The Analysis Of The Growth Theme From The Perspective Of Duration In Flowers In The Attic And Petals On The Wind

V.C.Andrews is one of the bestselling novelists in the last twenty years of the 20 th century.Shortly after it was published,her book,Flowers in the Attic,ranked fourth on the best seller lists,shortly after it was published.Petals on the Wind,the sequel to Flowers in the Attic,remained on the New York Times best-seller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks,ranking highest at Number 1.These two novels had sold over seven million copies in only two years.Her five novels have been adapted into films,including Flowers in the Attic,Petals on the Wind,If There be Thorns,Seeds of Yesterday,My Sweet Audrina.The first official stage production of Flowers in the Attic was announced in 2015.The world premiere of the stage production ran in August in the same year in New Orleans.Andrews' novels attracted readers at different age levels since they presented a variety of themes,among which was female growth.The theme of female growth has always been a distinctive feature of Andrews' s works.Although her novels have attracted the attention of some critics abroad,no in-depth study of her works has been reported.At the same time,the domestic scholars have not yet carried their own studies on her works.Therefore,this study is to present this attempt by analyzing the growth theme in Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind from the perspective of duration based on the narratological theory of Gérard Genette.This study started the growth theoretical analysis from four parts: Chapter One presented the methodology of this thesis,including a brief introduction of V.C.Andrews' s life and her works,research background,current researches(both at home and abroad,)research significance,and research methods(as well as the main framework.)In Chapter Two,the main concepts related to duration were defined.In Chapter Three,the four basic forms of narrative movements of duration and the growth theme were classified and delineated by analyzing Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind;simultaneously the dynamic relations between them were also discussed.Chapter Four summarized the study,revealed the value of youth groups' cultural studies in Andrews' works,(especially discussed its influence under the context of multiculturalism.)Hence,this thesis asserted,by applying duration to the analysis of growth theme in these two novels,which Andrews' artistic skills were unique in the aspect where this theme was elaborated.At the same time,the analysis concluded the everyday life philosophy of the youth groups of 1970s-1990 s,which demonstrated a new stage of American multiculturalism.In this sense,it would shed light on the study of sub-cultural studies of American youth groups.