A Study Of Alice Munro’s “Tricks” From The Perspective Of Turn To Things

Alice Munro,winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013,is acclaimed as the“master of the contemporary short story” by the Sweden Academy.“Tricks” is from her short story collection Runaway,which is the most renowned one in China.It mainly tells the story of the protagonist Robin accidentally missing the man she has affection for.In this thesis,concepts such as “agency” of things,“realism” of things,and“actor-network” from the perspective of turn to things will be used to interpret the thingness writing in “Tricks” to explore how Robin is manipulated by things,and hence reveal the mystery of tricks in Munro’s writing.Robin,who always dreamed of escaping from her sister and her established fate,put all her hope on love.However,the green dress for the very occasion failed her,so was the once perfect image in the mirror.She met a wrong person at the right time,but failed to make out that the man was not the one she was meant to meet.It was a shame that she didn’t understand Shakespeare’s plays.As is seen,all these things seem to form a big net,wrapped around Robin so tightly that she could not run away.And the seemingly accidental missing love is actually the inevitable result of various things as actors to influence and manipulate Robin.Fortunately,the name “Robin” made her realize that love and responsibility were her mission.Instead of attempting to run away,Robin fulfilled her name in her subsequent life journey by taking care of her sister and so many patients.Thingness interpretation in this paper believes that Robin’s poignant experience of being confused and tricked by things reflects contemporary people’s way of perceiving things and their interaction with things.Through her thingness writing in“Tricks”,Munro shows the life and power of things,revealing that real things are beyond people’s cognition,which not only provides clues for readers to appreciate her works but also reminds people to reflect on the interaction between human beings and things,that is,humans should make good use of things,instead of being manipulated by things.