| Systemic Functional Grammar, a linguistic theory founded by the British linguist M. A. K. Halliday, is composed of Systemic Grammar and Functional Grammar which are two closely connected and inseparable parts in the overall framework of the linguistic theory. The core of Systemic Functional Grammar is Metafunction Theory, which is about the functions of language. In 1968, Halliday firstly put forward the four functions in Systemic Grammar, that are experiential function, logical function, discoursal function and interpersonal function; in 1970, he amended the original functions and defined the functions of language as ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function, which constitute Metafunction Theory.Metafunction Theory classifies the specific functions of language into limited abstract and general categories, and has received extremely wide attention since it was founded. It has been studied by many foreign and domestic researchers from the aspects of theoretical study and practical application. In terms of theoretical study, the studies mainly focus on the explanation and further development of the theory; in terms of practical application, the studies explore the practical value of the theory and employ it to various fields, such as language teaching, translation study and discourse analysis. These studies have got significant achievements, laid solid foundation for theoretical development and promote the practical application of the theory.As one of the most important American writers in the 20 th century, Carson McCullers is considered to be a representative of the American Southern female writers. Her representative works include four novels, which are The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Reflections in a Golden Eye, The Member of the Wedding and Clock without Hands, and a novella The Ballad of the Sad Café. Regarded as the most mature work of McCullers, The Member of the Wedding is set in a small town of Southern America and tells a story about a twelve years old girl Frankie who is fed up with the boring summer life and tries her best to change her living state. It covers the themes of solitude and isolation, female initiation, search for self-identity and family-affection deficiency. Since it was published, it has been highly praised because of its artistic achievement. Many foreign and domestic studies of the novel have been conducted from the aspects of the theme of loneliness, gothic style, gender identity, and have achieved abundant and significant research fruits. However, the previous studies are limited mainly to the perspective of literary criticism. The study from the linguistic perspective, especially from the aspect of Metafunction Theory, has not yet appeared. As for the thematic research, most of the studies focus on a certain theme. There are few studies which comprehensively explore and analyze the themes of the novel. In order to appreciate the artistic achievement of The Member of the Wedding from a new perspective and make better understanding of the novel, the thesis will clearly and objectively interpret the themes of the novel from the aspects of ideational, interpersonal and textual functions and explore how the themes are achieved through the functions of language. The basic approach is that the thesis takes Halliday’s Metafunction Theory as theoretical framework, selects the texts from the aspects of character, plot, sound and environment, and conducts metafunctional interpretation of the themes through the analysis of the texts. The texts for ideational interpretation are the descriptions about characters’ behaviour, psychological activity and verbal process; for interpersonal interpretation are mainly the conversations in the novel; for textual interpretation are the depictions related to sound and environment.In terms of the overall structure, the ideational, interpersonal and textual interpretations of the selected texts make the themes of The Member of the Wedding interpreted more objectively and clearly. In terms of the concrete analyses, the theme of solitude and isolation is mainly achieved by ideational and textual functions; the female initiation theme by ideational and interpersonal functions; the theme of searching for self-identity by ideational function and the theme of family-affection deficiency by interpersonal function. The thesis applying Metafunction Theory to the thematic study of The Member of the Wedding can expand the research perspective of the novel and offer the reference for the research on McCullers’ other works. Moreover, the feasibility and superiority of applying Metafunction Theory to study the themes of the novel are verified, which can promote the application and development of the theory in the research on the themes of the literary works. Although the thesis obtains some findings, it is inevitably limited in some aspects, such as the application of the theory, text selection, text analysis and so on. Therefore, further research is also needed to improve the limitations of the thesis and interpret the themes of the novel more thoroughly.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One covers the introduction of Carson McCullers and The Member of the Wedding, Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar and Metafunction Theory as well as the research motivation, significance and general organization of the thesis. Chapter Two is on literature review, which summarizes and reviews the domestic and foreign studies on Carson McCullers, The Member of the Wedding and Halliday’s Metafunction Theory as well as the limitations of the current studies and the suggestions for the future research. Chapter Three deals with the theoretical framework and research methodology, which makes a detailed introduction on Metafunction Theory and the methodology adopted in the thesis so as to provide the theoretical basis and methodology instruction for the research. Chapter Four is the major part of the thesis, which analyzes the selected texts from the aspects of ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function to objectively manifest how the themes of the novel are realized through the functions of language. Chapter Five is conclusion, which summarizes the major findings, limitations of the thesis as well as the suggestions for further research. |
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