Man's Dream Of Escaping From "the Slough Of Despond"

John Updike is one of the most distinguished realistic writers. He belongs to the school of "the New Yorker" with John Cheever and J.D. Salinger. His novels focus on the perplexity of the middle class, who can hardly find any spiritual props in the "wasteland". The youths' life after World War II is well displayed. His works are famous for the intense ethos of the times all over American literary world. Meanwhile he also arouses the great interest of the Chinese literary scholars who focus on American literature.The Rabbit novels are Updike's representative works, which bring him great fame. The first one, Rabbit, Run, depicts a story of a young runaway who is fed up with his life. Harry's escape shows his great disappointment with the dull, mediocre social life and his rebellion. He intends to set up his "new religion" to seek his authentic self mainly by way of sports and sex. His running just shows his dissatisfaction with and rebellion against the dullness of the 1950s.He feels perplexed and anxious on the life road, which is full of unfathomable traps. His seeking and the ways of it show that the American youths are eager to get rid of the widespread spiritual crises. Of course, it is also the exploration of Updike. The deficiency of belief, the absurdity and the meaninglessness of human life make everyone seem to fall into "the Slough of Despond". People cannot escape the trap-like society as they cannot escape their own shadows. In the disordered society, the individual and society cannot reach a unity. And Everyman's fate is: anyone who dares to break with conformity is destined to fail.In my thesis, I focus my research on the exploration for the theme of this novel, and develop it from the analysis in the following aspects: the milieu, the protagonist's flight and the narrowness of his vision. Man's dream of escaping from "the Slough of Despond" is doomed to face the disillusionment.