On The Theme Of Initiation In Ian Mcewan's Fictions

Ian McEwan is one of the most influential writers in contemporary Britain.Ian McEwan's works have greatly changed in aspects of motif,subject,style,etc.However complex and diverse the motifs and subjects of McEwan's works are,the theme of initiation is carried through most of his works.Notwithstanding that,the connotation changes through different periods of his writing.Ian McEwan's works can be divided into two periods.The works before and after the novel The Child in Time are greatly different from each other in aspects of subject,style,characters,etc.The works are mainly short stories in the earliest period,and there are some common features among them.The characters in the collection First Love,Last Rite are mostly adolescents who are on the road to maturity;the subject of each story involves fierce ethical problems such as incest,indecency,and murder.To conclude,the initiation of the adolescents in these stories are abnormal at different levels,and we can see similar problems in McEwan's later works.The Cement Garden not only represents the characters who are in difficulties with their developments,but also links to the matter of family order.In this novel,when the old order is destroyed,a new order is then re-established;this kind of new order greatly contradicts and clashes with ethical order in the outside world,thus results in a great tragedy of personal growth.In the novel The Child in Time,and after,the theme of initiation is no longer just about the initiation of juveniles,but about every individual that lives in this society.The characters in the later period grow up in a broader environment than that in the earlier period;the subjects are more diverse and multiple,too.the theme of initiation in Black Dogs are about relations between initiation and history.It explores what history has impact on common people,and what it means to.The later work Atonement digs deeper into historical issues,and focus on ethical problems in a deeper sense.The Children Act,which ostensibly is about the confrontations between religious belief and secular spirit,actually reveals the relations between belief and initiation.The three cases mentioned in this novel reflect the difficulties that individuals will have when facing choice from more than one spiritual beliefs at different stages.What causes the Adam's death is not only the religious belief,but also the society itself.All in all,the theme of initiation of Ian McEwan's fictions relate to all aspects of society objectives,including ethical taboo,history event,family life,religious belief,etc.Although McEwan's works have greatly changed all-through his writing,the focus on the relationship between the individual and the society never changes.the theme of initiation of western novels can be traced to traditions centuries ago;it has changed through a long history,whose values and expressions is proved to be increasingly multiple and diverse,the theme of initiation of McEwan's fictions to a large extent have proved that trend,but on the other hand,it presents it's own unique characteristics.