On The Constructional Function Of Deixis To The Theme In The Return Of The Native

Thomas Hardy is one of prominent writers who are good at critical realistic novel during the late19th century in Britain. The Return of the Native, a representative novel of character and environment, is truly a tragedy. Hardy depicts the fierce conflict between characters and environment with a melancholy tone. The setting of the novel is Egdon Heath which is situated in Wessex of South West England. It describes five young people’s different fate revealing the truth that man should follow his fate and if man tries to escape from the control of fate, the result would be miserable and destructive.Deixis is an important linguistic research object, which reflects the relationship between language and context in the language system. It is also an essential demonstrative tool to study the meaning of language. Literature consists of language, in which deixis is independent from and also dependent on each other. The study of deixis in literature will help the reader to get a better understanding of themes in literature. In linguistics, deixis are classified as person deixis, time deixis, place deixis, discourse deixis, social deixis, and so on. The emergence of Cognitive Poetics contributes to a new approach to study literature. Peter Stockwell combines the study of deixis with the study of literature. He categorizes deixis as perceptual deixis, spatial deixis, temporal deixis, relational deixis, textual deixis, compositional deixis, and so on.On the basis of the theory of deixis, this thesis explores the constructing function of deixis to the theme in literature. The author interprets the novel from the perceptual deixis, relational deixis, textual deixis, compositional deixis, and so on. Through the analysis of deictic words, deictic expressions and deictic sentences, the author aims to help the reader get a better understanding of the book. Perceptual deixis and relational deixis reveal the fact that the conflict between man and nature is inevitable. Relational deixis exposes disharmony between man and man. And textual and compositional deixis intensify the tragic fate of the characters. Through analyzing deixis in the novel, the author finds out the fact that though the rebellious protagonist Eustacia ends up with death, yet in some sense, her death is the return of the native, suggesting the theme that all people are ultimately destined to come back to the heath.