An Analysis Of Absalom,absalom! From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

William Faulkner is a famous writer of America in 20~thh century who won Nobel Prize of Literature in 1949.As an American South writer,his works are primarily concerned with the social contradiction between black people and white people under the control of racialism.His long novel Absalom,Absalom!is a family tragic novel against the social background of the South America.It tells the history of Sutpen family's enrichment and destruction.This thesis uses ethical literary criticism with text analysis to interpret the tragic of Sutpen family mainly from ethical environment,ethical identity,ethical dilemma,ethical taboos and ethical confusion.Influenced by the racialism and wealth disparity of the South society,Sutpen develops a wrong ethical standard.His pursuits for social ethical identity and family ethical identity all end in failure.Because his animal factor controls his human factor,he makes wrong ethical choices which cause the tragic of Sutpen family.Henry holds special affection for his sister Judith and his brother Bon which violates the ethical taboo of incest.When facing ethical dilemma,he chooses to kill his brother Bon which violates the ethical taboo of parricide.His violation of ethical taboos causes the tragic of their three people.Bon ignores his ethical identity as brother to use Judith and Henry as tools for pursuing his ethical identity as son.He is also confused for his ethical identity as a hybrid that he repudiates his wife and son who are also hybrids.He even fights for the South to guard racialism.Bon's confusion for his ethical identities is part of the reason for the tragic of the family.Judith's defiance for racialism of the South America and the perdition of Sutpen's Hundred represent the declination of the old South and the reconstruction of a new ethical order.The reason for the tragic of Sutpen family is the protagonists'wrong ethical values besides the special social background of that time.Ethical literary criticism stresses that the basic function of literature is the teaching function for readers.By analyzing the tragic of Sutpen family from the perspective of ethical literary criticism,this thesis attempts to give a new interpretation to enrich the study of this novel.This thesis also wants to unearth the ethical value of this novel for helping readers to get enlightenment and guidance in the process of reading.