The Alienation And Awakening Of Characters In Tree Of Smoke

Tree of Smoke is one of the most recognized works by American novelist and playwright Denis Johnson.The book won the 2007 U.S.National Book Award,and Denis has been called “the writers’ writer.” With Vietnam War as the background,Denis’ work portrays a number of characters such as American officers Skip,Colonel,Kathy,and the Houston brothers,providing a deep insight into the alienation and awakening of human nature during the war.Rather than depicting the large-scale scenes of fighting on the battlefield,the novel focuses more on the individual activities of the characters in the process of war,presenting the sinking and struggling of individuals and society in the war with a unique approach that conveys a genuine anti-war theme.With the support of Fromm’s alienation theory,the thesis analyzes the alienation of the characters in Tree of Smoke by applying Fromm’s alienation theory.In accord with Fromm’s judgement,under the condition of capitalist society,alienation is present all the time and everywhere,it makes human beings become alienated individuals,limiting their self-development,which in turn affects the public.The alienated society and individuals oppress each other,forming a social atmosphere of alienation and indifference,the relationship of people’s interests replaces warmth,only true love can eliminate this alienation.With the perspective of alienation theory,the characters’ self-alienation,the alienation between the characters and society,and the alienation of the characters’ interpersonal relationships are plainly visible in Tree of Smoke.Denis reveals the danger of war with profound strokes,appeals to opposing war and pursuing peace with the characters’ awakening out of alienation.The thesis consists of an introduction,a conclusion and five main chapters.The introduction presents an overview of author Denis Johnson’s life and major works,which focuses on the analyzed text of this dissertation,Tree of Smoke,the text’s literary status and textual significance are described,along with the current state of the text’s study at home and abroad.Then,the thesis’ innovative points and thematic arguments are outlined.Chapter one is the theoretical foundation,which introduces the origin and development of alienation theory,and focuses on the alienation theory that Fromm developed and constructed,which is mainly applied in this thesis.Chapter two explores the selfalienation of the characters in Tree of Smoke,indicating that in the context of war and capitalist society,there exists alienation of the characters’ self-perception,and the inhibition of the characters’ self-development in such condition.Chapter three analyzes the alienation between the characters and society,illustrating the suppression of individuals in the environment of war by American and Vietnamese societies;individuals in such apathetic and repressive social environment become mechanically submissive.Chapter four analyzes the characters’ alienation of interpersonal relationships,exploring the dysfunctional family relationship and the distorted love relationships.Chapter five analyzes the gradual awakening of the characters in the process of war from three aspects:the self-alienation of individuals,the alienation between characters and society,and the alienated interpersonal relationships.Individuals rebuild their self-perceptions and explore their thoughts,the society as a whole reflects rationally on the war,and individuals no longer blindly follow the militant social atmosphere.In the presence of alienated interpersonal relationships,the characters also demonstrate different degrees of recognition and confrontation in both family and love.The conclusion points out that,against the background of war and capitalist society,the alienation,which is present everywhere,grows increasingly,resulting in the characters’ self-development being restricted,separating the family members,and even going to the abyss of death.In the cruel war,the gradual awakening of individuals is a resistance to alienation and a protest against war.The conclusion also indicates the significance and shortcomings of this study,with a purpose to provide a reference for the subsequent study of Tree of Smoke.Different from traditional Vietnam War fiction,Denis Johnson presents a complex series of scenes and plots that portray transformative characters,creating a new dimension beyond the universal elements of war fiction.With the characters’ awakening out of alienation and their pursuit of self as the foundation,Johnson perpetuates his belief of embracing peace and rejecting war.Even though the characters in the book do not achieve a complete awakening in the end,their efforts to dissolve alienation and regain their true nature still have a positive guiding significance today,when the war still endangers humanity.