A Study On Self-examinations In Ray Bradbury’s Science Fictions

Born into a middle class family in Illinois,USA,Ray Bradbury(1920-2012)is a longevous and productive writer.He has produced more than 600 literary works in various genres,including novels,short stories,poems,screen scripts,etc.All his writings are highly distinctive with poetic linguistic style and roundabout narrative.They intend to examine and criticize the social realities,and are deeply appreciated by readers.Bradbury has been awarded many major honors,such as "National Book Award:Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" in 2000,"National Medal of Arts" in 2004,and "Pulitzer Prize:Special Citation" in 2007.His science fiction masterpiece Fahrenheit 451 has been selected into the reading list by a great number of high schools in America,and imposed a far-reaching influence on the western society.Inspired by the Canadian sociologist Charles Taylor’s analysis of "the Malaise of Modernity",this dissertation takes Ray Bradbury,his science fictions and short stories(Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles in particular)as its study subject.Breaking through from the perspective of "self-examination",this dissertation tries to explore Bradbury’s criticism about the religious,political and cultural life in the future,display the ideal visions depicted in his works,and make prominent the writer’s criticism attitude and his awareness of human’s fates.Therefore,Ray Bradbury can be labeled as a great humanist and writer who has turned the developing direction of science fiction.The western scholars have already researched Bradbury and his works systematically and fruitfully,and have agreed that it is his disbelief in science that distinguishes Bradbury from his peer writers.Moreover,Bradbury’s creative linguistic styles,diversified narrative methods and social and historical significance have been fully analyzed.Theoretically,this dissertation is guided by Charles Taylor’s ideas of"the Malaise of Modernity" and the solutions he put forward.Both of Bradbury and Taylor are afraid of the malaise of modernity,and they devote themselves to counterattacking it and designing an ideal future for human beings.It is self-examination that makes Bradbury unique.It is the reason-centralism that is targeted and examined by Bradbury.Undoubtedly,reasonable mode of thinking has played an irreplaceable role in human’s modernization,and upholding reason and science has already been merged into the mainstream ideology of human society.During this process reason has become increasingly arbitrary and made itself a symbol of "brightness and progress",meanwhile,the sensible thinking has been described as "dark and primitive".A number of insightful people are aware of the negative effects of reason hegemony,therefore there is a consistent resistance against it.Following Friedrich Nietzsche’s revolt against reason hegemony,Ray Bradbury destroys the reason-centralism tradition by creating "Plato-the-reformer",and saves no efforts to discuss reason’s relations with organized crimes and alienation of human beings.Bradbury is also eager to restore the important status of imagination in people’s life.The spirit of self-examination also shapes Bradbury’s narrative forms and contents in his literary works.He establishes a dialogue between himself and historical events,literary texts and social thoughts.By doing so,he has made his science fictions part of the western Christian literature and the tradition of cultural criticism,and has finally endowed his self-examination philosophy with a deep historical evidence.As a literature branch,the modern science fiction finds its root in the religious anxieties caused by the modernization process.Moreover,science fiction is human’s literary expression of a new earth and a new heaven,and grants legitimacy to Christianity in an age of science and technology.Bradbury’s science fictions and short stories confirm the co-existence of Christianity and hi-tech,for example,Fahrenheit 451 is narrated under the biblical structure,and dotted with Christian imagery every now and then.Bradbury also discusses the future and fate of human beings in his works.He is totally aware of human’s tininess and humbleness against the infinite universe,meanwhile,firmly believes that people will get redeemed by God.In a word,Bradbury intends to claim that the development of science and technology by human is actually an approach to getting closer to and being redeemed by God.From the political perspective,Bradbury’s science fictions and short stories reveal the original sins of the capitalist countries during their colonization,and probe into the malpractices of the capitalist political system that is claimed to be of democracy and liberty.Bradbury believes that the uncontrolled democracy and liberty will lead to "tyranny of the majority" and moderate autocracy.What’s more,Bradbury has designed a community where the current governments are removed,intelligentsia is in charge of the governing affairs,and people’s spiritual life will be safeguarded.Bradbury’s political ideas will shed light onto China’s reform of political system nowadays.Bradbury is worried about the cultural situation of modern society.As he points out,the mass media have simplified the public minds and deteriorated people’s aesthetic taste;meanwhile,the "onlooker attitude" has permeated the whole society,and inter-personal relationship has also been plunged into an abyss of indifference.In order to improve the human’s worsening cultural situation,Bradbury,in his works,calls on people to“look backwards",learn from the ancient Greece and lead an idyllic life.He also advocates the cultural tolerance.Thus,people can repair their inter-personal relationship and create a harmonious cultural atmosphere which values family life and human’s kindness.Bradbury’s writings,supported by an unswerving spirit of self-examination,can be regarded as a renovation of the traditional science fiction,and therefore he has become an important figure in the evolution from "Golden Age" into "New Wave" of science fiction.In his fictions and short stories,Bradbury has established a human community dominated by the intelligentsia and provided an ideal vision of human’s religious,political and cultural life so as to fight against the malaise of modernity.Although Bradbury’s literary works cannot be directly taken as programs of social improvement,his courage to reflect and criticize,together with his broad mind to care about all human beings,will undoubtedly motivate people to struggle for a more promising future.