary American society and the people’s living andspiritual condition. them is Oates’ famous novel. After its publication in1969, it wonAmerican National Book Award in1970. The novel tells the main characters’ living andspiritual condition as well as their dauntless struggle in predicament. This thesis applies theethical literary criticism to the analysis of the ethical and moral problems implied in the novelfrom three aspects: human-society relationship, human-other relationship and human-selfrelationship. By exploring the ethical factors in them from the three aspects, we can find outOates’ ethical ideas and draw a conclusion that Oates has made contribution to theconstruction of humanistic spirit in the contemporary society.This thesis consists of five parts.The introduction offers a brief account of Oates’ life, her works and the novel them.Next, it explains the theory of ethical literary criticism, including the background, definitionand representative theorists. Finally, it provides a literature review and points out theoriginality of the thesis in analyzing them from the perspective of ethical literary criticism.Chapter one explores in detail Joyce Carol Oates’ ethical idea of pursuing truth in termsof human-society relationship in them. The main characters desire and pursue a happy life, buttheir sweet dreams for a good life are always shattered by the harsh social reality. They aretortured mentally and physically and live in agony, despair, terror and anxiety. Through the tragic life of the main characters in a violent and unjust society, Oates tells people the truth:the relationship between humans and society must be harmonious. In such a case, humans canlive a happy life and develop their talents.Chapter two focuses on Oates’ ethical idea of pursuing good in terms of human-otherrelationship. In them, Oates mainly describes hostile family relationship, which causes thephysical and mental trauma to family members. In Wendall family, there is no love,communication, trust and respect, but quarrel, insult, curse and even violence between familymembers. Oates’ concern for family relationship reveals her admiration for good in differentforms, such as love, respect and trust. Only the good in human-other relationship can makepeople achieve happiness and the harmony of mind and body.Chapter three explores Oates’ ethical idea of pursuing sublimation in terms ofhuman-self relationship. The hero keeps optimistic in dilemma and persists in pursuing hisfreedom and dream. In patriarchal society, the two heroines are subjected to male violenceand miserable marriage and gradually lose self-consciousness. However, they are notdestroyed spiritually and their sufferings make them awaken to root of their tragic life. Thenthey rebel against ethical and moral values of patriarchal society and try to achieveself-independence and self-construction. At last, they survive the harsh reality and arrangetheir lives according to their own will. The main characters’ experiences contain Oates’ ethicaland moral values in terms of human-self relationship: optimism, self-awakening, self-independence and self-construction.The conclusion makes a summary of the ethical and moral factors in the novel andannotates Oates’ moral belief and ethical pursuit: harmony, love, care, trust, respect, optimism,independence and so on. We can come to a conclusion that Joyce Carol Oates has contributeda lot to the construction of humanistic spirit in the contemporary society.