The Awakening of Sethe's Self-Consciousness in Beloved from The Perspective of Freudian Personality Theory_英语论文

摘要

托尼·莫里森是一位非常著名的非裔美国作家，从20世纪60年代开始文学创作，目前，她已发表长篇小说11部以及一些其他文学作品，其作品代表了黑人文学的最高成就。弗洛伊德人格理论是一种科学理论，本我，自我，超我是这理论的核心，这三重人格理论主要从本质高度解析人的精神活动模式, 所以许多学者都运用这一理论在文学作品中来分析作品中人物心理和精神状态，从而探讨人物行为意图。本文主要从弗洛伊德理论中的人格结构理论入手，探讨托尼 •莫里森长篇小说《宠儿》中的塞丝自我意识的觉醒面临抉择时的心路历程，其心路历程是一种多重的心理动态。塞丝在经历了奴隶主种族主义和性别歧视的压迫和不断地启发之后，自我意识逐渐觉醒，并渐渐发现自我的价值，其多重的心理动态如同弗洛伊德人格结构说里"本我""自我"和"超我"三个层次之间挣扎、调和与妥协的过程。

关键词： 《宠儿》  塞丝  自我意识  觉醒  人格理论

Abstract

Tony Morrison is a very famous African-American writer. She began her literary creation in the 1960s. From then on, she has published 11 novels and some other literary works, which represents the highest achievement of black literature. Freudian personality theory is a scientific theory, and the Id, Ego, Superego are the core of Freudian personality theory. This theory mainly analyses the mode of human's spiritual activity from the essential point of view, so many scholars use this theory to analyze the psychological and spiritual states of the characters in literary works, so as to explore the intentions of the characters' behavior. Starting from Freudian personality theory, this paper explores the process of Sethe's awakening of self-consciousness in Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. After experiencing the oppression and constant enlightenment of slave racism and sexism, Sethe gradually awakens her self-consciousness and gradually finds her value. The process of her inner struggle shows a multiple psychological dynamic, which reflects the process of confrontation, adjustment and compromise among the three levels of Id, Ego and Superego in Freudian personality theory.

Key words:  Beloved  Sethe  Self-awareness  Awakening  Personality Theory 

Contents

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Purpose of This Thesis 1

1.2 Significance of This Thesis 2

1.3 Structure of This Thesis 2

Chapter Two Literature Review 4

2.1 Introduction 4

2.2 Previous Studies on Beloved Abroad 4

2.3 Previous Studies on Beloved at Home 4

2.4 Previous Studies on the Freudian Personality Theory Abroad 5

2.5 Previous Studies on the Freudian Personality Theory at Home 5

Chapter Three Theoretical Framework 6

3.1 Introduction 6

3.2 Definition of the Freudian Personality Theory 6

3.3 Development of the freudian Personality Theory 6

Chapter Four An Analysis of The Awakening of Sethe's Self-Consciousness from Perspective of The Freudian Personality Theory 8

4.1 Introduction 8

4.2 The Relationship between Freudian Personality Theory and Self-consciousness Awakening 8

4.3 Sethe's Zigzagging Process of Self-awakening 9

4.3.1 The Loss of Sethe's Self-recognition 9

4.3.2 The Oppressive Id: Plotting to Escape and Killing Infant to Get Rid of Slavery 10

4.3.3 The Confused Ego: the Conflict between Ghost Revenge and Lover's Promise of a New life 11

4.3.4 The Free Superego: Getting rid of Ghosts and Reintegrating into the Collective Life of Black People 13

4.4 The Awakening of Sethe's Self Consciousness: Under the Regulation of "Three Self" 14

Chapter Five Conclusion 16

5.1 Research Findings and Limitations 16

Bibliography

Acknowledgements