An Exploration Of The Violent Bear It Away From The Perspective Of Posthumanism

American writer Flannery O’Connor wrote her second novel The Violent Bear It Away in1960. Nowadays this novel is considered as O’Connor’s best novel and has attractedattentions from critics and the public. This novel is mainly about the story of the14-year-oldFrancis Tarwater. As an orphan, Francis lives with his great-uncle, Mason Tarwater, whoclaims that Francis will become a prophet. After the death of this old man, Francis Tarwaterhas to live with his uncle, Rayber. As a schoolteacher, Rayber defies the prophecy and triesnot to let Francis baptize his young son, Bishop. A serious of struggles ensues as Francisfights against his innate faith while Rayber tries to draw him into a more “reasonable” modernworld. Through the analysis of the main characters, this thesis discusses their fragmented andalienated lives in the post-modern society.Scholars abroad or at home study the novel mainly from the perspective of religion andGothic features, etc. However, posthumanism is a new attempt to have a deep understandingof this novel. According to posthumanists, human beings are no longer the center of the wholeworld, and human beings can’t control either their own bodies or their hearts. They are livingmeaninglessly and helplessly in the postmodern world. The main concepts of posthumanisminclude the fragmentation and alienation of posthuman beings. And Posthumansits also claimthat God is also no longer the center of the world. The themes of The Violent Bear It Awayhave similarities to the main ideas of posthumanism. Therefore, this thesis intends to analyzeThe Violent Bear it Away from the perspective of posthumanism.This thesis is divided into six parts: a general introduction, four main-body chapters anda conclusion.Introduction part provides a brief account of the author, Flannery O’Connor, the plot summery of the novel, as well as a literature review. In the end of this part, it clarifies theoriginality of using the theory of posthumanism to analyze this novel and the significance ofthis thesis.Chapter One mainly makes a study of the development of theory of posthumanism andintroduces the main concepts of this theory. Chapter Two centers on the fragmentation of themain characters. Bishop is a disabled child and his physical fragmentation is a typicalexample to show the whole society’s “flesh-eating” phenomenon, which was popular in the1960s. Francis Tarwater is a typical character, who suffers “cybernetic anxiety”, whichultimately leads to his mental fragmentation. Chapter Three mainly discusses the alienation inthis novel. The main characters in the novel feel alienated, meaningless and helpless, becausethey suffer the alienation between man and self, man and man, as well as man and the society.Chapter Four is mainly about the deconstruction of the religion. In the novel, the twobaptisms and Francis’ dark faith reflect O’Connor’s uncertainty towards the religion. Shealso deconstructs God by emphasizing the presence of the Evil.The conclusion summarizes the consistency between the theory of posthumanism andtheme of the novel The Violent Bear It Away. It points out that this novel exemplifiesO’Connor’s consideration of posthuman beings’ spiritual crisis and her pursuit of healthyhuman nature in the discourse of posthumanism.