Predicament And Salvation In Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies

Paul Auster(1947-) is now acclaimed as one of the most celebrated contemporary writers in America. Up till now, he has published nineteen novels, five memoirs, four screen plays as well as a collection of critical essays, which bring him numerous awards such as the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. In many of his works, Auster expresses his deep concern for the living status and the spiritual state of modern people. Among these works, The Brooklyn Follies(2005) is a typical representative. With a hopeful attitude, Auster, in this novel, offers a vivid vision of how some debilitated New Yorkers get out of their spiritual predicaments in the harmonious Brooklyn community.Although recent years witness Auster’s reputation on the rise in China and many of his novels have been translated into Chinese, there is not much academic concern accompanying his popularity. Up till now, only a few academic researches based on Auster and his works have been published. Moreover, scholars mainly focus on some of his works such as the New York Trilogy(1987), while few of them pay attention to The Brooklyn Follies. By analyzing the spiritual predicaments and the final salvation of the characters, this thesis aims to fill in the gap and promote the popularity and studies of Auster’s works at home.This thesis mainly focuses on three characters: the retired, divorced old man Nathan, Nathan’s depressed nephew Tom and his rebellious niece Aurora. The three characters experience similar life journeys. In face of their spiritual predicaments, they resort to escape mechanisms which only worsen their predicaments. Finally, through some positive actions, they gain rebirth. With the help of trauma theory, Fromm’s humanistic thoughts and positive psychology, this thesis attempts to analyze the spiritual predicaments of the three characters, their escape mechanisms and their final salvation. Besides the Introduction and Conclusion, this thesis is divided into three chapters.The Introduction presents a sketch of Auster’s life experiences, his literary career as well as the main storyline of the novel. Then in detail a literature review of this novel at home and abroad is presented. In addition, the theoretical framework and the significance of interpreting the novel from the perspective of trauma theory, Fromm’s humanistic thoughts and positive psychology are also elaborated in this part.Chapter One provides a detailed analysis of the spiritual dilemmas of the three characters. They experience some traumatic events at home and in society. Nathan struggles in his unfortunate marriage, endures the loss of his sister, and as an insurance man, he is a victim of the traumatic experiences of his clients. Tom is traumatized by the divorce of his parents, the death of his mother, the failure of finding a satisfactory job as well as a violent crime he experiences. Aurora’s trauma results from the divorce of her parents and an awful experience of being gang-raped on the set of a pornographic film. Apart from these traumatic experiences, the three also endure alienation. In the insane modern society characterized by the endless pursuit of money, they are transformed into things or commodities, and thus they are alienated from themselves and from others. Due to the influence of the traumatic events and the alienated relationships, the three often experience helplessness, loneliness and insecurity.Chapter Two explores the escape mechanisms of the three characters and probes into the causes of their choices. In order to gain some comfort and the sense of security, Tom and Nathan choose the escape mechanism of “automaton conformity”. Instead of positively pursuing their own original dreams and actively establishing good relationships with others, they conform to the expectations of the outside world and live like automatons. Nathan buries his literary dream and lives a routine life as a salesman. Tom has no motivation to pursue his original plan of being a teacher, but chooses to accept Harry’s suggestion to be his assistant. Because they lose their individuality, their dilemmas are worsened with time going by. Aurora chooses the escape mechanism of “masochistic strivings”. She submits herself to David in order to gain protection and love. However, because she sacrifices her independence, gradually she is caught in new bondage. Their tendencies to escape are affected by some external factors as well as their “nonproductive character”.The third chapter analyzes the final salvation of the three characters. At the end of the story, in the harmonious community of Brooklyn, the three characters gradually get rid of their spiritual dilemmas through their positive actions: mature love and “productive activities”. With the cultivation of their capacity to love, they learn to affirm their own potentialities and also gradually establish good relationships with others. Apart from mature love, their final salvation also benefits from their productive activities, the fundamental requirement of which, according to Fromm, is to be active. Through active participation in the realms of human relations and their non-alienated labor, the three finally have opportunities to live meaningful lives and gain satisfaction and genuine happiness.Based on the above discussion and analysis, the Conclusion points out that the rebirth of the three characters serves as an encouragement to many modern men who have been undergoing spiritual crisis. It embodies Auster’s profound solicitude for the spiritual state of modern man and his hopeful attitude towards the future of modern people. The interpretation of the novel with the help of trauma theory, Fromm’s humanistic thoughts and positive psychology attempts to contribute a new angle and some new contents to the researches on Auster’s works, and it also possesses certain practical meanings, which is to remind those who are trapped in their spiritual dilemmas that the only way to start a new life is to take positive actions instead of resorting to escape mechanisms.