A Study Of The Grass Is Singing From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Productive, award-winning British novelist Doris Lessing wrote across a variety ofgenres and made an enormous cultural impact on a whole generation. Her debut The Grass isSinging published in1950was considered as the beginning of the scrutiny of separatistcivilization and female existence. The Grass is Singing vividly portrays the destinies ofseveral representative personages under the background of African colony and exposes thetrauma caused by slavery to the entire human race. In addition, the emphasis for the heroineMary embodies Lessing’s attention to female life and psychological problems, and interpretscomprehensively moral belief and ethical pursuit that women should abide by in survival. Itis a work full of profound thoughts and abundant ethical ideas, which reflects deeply theethical relationships between man and nature, man and society, man and man as well as manand self. In combination with feminism, post-colonial criticism methods, this paper exploresthe orientation that Lessing points out in the novel from the perspective of ethical literarycriticism.The thesis is divided into four parts based on the perspective of ethical literary criticismto study these relations from exterior into interior. These relations are the most basicrelationships that each individual will confront inevitably, which are also the main contentdescribed in literary works. The four pairs of relations are very complex, which are differentfrom and intertwined with each other. The relationship between human and nature is the mostprimitive, the most basic relationship, which is just the first relationship that the paper willdiscuss. On one hand, the contrast between Dick and Charlie in the novel reveals that theethical relationship between man and nature is regarded as occupation and exploitation. Onthe other hand, the relationship between Mary and nature uncovers that people desire to fleefrom nature, but in reverse nature attracts human. Lessing intends to express her ethicalappeal, that is, to oppose the occupation and exploitation, advocate harmony and get close tonature. Humans begin to separate from nature gradually and their relationships develop fromsimplicity to complexity with the development of society and the advance of humancivilization. At the same time, the relationship between human and society grows closer and closer. The second part is to interpret the ethical reflection of relationship between human andsociety through the two characters, Mary’s short life and Moses’ living state in society. Itreveals Lessing’s ethical proposition that female should rely on the strong will to seekindependence and hypocritical racial system will go bankrupt eventually. And the relationshipbetween human and others is the deep development of the relationship between man andsociety, which helps to know human nature and dig out the depth and breadth of humanity.Through three pairs of relationships, whites and blacks, women and men, ranchers and smallfarmers, the third part explores interpersonal ethical relationship in the novel, namelyoppression, gap and utility. And then it demonstrates Lessing’s ethical claims that she wantsthe goodness in the level of the relationship between man and others. Finally, the relationshipbetween human and self is the most inner and also the most complex. The fourth part dissectsthe ethical relationship between human and self through analyzing internal and externalreasons why Mary walks towards self-division in the novel. Hence it summarizes Lessing’sethical advocation in this level.Lessing’s contribution and value for the construction of humanistic spirit are self-evident.This thesis studies Lessing’s The Grass is Singing from the perspective of ethical literarycriticism with the attempt of fully exerting the ethical connotation of this work and enrichingthe understanding of the novel value and theoretical exposition.