A Study On Indirect Directives In Moment In Peking

Indirect directives refer to the cases in which one directive is performed indirectly by ways of performing another illocutionary act. Since Searle puts forward the indirect speech act theory, the study of indirect directives has become the hot point in linguists’ researches. They are very common phenomena in communication. For some reasons, speakers often intentionally give their directives in indirect ways.As Lin Yutang’s masterpiece, Moment in Peking has great literary and cultural values, which has been widely studied by scholars. Some study the relationship between Moment in Peking and A Dream of Red Mansion. Some discuss the subject and the philosophic views of Moment in Peking. Some make a research on its cultural value and female images. However, previous studies on Moment in Peking pay less attention to research on its use of indirect directives. In the novel, a large number of indirect directives are used in its characters’ utterances, which are very worth doing a research on their usage.This thesis uses Searle’s indirect speech act theory to study the indirect directives in Moment in Peking, focuses on analyzing the use of indirect requests, indirect orders, indirect advice and indirect invitations, discusses their different types and characters’motivations for using these indirect directives, and explores their literary functions in the novel, including depicting various characters and reflecting Chinese traditional culture.To sum up, by the study on indirect directives in Moment in Peking, it helps us to deepen our understanding of indirect directives in literary works, and benefits us to appreciate Lin Yutang’s outstanding talent of his language expression as the "Great Master of Language".