| Milan Kundera (1929--) is regarded as a novelist to achieve international renown. Currently the studying of Kundera mainly including novel research, the writer's life, works of fiction translation studying and novel theoretical research.On the basis of the previous research, this paper studies the connotation of Kundera's novel mainly from the perspective of the creative theme, the novel's deeper meaning and Kundera's novel concept.In chapter one, the creative subject of Kundera's novel is discussed. Kundera takes "eliminating the traditional moral consciousness and bringing forwards the new ethics as a novelist's mission at the end of the century." His creative theme is various. According to Kundera's writing language and creative content, his works can be divided into two periods: The former is called "the Czech period", representative works are "La plaisanterie" (1967). "La vie est ailleurs" (1973), "Risibles amours" (1969). "La valse aux adieux" (1976), "Jacques et son maitre" (1981). "L' insoulenable legerete de l'etre" (1984) and "L'immorlalite" (1990); the later is called "the France period", representative works are "La lenteur" (1994). "L'identite" (1997) and "L'ignorance" (2000).In Kundera's early works, most of them are full of "political" speech. In the works that takes the Czech Republic as the background, he mainly focuses on the distortion and corruption of human nature in the double background of fun and terror. In Kundera's works, "sex" is a sensitive theme which the author gives more descriptions. Kundera's novel displays the various possibilities of sexuality and reveals the dilemma of Body and Soul that people faced. After being exiled in France in 1975, his special status makes him even more concerned about the themes like forgetting and memorizing that closer to the existence of the human body. As a immigrant, Milan Kundera needs to be identified in alien cultures which is evidently displayed in his later works "La lenteur" and the "L'identite" and "L'ignorance" These three works are known as the "forgotten trilogy" that are consistent on the theme, expressing separation, home-leaving and rediscovering self-confidence in the characters' memories. In the second chapter, the author analyzes Kundera's works by summarizing the two creative periods. Although the protagonist in Kundera's novel are living in fun, he always feel afraid, which is just Kundera's irony ---the irony of the absurd history and the totalitarian society, as well as some of the fundamental values of human doubt and ridicule. However, in this irony, we can clearly see the author's meditations as well as the calm and tolerant humane attitude of an intellectual. What hiding behind the belief in such irony and questioned the rational tolerance is a wise attitude. Crazy history is not the product of some evil people, but precisely because of their young beautiful dreams. However, even in the shadow of history, life itself is still an innocence of happiness and warmth.The third part summarized the concept of Kundera's novels. In literature, there are many writers who gain fruitful achievements. But only a few people do like Kundera, have a complete novel theory and acquire great achievements along with the guidance of such theory. Kundera develops a new style of novel understanding. It's meaningful to his notion of "the wisdom of fiction". Such as the spirit of dialogue and relativity, doubt and criticism, open and unfinished, humor and game, Imagination and fiction, etc.Kundera's works are characterized by a mingling of philosophy, thought and poetry. According to the need of the theme, various genres of literature, such as biography note, essay, fable, poem and drama and novel style are a perfect match. It is easier for us to understand the philosophical thought which expressed in a form of humorous comedy. The art of novel is developing, Kundera's creation is also in progress, and at the same time his novel concept is developing and even changing. We ought to use a development point of view to treat Kundera's novels. |
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