Individual Goodness And Collective Goodness

Ernest Hemingway is one of the outstanding representatives of Americanliterature. His works, which always survive a quite long time, enjoy a unique prestigein the history of the world literature. Based on the previous studies, this thesis tries toanalyze Hemingway’s view of happiness philosophically. Hemingway is aprofessional writer and meanwhile he is also a journalist and soldier. The multiple lifeexperiences prompt him to generate a profound understanding of life. In his shortstory “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, Ernest Hemingway uses theword “happy” in the title which shows Hemingway’s deep concern for happiness. Inrecent years, the ponderation and exploration of individual happiness goes deeper andwider throughout the world. Meanwhile, literary reflections on happiness have alsobeen close to the real life of human beings. It appears more evident that Hemingway’sprotagonists’ pursuit and choice of happiness also exert great influence on modernreaders.For nearly30years, as one of critical approaches to literature, the ethical literarycriticism has revitalized in literary world. The position of such approach is to studyliterary works from moral-philosophical perspective. It emphasizes the moralpedagogical function of literature. By this approach, this thesis aims to convey theHemingway’ reflections on a series of issues, which includes human morality,rationalistic choice, individual’s dignity, individual’s mental peace and satisfactionand individual’s goodness for human beings.The first chapter of this thesis offers a literature review of the studies of ErnestHemingway at home and abroad, and it also comprises the purpose, significance andlayout of this thesis. Chapter Two is mainly a survey of happiness as a philosophicalconcern, including Aristotle and other rationalists’view of happiness, right and libertyin American Enlightenment and Sartre’s view of free choice. The third chapteranalyzes his father’s influence on Hemingway. Taking protagonists of “The ShortHappy Life of Francis Macomber” and The Sun Also Rises as study objects, this partshows individual’s right in pursuing happiness. The fourth chapter describes Hemingway’s war experiences. Taking protagonists of “Big Two-Hearted River” andA Farewell to Arms as study objects, this part points out that happiness should bebased on individual’s rationalistic choice. Chapter five describes Hemingway’semotional landscape with women. Different romantic experiences have taughtHemingway how to live with the loved ones. Taking Robert Jordan of For Whom theBell Tolls and Thomas Hudson of Islands In the Stream as study objects, this partconveys Hemingway’s later change of his view of happiness, which shifts fromindividual’s own well-being to goodness for human beings.