On Aesthetical Characteristics And Critical Thinking Of Susan Sontag’s Novels

Susan Sontag is one of the most notable critics of America in present days. In western literature, her active identities are considered as literary critic, novelist, film writer, director, social activist, etc. With her influences in phylosophy, cultural studies, literature, photography, dramaturgy and politics, all subjects she has concerned about were causing large responses.The criticism of Sontag, which is the most attention of literary studies, is accounting for a large proportion in her achievement, and her novels often are secondary. But actually, her four novels and a collection of short stories should be treated in a equal standing and studied comparatively with her criticism because of independent profound significance of her narrative works. This article takes Sontag’s novels as key point, follows characteristic of her narrative form which suggests her literary critical thinking and borrowed ideas from literary movements of past decades, and combining her criticism, analyzes some details through close reading. By discussing relationship between her narrative works and thinking of her period, we can appreciate Sontag’s novels in an aesthetical way and understand her critical thinking which hidden behind the narrative fully and objectively.