An Interpretation Of The Spectator Bird From The Perspective Of Meta-theories Of Ecological Psychology

As one of the famous western novelists in contemporary America, Wallace Stegner has wonthe Pulitzer Prize for his Angle of Repose in1971. The Spectator Bird (1976) is one of the worksin his later years, and won him an American National Award in1976. The most significantcontribution of Wallace Stegner is that by writing his literary works, he appeals to the readers forthe attention to the deteriorated environment and readjust the relationship between men andnature. As a result, he was called as the “conservationist”. Almost all of his works are involvedwith the environmental protection in the West. The Spectator Bird is Stegner’s beloved andelaborate work in his later part of life. Like his other works, this novel also takes the AmericanWest as the background. Despite the peaceful retired life, there is a careful deliberation for thefuture of men and the nature.From the Wildness Letter (1960) to The Spectator Bird (1976), Stegner always took therelation between humanity and the nature into consideration. And the integrity of men andenvironment is the foundation of ecological psychology. Judging from this aspect, it is a correctchoice to analyze the novel with the meta-theories of ecological psychology, which was onceremarked by Stegner himself that “nobody under fifty is competent to review that magnificentbook” in the letter to his agent. The theoretic study of the thesis includes the domesticpsychologists Qin Xiaoli and Yi Fang’s work on integrating and reconstructing the distinguishedtheories of ecological psychology. Although the research branches of ecological psychology varyfrom one to another, they share some common theories, which are referred as the “meta-theoriesof ecological psychology” by Professor Qin Xiaoli in his Ecological Psychology (2006).The textual analysis of this novel contains psychological analysis of the main characters andthe main scenes. The protagonist and narrator Joe Allston has appeared in some earlier works ofStegner. To some degree, he is the embodiment of Stegner’s life experience and ideas. Study onthe psychological process of Joe Allston could help us comprehend the intention and thoughts ofWallace Stegner. The psychological analysis of Astrid, Landgreve and Eigil further explains theview of ecological psychology in this novel. And with the meta-theories of ecologicalpsychology, it is convenient to distinguish the differences among the main characters’psychological processes, which lead to the endless tragedy in this family. In the part of analysisof the main scenes, it’s divided into two parts, analysis of natural scenes and analysis of socialscenes. Both of them help to comprehend the characters’ psychology and the author’s creatingintention. The themes of the novel could be concluded into three parts: the first is about the agingproblem and Americans’(especially the literary scholars) nostalgia for the European Old Worldsystem; the second is the secret of happy marriage; the last is about the contradiction between themodern science and traditional faith. Studying on the anxiety and rage of the destruction of thenature and the deteriorated relationship between men and environment, Stegner deliberates overmen’s future and tries to answer the questions: how to conceptualize men’s position in nature?How to get the modern people away out of the predicament of spiritual emptiness? Where are wegoing? At the time of rapid expansion of science technology, Stegner reveals the vanity and voidbehind the booming society, and reconsiders the human beings’ future with an ecological sense.His ecological idea reflected in his novel has left an important inspirational influence on theadjustment of relationship between men and environment at contemporary society.