Pursuit Of Trueness Through Literary Impressionism:A Study Of Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier

Ford Madox Ford was a British novelist,critic,poet and editor at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.His two monumental periodicals The English Review and The Transatlantic Review provided opportunities for writers who made their first appearances.Ford was one of the pioneers in modernist literature,who throughout his life strove to explore new forms for novel writing.Together with Joseph Conrad,he pushed the development of literary impressionism in British literature.The Good Soldier is deemed as an Impressionist masterpiece,and regarded by Ford as his best novel.It tells a story about Dowell,an American millionaire,who,after learning the truth of his wife's death,narrates what has happened in the past so as to get new understandings of life.Previous researchers have conducted many researches on The Good Soldier from various aspects,including research on the impressionistic style of Ford's works.However,the present author notices that these studies have not revealed the particular techniques Ford employs in his literary impressionism and his purpose of pursuing impressionism.In reading The Good Soldier,the present author finds that the theme of pursuit of trueness goes side by side with Ford's view of"trueness" in his literary impressionistic creation.Therefore,this thesis will first discuss Ford's view of trueness and the reasons for his pursuit of trueness.Based on that,it will focus on The Good Soldier,exploring its theme of pursuit of trueness,and the impressionistic techniques employed to express the theme.The thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter One introduces Ford and The Good Soldier,gives a general survey of previous studies on the novel and Ford's literary impressionism.It also explains impressionism and the focus and structure of the thesis.Chapter Two discusses Ford's view of trueness and the reasons for his pursuit of trueness.Through reading Ford's literary criticism,the present author finds that from the perspective of Ford,trueness is the subjective understanding of the object,and "the impression of the moment".The formation of Ford's view of trueness was greatly influenced by the society in which he lived.Alienation caused by the Industrial Revolution and the collapse of faith caused by new philosophies of human beings drove Ford to pursue the trueness in his time.Chapter Three aims to reveal the theme of pursuit of trueness in The Good Soldier.By recording its protagonist's pursuit of trueness,the novel reveals the complexity of human nature,the uncertainty of the past and the disorder of the society,all of which constitute the trueness in Ford's mind.Chapter Four explores the impressionistic techniques employed to express the theme of pursuit of trueness in The Good Soldier.The theme finds its expression in two ways:sensual descriptions and narrative techniques.Ford puts emphasis on the sensual aspect in writing to reveal characters' subjective emotions.Moreover,he employs impressionistic narrative techniques such as repetitive narration,restricted narrative perspective and anachronism to show the instantaneity of the impressions.The last chapter is Conclusion,which summarizes the previous discussions and restates the arguments of the thesis.In The Good Soldier,Ford's pursuit of trueness is eventually achieved through his practice of impressionistic techniques.It is hoped that the thesis,focused on Ford's The Good Soldier,may contribute to existing studies of Ford's literary impressionism.