The Origin And Modern Transmutation Of Male Cinderella

British literature appeared a series of young writers in1950s, whosewritings successfully reflected the postwar life. The young men had never experiencedthe flourishing age of Great Britain, but suffered her decline. They were called AngryYoung Men, and their works covered from drama to fiction. Kingsley Amis, John Wain,John Braine and Alan Sillitoe were the outstanding representatives of them. Their worksexposed British society and the class contradictions, which was not only of greatsignificance, but also emphasized in British history. Taking the leading characters fromthe four writings, That Uncertain Feeling from Kingsley Amis, Hurry On Down fromJohn Wain, Room At The Top from John Braine, and Saturday Night and SundayMorning as research objects, this thesis aims to trace back to the cultural origin of thearchetype Cinderella and its modern transmutation, from the perspective of MaleCinderella which symbolizes their identity.The thesis consists of five parts. Introduction mainly defines Male Cinderella andAngry Young Men and the relationship between them, and proposes the new angle ofCinderella’s modernization on the basis of the current research. The second partexplores the reasons of Male Cinderella’s appearances with the archetypal criticismtheory, from the points of historical background, self-reflection and aesthetic tendency.The third part focuses on the reconstruction of the modern image of Male Cinderella,combined with the cultural modernization. The fourth part analyzes the MaleCinderella’s modern fate of rationality and irrationality. The conclusion summarizes the Male Cinderella’s archetype and their modern transmutation in Angry Young Men’swritings.