The Concept Of Time In Thomas Wolfe’s Short Stories

Thomas Wolfe is one of the greatest novelists in American literary history. He enjoys equal popularity as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. William Faulkner once remarked that Wolfe was the best writer of their generation. As a prolific writer, Wolfe has published a large number of novels, short stories, prose and poems. His masterpiece Look homeward, Angel is well known to readers all around the world. He also wrote many successful short stories which are collected by Francis E. Skipp in The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe.In the past few decades, there is a boosting development in the study of Thomas Wolfe at home and abroad. Owing to their contribution, Wolfe’s works have been analyzed in a deep and extensive way. In China, most scholars mainly focus on Wolfe’s famous novels, but few of them pay attention to his short stories. What’s more, the time concept in Wolfe’s short stories is even rarely mentioned by Chinese scholars. Therefore, this thesis aims to explore the time concept in Wolfe’s short stories by employing Bergson’s theory of duration to make analysis.The thesis on time concept guides a brand new way out for scholars who are working on the mighty force of time. The research aims at inspiring human beings to deal properly with the past, cherish the limited lifetime, and live a meaning life.