A Study Of Foxfire:Confessions Of A Girl Gang From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Foxfire:Confessions of a Girl Gang depicts a girl gang called Foxfire,whose members fight violently against patriarchal oppression and social inequality but end up with self-destruction due to their violation of laws.Various ethical relations,ethical predicaments and ethical conflicts are presented in this novel.This thesis intends to study the novel from the perspective of ethical literary criticism,for few scholars have studied the novel from this approach.The thesis focuses on analyzing the human-other relationship(the ethical relationship between men and women,between Foxfire sisters and between family members)and the human-society relationship in the novel,so as to reveal the ethical situation of American society in the 1950s and ethical appeals of the novel.First,the thesis discusses the ethical relationship between men and women.It analyses the(?)olent confrontation between two(?)s and the female violence described in the novel and explores the reasons behind them.The adverse impact of violence on men-women relationship is also studied.Meanwhile,it also reveals the psychological estrangement between two sexes,including patriarchal prejudice against women and the Foxfire girls'burning hatred for men.All these lead to the distorted male-female relationship.Second,the thesis probes into the ethical relationship between Foxfire girls,namely,the Foxfire sisterhood.Foxfire sisterhood has the power of healing the pain,helps the girls to voice their wills and gradually awake to revolt against the patriarchy.However,sisterhood is also an exclusive relationship,which hinders the girls to develop ethical relationships with others.Moreover,Foxfire sisterhood cannot break through the restrictions of races and classes.Third,this thesis discusses the ethical relationship between Foxfire girls' family members.The absence of family love and good role models exert negative impacts on the girls' ethical growth.In the loveless relationship,both parents and children cannot assume their due ethical Obligations.Therefore,the loveless relationship results in family traumas,children's distorted ethical views and their ethical problems.Lastly,the thesis explores the human-society relationship in the novel.In modern American society.the injustice of the justice system and the money-oriented viewpoint lead to people's alienation,moral decay and moral crisis,which reveal the effects of social environments on the construction of individuals' ethics.The thesis interprets Foxfire from the perspective of ethical litcraiy criticism.It helps readers understand the ethical chaos of American society in the 1950's depicted in the novel,and Oates's ethical thoughts and appeals for the reconstruction of harmonious ethical relationships.