Wandering Between Tradition And Modernity

Carson McCullers' literary works express her serious inner conflicts while she had been in the situation that traditions were attacked by modern industry culture.In the aspect of social life,Carson McCullers criticizes the conventional South culture from many aspects such as the liberty of individuals,Negro problem and so on.But when she has to face the reality brought by the modern industry culture,her attachment to South tradition which brought her a feeling of belonging shows up.In the aspect of family life,the author gives up the warmth of family for the liberty of individuals.At the same time,she highly emotionally depends on her parents.These two basic inner conflicts generate complexities of Carson McCullers' novels in plot modes,characters and themes.Escape and return are two important plot modes of Carson McCullers' works.The Characters of these works frequently show their strong desire to escape from American South as they feel their egos are restricted by South tradition.But when they have to face the spirit crisises brought by industrialization,they usually choose to return to South tradition as they think solutions could be found in it.In the aspect of characterization,Carson McCullers describes two groups of characters.One group of characters are created based mainly on the author's mother.They usually represent the power which stongly suppresses the free will of their children.Based on these characters,the author presents a kind of gender view called hermaphrodite which is the opposite of traditional view in American South.Meanwhile,the other group of characters are created based on Carson's father.Usually,they become the typical samples of warmth of family.These characters gradually sublimate in the works.They finally become the symbol of love,order and completeness.In the aspect of theme,the author focuses on the life experiences of individuals.She encourages the characters to search and accept whom they really are.But she also confesses that being addicted to the world of ego could be harmful to the people around.Moreover,by using conversation,music and religous,Carson McCullers tries to find the way how people connect with each other effectively,and how to rebuild the social connections.Put Carson McCullers into the tradition of literature,her works inherit the tradition of self-expression and sympathy from the tradirional Romanticism.At the same time,she insists on writing about the real self of individuals,oppose the Pollyanna of the tradirional Romanticism.Therefore,her novels rebel against the Romanticism to some extent.Meanwhile,her works inherit the tradition of Gothic Literature in Scene Settings and characters.But in the aspect of theme expresses,she treats ugliness as beauty,break through the moral preaching narrative pattern of traditional Gothic Literature.Carson McCullers expresses her complicated mental state in the changing era through her novels.From three aspects including plot modes,characterization and theme,she shows her inner conflict when facing the South tradition and modern civilization.This inner conflict makes her novels gone beyond the tradition of the Romanticism and Gothic Literature.