A Study Of Narrative Ethics In Martin McDonagh’s The Leenane Trilogy

Martin McDonagh is a contemporary Irish writer.His masterpiece The Leenane Trilogy(The Beauty Queen of Leenane,A Skull in Connemara,The Lonesome West)has distinct ethical dimensions in both story and narration,showing the writer’s concern for reality through narrative ethics.This master’s thesis interprets the trilogy from the perspective of narrative ethics.The introduction introduces Martin McDonagh and his masterpiece The Leenane Trilogy,explains the research value and significance,reviews the research status of McDonagh’s drama and narrative ethics at home and abroad and clarifies the research ideas and methods.The first chapter mainly clarifies the realistic ethical context of the trilogy,including two aspects: the ethical context of contemporary Ireland and the ethical context of narrative criticism.The first section summarizes the ethical dilemma of contemporary Ireland in reference to Irish history.The second section introduces the critical paradigm of narrative ethics on the basis of James Phelan’s rhetorical narrative theory,and explains two important concepts: narrative progression and narrative judgment.The second chapter mainly analyzes the story ethics in The Leenane Trilogy.The story ethics is embodied in the disintegration of traditional ethical values,which is manifested in the disintegration of family ethics,community ethics and religious ethics in The Beauty Queen of Leenane,A Skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West respectively.This is the epitome of Irish social ethical dilemma in the era of post-colonialism and globalization.And it also shows the contradiction,confusion and hope of Irish people in their pursuit of self-belonging and identity confirmation.The third chapter mainly discusses the narrative ethics in The Leenane Trilogy.The ethical analysis of the trilogy is presented through the confrontation and dialogue between the undertakers of narrative ethics in the narrative progression,which is embodied in the ethical communication and ethical judgment among the implied author,the narrator,the narratee,the implied reader and the real reader.Based on this,the first part of this chapter explores the aesthetic style of the trilogy’s narrative ethics,which is reflected in two aspects: violent narrative and the integration of comic factors.The second part is based on the specific narrative progression of The Beauty Queen of Leenane,A skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West,studies the narrative strategies adopted in each play and analyzes the ethical effects of each narrative strategy on different subjects such as implied author,so as to explore McDonagh’s ethical appeal and narrative purpose.The conclusion points out that McDonagh’s The Leenane Trilogy is a reflection of contemporary Irish social reality and the trilogy reflects McDonagh’s sense of social responsibility.McDonagh compels readers to reflect on reality and themselves through his strong artistic stimulation.