An Analysis Of The Member Of The Wedding From The Perspective Of Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a story about the teenagers’ initiation. Through the narration of theinitiation experiences of one or more characters, the novel reflects the process of theirmental maturity. Although Bildungsroman is a traditional genre, it has significantinfluence on people’s life. The youth is a mirror of the society, and their living conditionsand spiritual outlook is the reflection of their age. Through them, people can examinethemselves and the society.The Member of the Wedding is the most mature work of Carson McCullers, aprominent woman writer of American South. This novel is about the initiation of aimaginative twelve-year-old girl Frankie. At the meantime, it explores the turbulence ofAmerican society and the alienation and loneliness of modern people. Since itspublication, the novel has won numerous acclaims and widespread concern.This thesis is intended to give an analysis of The Member of the Wedding from theperspective of Bildungsroman.This thesis is divided into three parts: an introduction, the main body and theconclusion.The introduction part gives a brief introduction of the author’s life experiences andher major works, the novel’s main plot and current research status. The current researcheson The Member of the Wedding are mainly on the theme and writing style of this novel.Seldom has it been studied from the perspective of Bildungsroman. Its value as a typicalBildungsroman is ignored. Therefore, this thesis will have a detailed analysis of the novelfrom the perspective of Bildungsroman. It will not only analyze the novel according tothe basic features of Bildungsroman, but will also point out its unique features. Thisthesis hopes to enrich the research on the novel and do some contribution to the researchand development of Bildungsroman in China.The main body of the thesis is divided into three chapters. Its main content is asfollows.The first chapter is a brief summarization of the development and the basic featuresof Bildungsroman. This chapter constructs a theoretical framework for the followingstudy.“Initiation”, as a common cultural phenomenon and an important experience ofhuman beings, is one of the most important research objects of literature, especially of the novels. The Bildungsroman originated in Germany, and is regarded as the mostimportant contribution of Germany to the novel genre. The Bildungsroman underwentflourishment in England and became prosperous in America. After more than twohundred years of evolution, Bildungsroman as a genre gradually became mature andformed three basic features in character molding, structure and content.The second chapter analyzes the novel from the three basic features ofBildungsroman. That is, the character molding, the narrative structure and the content ofthe novel. In terms of character molding, the novel has three kinds of characters oftypical Bildungsroman: the protagonist, the initiation guides and the initiationcompanions; in terms of structure, this novel follows the basic plot pattern ofBildungsroman, and its ending and narrative points of view correspond with the featuresof Bildungsroman; in terms of content, it contains the autobiographical elements of theauthor, and the protagonist’s initiation and alienation from the living environment, whichare also the basic features of Bildungsroman. Therefore, based on the above analysis, itcan be concluded that The Member of the Wedding is a typical Bildungsroman.The third chapter discusses the unique features of the novel, including the gothicelements, the androgyny of the protagonist and the peculiar metaphors and symbols.The conclusion part summarizes the basic features of Bildungsroman the novelreflects, and the uniqueness of the novel. The Member of the Wedding not only does somecontribution to the development of Bildungsroman, but also reflects the loneliness andalienation of modern people, which is still worth contemplation of people today.