Classifiability And Typicality Of Character Images In To Have And Have Not

Ernest Hemingway,one of the greatest American novelists of the 20 th century,has attracted attention of critics around the world.To Have and Have Not,published in 1937,has produced fruitful research results abroad but few in China.This thesis discusses the classifiability and typicality of the characters in the novel.Taking Harry Morgan as the main object of study,the thesis aims to analyze the characteristics of bottom people in American society and provide an example for the study of Hemingway’s creating turn in the 1930 s.Based on the type theory proposed by Balzac,the thesis discusses how Harry Morgan stands out as a type in the novel environment with dense social types and explores the social meaning and consequence of this type.The first chapter discusses the macro-historical background and political contexts in the novel and the causes and influences of Hemingway’s political turn.In the 1930 s,Cuba was in political turmoil,and American society was suffering from the crisis brought by the Great Depression.People at the bottom had no choice but to commit crimes to make a living.Chapter two discusses the typicality of different characters and the symmetries between them and the protagonist from the perspective of classifiability.First,the thesis discusses the influence of racism on the construction of the white protagonist.Both the contempt for the “nameless” black and the murder of the“Anglomaniac” Chinese embody Harry Morgan’s hegemony.Minorities are not only a foil for the white but also a source of his authority.Then,based on the narrative context of the novel,the thesis discusses how the use of multi-perspective narration and personal pronouns contributes to the construction of the image of Harry Morgan.Hemingway adopts the narration mode of “showing”,avoiding “telling” and exerts the effect of personal pronouns in narration to pursue objective narration style.The third chapter discusses the typicality of Harry Morgan’s individual image merging with social types.First,the thesis analyzes the identity crises of Harry Morgan.Including the economic crisis that the white male protagonist cannot afford;the identity crisis that his status in the established racial hierarchy is threatened,and the survival crisis that people cheat each other in the morally bankrupt world.Then,the thesis discusses the transformation of Harry Morgan’s identity under different classification standards by permutating the two conceptual types of “Have” and“Have Not” in the title.In the context of the Great Depression,Harry Morgan is the obvious “Have Not”,but through comparison with other characters,Harry Morgan becomes the mediated “Have”.The thesis concludes that To Have and Have Not is the turning point of Hemingway’s writing career when he began to think about the relationship between individual type and social types.It is also the symbol of Hemingway’s political turn.Hemingway combines the personal experiences of Harry Morgan with the whole society to reveal the tragic fate of the bottom people in American society under the background of the Great Depression.The novel embodies Hemingway’s“non-individualism” turn and the Americanness of bottom people.Hemingway’s political turn is a new highlight in his writing career,which strengthens his political consciousness against fascism,promotes his active participation in practical struggle,and creates inspiring novels with distinct themes.At present,there is relatively lack of relevant research literature on this novel at home.This thesis only discusses it from the perspective of character image.The inadequacies and limitations in the research are inevitable.Further in-depth criticism of this novel should be made from more different perspectives in the future.