An Analysis Of The Translation Of On The Road From A Manipulative Perspective

This thesis is about the study of the translation of On the Road of Jack Kerouac on the basis of cultural theories brought up by Susan Bassnett and manipulation theory by Andre Lefevere. Unlike the traditional translation studies which focus on linguistic perspective, Andre Lefevere's manipulation theory emphasizes non-linguistic elements' influence over the translating process. It defines translation as a rewriting process where the ideology and poetics manipulate the output. Translators' role is recognized as rewriters under a target social and cultural system rather than merely mechanical language decoders. Patrons under a certain patronage system, as defenders of a core social and ideological system conduct the ideological and poetical manipulations. They functions in the selection of certain writers or rewriters and their works for entering a social system and the denials of some others.This thesis explores the ideological manipulation in the process of literary translation and introduction of Jack Kerouac's book On the Road, one of the most ideologically controversial books published in 1950s, which represents a whole controversial but influential generation in American literary history, the beat generation. It studies the role of patronage system in the selecting process by examining the introduction of On the Road to China in different historical stages within every which a dominant patronage system decides the availability of the book in support of their dominant ideological systems, and manipulates the projection of beat image among Chinese readers. The role of educational establishments as patron is specified, as to decide the accessibility of beat generation to literature students.This thesis further elaborates how individual translator's ideology affects the reproduction by comparing two different translated Chinese versions by Wen Chu'an and Wang Yong'nian. Wen is referred more likely as a "spirited translator" while Wang as a "faithful translator," (Hookham, quoted from Lefevere, 2004: 49) particular in terms of syntax. However, the separating personal ideological systems which have been formed in their individual social, educational and family backgrounds eventually decide the differences in their rewriting processes and outputs.In a whole, this thesis confirms the role of non-linguistic factors, i.e. ideology and poetics in a translating, or rewriting process, and lifts the status of translators from a language decoder to a visible rewriter whose voice can be heard by target readers. The dominant ideology of a social system will influences ideology of its patronage system which further decides the availability of certain works; it meanwhile influences every individual translator's ideology which further decides their motivations and strategies in the translating process.