Existential Crisis Of Human Beings-an Interpretation Of Multiple Ethical Lines Of The Cement Garden From The Perspective Of The Ethical Literary Criticism

Ian McEwan, one the most excellent British contemporary novelists, is known as hisGothic novels By virtue of acute insight, fertile imagination and fine words, he gained highacclaim in the literary circle. The Cement Garden, his first novel, is a simple Gothic novelwhich told a series of appalling stories happened in an abnormal family of modern civilizedsociety. With the absurd, perverted and horrible scenes, he again brought his loyal readers intohis cold and black world without any order. Combing with the ethics, psychology,environmental psychology and psychoanalysis, this thesis is aimed at interpreting the multipleethical lines of The Cement Garden from the perspective of the ethical literary criticism, so asto arouse men’s attention to those crises which are threatening our existence. The thesismainly consists of the following six parts:Chapter one mainly gives a brief introduction to Ian McEwan, his literary achievements,the synopsis of novel, the foreign and domestic literary review on The Cement Garden, aswell as the significance and layout of this thesis.Chapter two mainly deals with the brief introduction to the ethical literary criticism andthe construction of the relational theoretical foundation.Chapter three mainly focuses on the interpretation of gradual antagonistic relationshipbetween men and nature from the perspective of ecological ethics. The detailed analysis ofmen’s stubborn insistence on anthropocentricism in The Cement Garden and nature’s revengeon men’s living environment and psychological trauma powerfully testified that human beingswill face an ecological ethical crisis from nature if human beings still madly extort fromnature.Chapter four mainly explores the relationship between men and society from theperspective of social ethics. The analysis of the indifferent interpersonal relationship in TheCement Garden caused by the abandonment of kindness and faith marked men’s alienation inmodern society. Jack and Julie’s final incest also showed the importance of self-discipline inmaintaining social orders. Giving up kindness, faith and self-discipline, human beings will beswallowed by another existential crisis from society.Chapter five mainly probes into the relationship between family members from theperspective of familial ethics. The parents’ disharmonious marriage, children’s struggles inlabyrinth of growth caused by incompetent parents, and the astonishing and disorderedrelationship between siblings thoroughly subverted the traditional view on familial ethics.And human beings are also facing the crisis from family.The thesis concluded with a deep reflection to the ethical problems of The CementGarden and existential crisis of human beings.