The Elderly Intellectuals’ Spiritual Crisis And Salvation In <Deaf Sentence>

As a campus fiction writer, David Lodge has a profound knowledge ofintellectuals, he repeatedly criticized the modern Western intellectuals’ depravity andtheir morbid soul in his writings, trying to find a way to solve this problem."DeafSentence" was written in his late years, as a writer with strong social responsibility, heshowed his concerning on intellectual community once more. Compared with theprevious incumbent college professor, the hero was a retired professor who wassuffering from ear problems. It is really an excellent supplement for building imagesof intellectuals, which can help enrich reader’s overall understanding of the collegecharacters, regarded as Lodge’s another attempt to solve the real-world problems."Deaf Sentence" is Lodge’s second novel which focuses on physical defects after"Therapy". The word "deaf" not only reveals the hero’s hearing impairment, but alsosuggests his personal mental state. For one thing,"deaf" means the body’s aging, theloss of hearing predicts the arrival of death, which adds something tragic for elderlyintellectuals; For another,"deaf" reflects the elder intellectuals’ personal qualities suchas self-isolation, stubborn and stupid, which is full of metaphorical meaning.Desmond’s deafness cannot be ignored in interpretation of psychological problems,which can contribute to digging out the essential reason of his spiritual crisis.In the introduction section, the article briefly describes the life and work ofDavid Lodge, study conditions at home and abroad, research methods and innovationsare summarized.The first chapter focuses on the special situation and mental state of the elderlyintellectuals. On the basis of Desmond’s career, family relationships and deafnessproblem, the article makes a try to analyze their special spiritual experience.The second chapter points out three reasons for the elderly intellectuals’ spiritualcrisis. Indifference of society is the most direct cause of mental health problems; excessive concern for death makes the elderly become mental distress, the wrongperception of death will trigger fears of the elderly; paranoid personalities and theways of thinking is the essential cause of the spiritual crisis.The third chapter analyzes the salvation way of elderly intellectuals’ spiritualcrisis. Compared with the heroes’ behavior in "The British Museum Is Falling Down,"and "Therapy”, Desmond shows the olds’ superiority in moral cognition andself-restraint. In the process of solving the problem, travel once again played a role aspilgrimage, giving Desmond inspiration about the meaning of life. After sharing theinner secret with his wife, Desmond removed the mental burden, got out of spiritualemptiness by enjoying real life. Thus, the elderly intellectuals’ spiritual crisis wasresolved.David Lodge points out the way to solve elderly Intellectuals’ spiritual problemsin "Deaf Sentence”, only when they pay attention to reality, love each other, facedeath properly and cherish life can they free themselves from the meaningless life,having the salvation of spirit.