A Spatial Reading On Identity In Cloudstreet

Identity problem is an important issue in literary studies and also is a popular problem in the study of colonization process of the post-colonial world. The existing studies of identity problem mainly focus on the perspective of culture, post-colonialism, diaspora, gender, race and so on. And for the space theory, rising in 1970s, extremely advocates its cultural and political significance and takes in theoretical resources from different disciplines like geography, society, politics, architecture and so on, which can provide a broad platform and different perspectives to study identity problems in literature.The Australian literature, as an ethnic literature, now is gradually getting lots of attention from different fields and also the identity problem is one of the important aspects in Australian literature study. After almost one hundred year’s colonization, the Australians continuingly explore their identity dilemma and pursue their independent identity. Cloudstreet, written by Tim Winton, reflects characters’ identity problem by the space change. The existing study mainly focuses on post-colonialism, feminism, narratology, and there is only few studying from the space theory.Tim Winton(1960-) is the currently Australian "most prolific and most famous writer". "Almost every piece of his work once published, will cause the critics’ attention" and most of his novels have been awarded. Winton’s works concentrate on some small characters and their ordinary life. Leading characters in his works are mostly ordinary West Australians who don’t receive good education, ineloquent, even with a lot of shortcomings. He believes that "his writings focus on people in small locates and small situations", in efforts to "make ordinary to get attention".In Cloudstreet, Winton describes some small characters, their troublesome life and their sufferings, physically and mentally. The story centers on two families, the Pickles and the Lambs. After suffering their own family tragedies, they share the same roof under Cloudstreet. For twenty years they roister and rankle, laugh and curse until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. Therefore, the search for the meaning of self identity becomes prominent problem for these small characters. But Winton in the novel uses a unique way to narrate these characters’ identity problem, that is, to set this problem into the space. So, it’s proper to analyze the identity problem from the angle of space.The thesis consists of five parts. Chapter one gives a brief introduction of the author Tim Winton and his novel Cloudstreet and has a overview of the academic study on this work abroad and at home. Besides, it briefly introduces the thesis’s originality, writing framework and the space theory and the research of identity problem. As the main parts of this thesis, Chapter two, Chapter three and Chapter four based on the space theory and the close reading of the text, interpret the novel from the topographical space, the textual space and the cultural space to find Australian people’s identity predicament, their search for their identity and the shaping of their new identity.Through the analysis of different spaces, it can further explore Australian people’s individual identity confusion as well as their social identity problem. And finally the characters reconcile with each other in the spcae. The last part is a conclusion of the whole thesis. By connecting space with identity, the characters’ experience of searching for their own identity can be clearly seen, and also their stories can provide some significant suggestions for modern people who are now suffering identity crisis and finally these people can find a way out. Through these analysis, readers can also know more about the Australian Literature and the Australian people’s long existing identity problem.