| Jonathan Franzen(1959-),a prominent contemporary writer,merits the renown as one of the illustrious figures in American literary arena.What makes Jonathan Franzen's artistic style so unique can be attributed to his aptitude for weaving stories in a skillful and innovative way on the basis of the traditional realism.In his works.Jonathan Franzen represents social and domestic trifles,and reveals the social maladies and the chaotic reality,which is well epitomized by his third novel The Corrections.This thesis focuses on his remarkable novel,The Corrections.The opus centers on the Lambert family in an American mid-western town,representing the family crisis of disintegration and characters plagued by the disordered life,and reflecting the dysfunctional and chaotic aspects of American society where the traditional values were on the edge of breakdown in the late twentieth century.Therefore,this thesis adopts chaos theory to expound the embodiment of chaos,analyze the tragic fate of the main characters trapped into the abyss of disorder,and explore how they eventually reconstruct the order for their life.Six chapters constitute this thesis.Chapter One embarks on a biographical sketch of Jonathan Franzen,including his writing career,and an overall outline of The Corrections,and then sums up the literature review abroad and at home respectively,on the basis of which the significance of this thesis is presented.Chapter Two dwells on the theoretical framework of chaos theory.A distinction and association between chaos and the study of chaos are elaborated.and the development of chaos theory,its features and key terms are also introduced.This chapter ends up with the feasibility of chaos theory to interpret this novel,which paves the way for the main body of this thesis.Chapter Three conducts a sweeping analysis of chaos embodied in this novel from the society and the Lambert family,characteristic of orderly disorder.Regardless of the social evils,or the Lambert family on the edge of disintegration,the disorder indicates that the society undergoes the confrontation between the hedonistic consumerism and the Protestant ethic in the phase of the social transition.On this account,people are entangled in disarray and torn apart by the two values,especially incarnated in the Lamberts.Chapter Four analyzes the impact of chaos on the main characters.This chapter employs the vital metaphor of chaos theory—the butterfly efect,to explore how a trivial incident leads to unexpected outcomes and entangles the main characters in the vortex of chaos.The old Lambert couple's squabble,fermented and enlarged into a string of unanticipated aftermath,alters the life trajectories of three characters,i.e.Chip,Denise and Alfred.Chapter Five dissects how the Lamberts reconstruct order in chaos.The children eventually reunite with their parents,and their reconciliation is made,which makes their life gradually pull into normal tracks.Enid experiences the transformation from correcting the others to self-corrections,igniting her hope for life.Alfred resorts to demise in despair,and terminates his chaotic and miserable life.Chapter Six encapsulates the argument and findings.Through close reading,it is found that The Corrections unveils the authentic profile of the earthly existence in America.In the dynamic system of the universe,subtle interconnections of its elements rend it complex,and hint chaotic and unpredictable aspects in the human life and the world.Through the interdisciplinary lens of chaos theory to anatomize the novel,this thesis helps enrich its research perspectives,and offers a brand-new vision to illuminate this opus. |
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