Pursuit Of The Ideal Pastoral Life

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) was an important modern British novelist, whose novel A Handful of Dust earned praise from many scholars with its characteristics of the simple writing style and bitter satire. This thesis is planned to explore the ecological consciousness in the novel by taking advantage of eco-criticism prevailing in recent decades. On the basis of careful text-based analysis of Tony's pursuit of the pastoral life, criticism on the modern civilization and quest for the ideal in South America wilderness, the thesis seeks to discover the pastoral ecological consciousness and probe the harm from the modern civilization to nature and traditional value so as to inspire man's longing for the pastoral life, find the origin of the present ecological crisis, and sequentially seek out the outlet of the crisis, restoring the nature home of man.The thesis consists of five parts:The first part is the introduction. The writer and the story are briefly involved. A review of the domestic and the international comments on A Handful of Dust is made. This part also explains the purpose, the researching medium and the significance of the dissertation.The second part represents the theoretical basis employed by the dissertation– eco-criticism. It analyzes its origin, early stage and contemporary development and reveals the philosophical significances of it. Eco-criticism advocates retreat to nature and views the whole world with ecological holism. At the same time, it criticizes modern civilization, causing people to rethink their way of life.The third part is entitled"Pursuit of the pastoral life and criticism on modern civilization". It firstly debates appreciation and devotion to the poetic pastoral life. On the one hand, through text analysis, it proves there exists fragrant pastoral atmosphere in A Handful of Dust. British countryside makes Tony deeply absorbed with its clean and beautiful natural scenery, warm-hearted and sincere neighbours and surefooted traditional life mode, which embodies pastoral ecological consciousness. On the other hand, from the hero Tony's indomitable persistence in the traditional life mode, the novel reveals its positive attitude toward the traditional value and the old order, showing a sense of land ethics and its approval of the economic traditional way of life.Afterwards, this part involves criticism on modern civilization in A Handful of Dust, which is carried on from three aspects. First, the novel indicates that modern civilization more and more alienates nature, ignoring and disregarding it totally. More severe case is, the foundation of the traditional mode of life is being sabotaged. Old houses representing a frugal life style meet threats and will be placed by the modern decorative alternatives. Second, the novel reflects the modern city has entered a high stage of a consumer society. Satisfaction of their material needs is their life norm. In this case, the novel partially reveals the causes of the increasing scarcity of resources on the Earth. Third, by the accident of the death of Tony's son, the novel also observes that the modern industrial civilization causes enormous damage to traditional hunting activities, recognizing that if human activities influence nature, they will also cause disaster to human.The fourth part is entitled"Quest for the ideal in South America Wilderness". Beginning with the analysis of the symbolic of the hero's adventuring into South America, the novel informs one that the breaking of Tony's pastoral dream and the threats of modern civilization oblige him to flee from the dirty modern world to find a clean one. South America wilderness, hence, has dual implications both as the destination of an escape and of quest. On the other hand, there is awareness of the uniqueness and the independence of wilderness in the novel. Through the understanding of different aspects of nature, the novel reveals that nature affects man's sensory experience and his world outlook and values, and thus the player experiences return spiritually. In addition, the novel displays an unconquerable nature, believing human's"science and technology myth"can not fully tame nature and human is tiny amid nature. Thus, the human-centralism is conquered.The fifth part is the conclusion, summarizing that A Handful of Dust undertakes the definite ecological consciousness and bares the fundamental characteristics of the ecological literature. Besides, there is the deep-seated warning sense in the novel, despite its limitations. A Handful of Dust inspires people to renew their attitudes toward nature and re-evaluate the relationship between man and nonhuman; it arouses people's love of nature and calls for the return of rural life. A Handful of Dust is endowed with a kind of universal significance theoretically and practically in seeking the origin of the current ecological crisis and finding the outlet to step out of the embarrassing predicament of modern civilization. So the important social functions of literature as ideology are embodied.