Snow White-A Deconstruction Of Grimm Brothers' Snow White

After Derrida's introduction of deconstruction in the 1960s, this term has played an important role in many fields. The deconstructive theory promoted the appearance of postmodern period in literature. As one of the most famous postmodern writers in America, Donald Barthelme applies the deconstructive theories into most of his works. And he is a master in innovation and experiments with the language and structure of the novel. His innovation even changes the forms and styles of American short fiction, making himself the most imitated writer in America.Compared with the extensive and specialized studies abroad, research on Donald Barthelme in China has just taken its initial step. Thus study on this distinguished postmodern writer and his works needs far more attention. Although there are several papers in China touched upon Barthelme's Snow White, they mainly focused on the his writing devices and strategy. This thesis, however, attempts to make a comparative study of Grimm Brothers'Snow White and Barthelme's Snow White to demonstrate in detail how Barthelme deconstructs the fairy tale; how he subverts the literary convention and expresses his attitude toward literature and his concern about the contemporary society.The whole thesis contains six chapters all together and can be divided into three parts.The first part includes Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3. Chapter 1 presents some basic information about the life and career of Donald Barthelme and an introduction to his masterpiece-Snow White. Chapter 2 gives a comprehensive picture of the study on Donald Barthelme and his fiction Snow White. Chapter 3 is the theoretical rationale, which consists of two subordinate chapters, in which the former one is a brief introduction of deconstruction in general, and the latter, about the influence deconstruction has brought in literature.The second part is the body part which is a comparative study of the two versions of Snow White, consisting of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.Chapter 4 mainly focuses on the features of traditional fairy tales-Grimm Brothers'fairy tale collection in particular and the analysis of Grimms'world-famous fairy tale-Snow White. It analyses in detail the form and content of this fairy tale, including its theme, plot, characters, structure, etc. Chapter 5 is a detailed analysis of Donald Barthelme's postmodern fiction-Snow White, which sharply contrasts with Grimms'fairy tale Snow White. It demonstrates how Donald Barthelme, through deconstructive devices, subverts the linearity and unity of the previous fairy tale, how he challenges the literary conventions.Chapter 6 is the conclusion. It discloses that Barthelme does not only deconstruct Grimm Brothers'Snow White, but also challenges the literary conventions. Beneath the chaotic appearance and the absurd form of this novel, Barthelme shows his deep concern about the problems in the contemporary society.