A New Historical Approach To The Themes Of E. L. Doctorow’s The Book Of Daniel

Edgar Laurence Doctorow is a famous American novelist who occupies an importantposition in the history of American literature. As an expert in history and literature, E. L.Doctorow first completely exhibits his creating talents in The Book of Daniel, from whichDoctorow begins to emerge as a remarkable American writer. The Book of Daniel, a typicallyfictionalized construction of the trial and execution of the Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (theIsaacsons in the novel) for giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union during the Cold War,was published in1971. Doctorow reviews the history in his novels, which reflects theconfusion of the times and tries to touch the hearts of the readers. Therefore, Doctorow ispraised as one of the most imaginative and outstanding writers in America.This thesis would employ the theories of New Historicism, which was initiated in early1980s in America and Britain, to analyze the themes of The Book of Daniel. In The Book ofDaniel, various issues from the American society are presented vividly, including the effectsof radical political events on privates, the struggles of the immigrants, the serious inequalitybetween different races, female’s bitterness, the freaked boom of the capital society and themisery distorted humanity. No matter how bustling the surface of the society looks like,Doctorow commits to use his unique perspective to focus on the core issues of Americansociety. In The Book of Daniel, Doctorow imagines the fictional life of the historicalcharacters and firmly believes that whether it exists or not, it is the real revelation of thehistory.Structurally, this thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter One is a generalintroduction of the author Doctorow and his work The Book of Daniel. Chapter Twointroduces the literature research and review about Doctorow and the novel. Chapter Threefirstly presents the development of New Historicism, including three most famousrepresentatives of this theory and their contributions and then introduces the importantconcepts of New Historicism—“the historicity of texts” and “the textuality of history”,which make a theoretical preparation for the next three parts. Chapter Four firstly analyzesLouis Adrian Montrose’s historicist theory of “historicity of texts” and Doctorow’sconstruction of his texts in The Book of Daniel. Doctorow’s texts truly reflect the varioussocial and cultural conditions of the time, letting the readers have a new understanding ofhistory. Chapter Five analyzes Montrose’s historicist theory of “Textuality of history” andDoctorow’s construction of his history. Doctorow puts his figures into the real historicalevents in The Book of Daniel in order to inform the readers that history exists in various kindsof texts and the writers can participate in the history, which provides the readers a way to spiritual enhancement. The Conclusion systematically summarizes the themes of The Book ofDaniel. The history is elusive while the texts are subjective. No matter how ruthless the realityis, instead of escaping from the past, the best way is to learn to own a clear consciousness ofhistory and devote yourself to the creation of it. Doctorow’s coincidental representation andapplication of the new historical notions of “the historicity of texts” and “the textuality ofhistory” in The Book of Daniel makes him different from other contemporary Americannovelists.