Critiquing The Scientific Culture-An Interpretation Of Ian Mc Ewan’s Novels

Ian Mc Ewan is one of the most significant writers in contemporary Britain. As a writer, he has retained an interest in science, and has in his works looked into the relationship between science and literature consistently. This thesis examines Mc Ewan’s treatment of the scientific culture in three novels, namely, Enduring Love, Saturday and Solar. Within the traditional debate in England about “the Two Cultures”, this thesis takes a look at Mc Ewan’s critique of three scientists in the novels.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces Ian Mc Ewan and his literary career, summarizes the literary criticism on Mc Ewan both at home and abroad, explains “the Two Cultures” argument and its development in England, and illustrates the layout of the thesis. Chapter Two analyzes how the novel Enduring Love portrays the science journalist who tries to avert his guilt through Darwinism, playing the time game and retelling stories. Chapter Three offers an analysis of Saturday, which exposes the neurosurgeon’s manipulation of justice by analyzing his support for war, treatment of lower class and the battle between the Insider and Outsider. Chapter Four offers a reading of Mc Ewan’s Solar, in which the novelist reveals how the physicist Michael Beard betrays family, tramples academic integrity and ignores the environment, in order to criticize the Nobel Laureate for his abdication of responsibilities. Chapter Five is the Conclusion, which points out that as a novelist, Ian Mc Ewan has in his series of novels fixed his attention on the debate between science and literature, and from the perspective of literature, he severely criticized the scientific culture in his works.