"Rabbit": No Place To Run

John Updike (1932-), the famous contemporary American writer, is a novelist, as well as a poet, essayist, playwright, critic and short story teller. His reputation as a literary writer is climaxed at the Rabbit tetralogy.Rabbit. Run, the first one, published in 1960, examines the experiences of a young man—Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, who is trapped in a confused, meaningless, uncertain world. He attempts to run away from the sterility of life, the established order and the mechanized society, but he fails to find a way. All his efforts eventually result failure. He is regarded as an icon in American literature. Rabbit's life is the epitome of his class in America. At present, Updike is listed as one of the Top Ten Contemporary American Writers to be studied in China.The aim of this thesis is how to explore struggle between the personal aspiration and the demands of society, based on Soren Kierkegaard's Christian Existentialism as well as Karl Barth's theological ideas.This thesis consists of five parts altogether:The first part gives a brief introduction to John Updike and his novel Rabbit. Run. The main theoretical ideas of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and Swiss theologian Karl Barth for the thesis are also presented in this part.Chapter one is intended to analyze the protagonist's dilemma and anxiety. It means that Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom is entrapped in the net of society.Chapter two analyzes Rabbit's struggle for an opening in the suffocating society. He chooses his main alternatives in his life. But the two major fascinations of...