Antagonism And Dialogue:Identity Construction Under The Influence Of "Others" In The Aristos

The Aristos (1964) is a nonfiction work written by the English writer John Fowles. Different from his fictions like The French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Collector and The Magus, The Aristos has been frequently seen as a handbook, lack of sufficient study in the academic circle. This thesis will summarize Fowles’s ideas and make a study on identity construction in The Aristos by employing Bakthin’s dialogic theory. This thesis consists of five parts.The introductory part briefly introduces the structure of the thesis and Bakhtin’s dialogics, and then gives a brief review of the study on John Fowles’s main works.Chapter One explores the antagonism in self identity. In The Aristos the antagonism is reflected in the relationship of "self’ and "others" as well as the different faces of self. Anxieties of living lead to antagonism in life, and antagonism permeates in dissatisfaction with life.Chapter Two explores the dialogue in self identity. People adhere to the recognition and approval of the outer-world to attest their own existence, so that "others" is a vital reference to the construction of self identity. The conflicts between self and other, the struggling between "I" and nemo are always being there. It is dialogue that can effectively bridge the gaps and eventually help to accomplish the construction of self identity.Chapter Three explores the aristo-ness in self identity. The aristo-ness manifests in the construction of internal self, social self and creative self. In the moral, social and artistic dimensions, Fowles points out how to prove one’s existence by overcoming the emptiness in the core. Fowles’s dialogic thoughts show his unique understanding of the literary, social and human predicaments in contemporary age, and provide a basis for constructing self identity and social organizations.The concluding part emphasizes that the realization of identity construction depends upon the antagonism and dialogue between self and other. As a serious creative artist, Fowles adopts a dialogic posture and finally reaches a dynamic balance between conflicting elements. This dialogic thought of Fowles forms a consistent basis for his philosophy, art and literary creation.