The Inheritance And Transcendence To Traditional Initiation Story In The Member Of The Wedding

The Member of the Wedding, published in 1946, is the representative work of famous American southern woman writer Carson McCullers. The Member of the Wedding widens the theme of children's literature, making it a typical and classic work on children's initiation. It not only corresponds to the patterns and characteristics of traditional initiation stories in content, character and structure but also transcends traditional initiation stories in background, theme and character, and reveals its peculiarities and outstanding achievements.This dissertation intends to explore how the novel inherits and transcends traditional initiation stories in content, characters and structure. This dissertation will be divided into six sections:Introduction gives a brief introduction of the author's life and her major works, the main plot of The Member of the Wedding and its current research status, as well as the development and the common characteristics of the Initiation Story.Chapter One analyzes how The Member of the Wedding inherits traditional initiation stories in content. From the perspective of content, the novel adopts autobiographical components based on the author's own life experiences, involving in the physical and psychological crisis of the protagonist.Chapter Two analyzes the common characteristics of The Member of the Wedding in character. This chapter explores the characters in The Member of the Wedding who exert influence on the protagonist's initiation and maturity, including initiation guides and initiation companions. They play a critically important role in the heroine's growing process.Chapter Three analyzes the traditional characteristics of The Member of the Wedding in structure. This chapter mainly studies the major characteristics of The Member of the Wedding from the formulated plot pattern, the open-ending and narrative point of view.Chapter Four illustrates that The Member of the Wedding exceeds the traditional initiation stories in theme, the employment of unique symbols and allegories and the influence of southern special history and culture on the protagonist's growth in The Member of the Wedding.In Conclusion, it summarizes this paper from its successful inheritance and transcendence of traditional initiation stories, and its significance and vital status in the development of this specific literary genre ---- Initiation Story.