"Contemporary Don Quixote" Constructed By Language

Javier Cercas is a representative of the "Third Generation" writers after the Spanish Civil War.The novel El Impostor was published in 2014,continuing his "non-fiction" creative style and reviewing the life experience and thoughts of the famous Spanish liar,Enric Marco.Taking El Impostor as the object of study,this thesis interprets the formation mechanism of the pseudo-hero image constructed by language.Through the analysis of dialogic intertextuality between the novel and Don Quixote,it summarizes the behavioral characteristics and causes of "liar" and explains Spanish postmodern historical and social context and the psychological state of people.The thesis is divided into six parts: the introduction,four independent chapters and the epilogue.The introduction enumerates and sorts the related research results at home and abroad on Cercas and his works,and puts forward the reasons and the value of the topic of the thesis.Chapter One interprets the new tradition of Spanish contemporary literature represented by Cercas,and analyzes the concept of the "relato real"(real story)with postmodern context combined so that his literary philosophy can be observed.Chapter Two compares the two literary images Marco and Don Quixote through close reading,summarizes the common characteristic of the "liar" image proposed by Cercas,“to construct another self of lies”,and explains the behavioral mechanism of such images and the practical role of lies in human society.Based on the novel text,the attitude of Cercas towards the viewpoint about practicability of lies is transparent.Chapter Three explains that the lies of Marco and Don Quixote have the common function of confronting reality,but the different environments and inherent differences between the two characters lead to Marco as merely a “hero constructed”;meanwhile,interpreting the image of Don Quixote from a unique perspective in El Impostor is also a conscious intertextuality between the novel and Spanish literary classics,which makes the protagonist Marco and Don Quixote have a tensioned dialogue relationship.In consideration of column articles of Cercas,Chapter Four analyzes his historical view and the attitude towards the historical memory boom in Spain,interprets the contradictory relationship between personal memory and big history,and explains the social environment and public psychology in which lies can be widely regarded,uncovering Cercas' s true intention of questioning personal memory,that is,to maintain vigilance against ideological propaganda with ulterior motives and the political power to manipulate public opinion.The epilogue highly summarizes the main points of the whole thesis and sublimates them overall,thus revealing the profound connotation of El Impostor and the thoughts of Cercas.His persistence in truth and his concern for the development of history and society fully demonstrate the writer's sense of responsibility.In a society where transcendence is lost,he calls on human beings to regain truth,faith and ideals.