The Perversity In The Technology-dominated Contemporary Society

James Graham Ballard, one of the most significant British writers of the contemporary period, enjoys the reputation of "the King of science fiction." A prolific writer, Ballard had published a record of more than 20 novels and lots of short stories since 1956. His writing is unique with an obscure and bizarre style, which earns him both praise and condemnation. Despite the controversies of his work, the adjective "Ballardian" entered the Collins English Dictionary.This thesis researches Ballard's Urban Disaster Trilogy published in 1970s:Crash in 1973, Concrete Island in 1974, and High-Rise in 1975. The trilogy is firmly placed in the urban world of the present day and investigates the effects of complex technology upon man. The controversial Crash, one of his best-known novels, deals with a motor-centered society in which automobile violence becomes engaged with erotic fantasy. Concrete Island centers on a few castaways'struggle for survival in the central areas of a motorway flyover after a car accident of the protagonist. High-Rise depicts a modern high-tech building as a mini-society, an isolated battleground in which the civilization is torn away, revealing raw power, violence, and sexuality.Based on the former studies, my thesis tries to further the study on three novels. The thesis aims to explore why modern people, supposed to enjoy facilities brought by prevalent technology, fall into aggression and barbarism. I would adopt text analysis to probe into how Ballard expresses the theme of modern-urban world causing inner crisis. I believe that a profound investigation of these aspects facilitate readers' understanding of Ballard'logic.This thesis consists of three chapters.The introduction makes a brief account of Ballard's life for readers'better comprehension of his writing style and introduces the present study situation about Ballard.The first chapter analyzes themes recurrent in Ballard'works, i.e. isolation, violence and brutality, which also dominate the Urban Disaster Trilogy. Through introducing plots of the novels, it reveals various characters that have been trapped and are struggling in the technology-centered modern world.Chapter Two illustrates symptoms of social diseases existing in the contemporary world. Concerned with perversity, three novels bear different focal points. Crash depicts sexual perversion, while Concrete Island stresses mental disturbance and High-Rise describes a regression to barbarism.Chapter Three identifies the root causes of technological disasters depicted in the last chapter. On one hand, non-places brought about by technology have led to dwellers' alienation and negative psychological state. On the other hand, characters regard violence as a means of psychic salvation. Through violence, some reawaken their bodily sensation by wounds and achieve rebirth by death in car crashes, some realize psychic integration, and some others try to form a new social order for freeing themselves from the "zoo" constructed by technology.The conclusion is that modern urban dwellers suffer from death of affect (a state involving waning of emotions and moral anesthesia). In reaction against this state, they resort to perverse actions to awaken affect and to seek personal salvation.