A Study Of The Carnivalization In Samuel Butler’s Fiction

Samuel Butler(1835-1902)was one of the best English authors in the late nineteenth century.His two novels,The Way of All Flesh and Erewhon,are both rich in sarcasm and social critical spirit.Although scholars at home and abroad have analyzed his fiction from different perspectives,no scholars have ever used Mikhail Bakhtin’s carnival theory to analyze his fiction.Therefore,this paper attempts to apply Bakhtin’s carnivalization to research characterization,setting,and dialogism existed in Samuel Butler’s fiction.This thesis has six parts,including introduction,theoretical foundation,carnivalization in characterization,carnivalization in setting,carnivalization in dialogism,and conclusion.Chapter one introduction gives a basic interpretation of research purposes,research significance,structure,and the previous research results.It explores the relevance between Bakhtin’s carnival theory and Samuel Butler’s fiction.Chapter two defines some basic concepts of carnivalization involved in this study.Chapter three is the analysis of characterization.It focuses on the three groups of characters that appeared in the two novels,including clowns represented by Mr.Badcock and Chowbok,liars represented by The College of Unreason and Pryer,and fools represented by Higgs and Ernest.These characters’ presences satirize the unreasonable systems and concepts in the real world by looking at the world from the upside down.Chapter four analyzes the carnival setting in his fiction: setting about trial,feast,and death.It aims to investigate the criticism towards the dominant values of patriarchy and religion in the Victorian era in different plots.Chapter five is concerned about dialogism.This part tries to explore micro dialogues which happen in the inner world conversation of diffecharacters,and the macro dialogues which happen in the ideological battles of Erewhon and the real world,as well as Ernest and his parents.Chapter six summarizes the whole thesis,and draws relevant conclusions.Through the research,it finds that the strong bantering color of carnivalization involved in Samuel Butler’s fiction can help us to observe the spiritual world of characters in depth.Meanwhile,it also can effectively enrich the narrative perspective of omniscient consciousness,so as to explore different aspects of characters and those distorted values in the late Victorian era.