The Art Of Self

Wright Morris (1910-1998), as an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and photographer, who was granted two National Book Awards for his fictions: for the 1956 The Field of Vision, and for his last novel the 1980 Plains Song, has exerted a great influence upon the American literary world. He portrayed the different selves in his two famous novels, especially on female self-consciousness. He used a detailed psychological portrait to characterize the female protagonists in these two novels, which reflects his excellent creativity and imagination. Therefore, this thesis tries to have a brief study of the transformation of female self-consciousness through female inner monolog and variable life to find the truth of life under the transformation. It contributes to the female self-consciousness research in literature.This paper consists of six parts. Chapter one is an introduction to Morris's status in the literary world. Some of the theoretical frameworks have been applied to his study and the major point to be made about the proposed topic in the ensuing chapters. Chapter Six is a conclusion. The conclusion summaries the most important part of the thesis has made and some possible inferences on the meaning of the art of self. Chapter Two, Three and Four will study the texts from three aspects The Female Criticism, Dualism and Narratology, while Chapter Five will connect the transformation of female self-consciousness with the real life.This research has deep social and philosophical significances. Most of Morris works are about the mid-western prairie where he grew up. In his works, he sought to recapture the American past and portrayed people's frustrations with contemporary life. His styles are varied, but his works are seen as a unified and interdependent whole. He pays more attention to the transformation of the female self-consciousness in his novels. He tries to study the self from the imaginational and real aspects. He believes there are not only spiritual self but also real self. The real self must realize in the society. The process of self-recognition and self-realization is a process from conflict to harmony between man and society, man and man, and man and others. Women face to a lot of frustrations on their way to search selves. When they find the outside self, the inner self is gradually dying. So what Morris searches is independent spiritual self.