Ethical Identity And Selection Of Jules And Maureen In Oates’s Them

Proficient in applying diverse writing methods and handling a wide range of subjects, Joyce Carol Oates (born 16 June 1938) is one of the most important contemporary American authors. And she is also highly acclaimed as "the finest American writer, man or woman since Faulkner" (Fossum,1975:285). Her strong sense of social responsibility impels her to focalize on revealing social reality and to devote her efforts to the "moral, educative and illustrative function" of art (Milazzo,1989:49). With the aim to arouse readers’concern on social reality, living and spiritual dilemmas of common people, she always spares no efforts in exposing social maladies that should not be ignored in American society. Published in 1969, them, Oates’s representative work, won her the National Book Award in 1970. This novel revolves around the growth experiences of Jules and his sister Maureen in the Detroit slum, displaying their confusions, lostness and tragic transformation during growth. In them, Oates pays close attention to adolescents of American white working class, their fate and American dream, which provokes readers to rethink adolescent growth of lower class.Concerning Oates’s high reputation in American literature, the research at home, compared with the research abroad, has a certain discrepancy in terms of depth and breadth. In recent years, the research focus on Oates at home has shifted from feminist criticism, interpretation of redundant violence, alienation theme to eco-criticism. However, few scholars and critics have probed into them, her most important representative novel, in the light of ethical literary criticism. Besides, the realistic problems and predicaments that adolescents of American lower class are confronted with during growth reflected in the novel are universal. Based on the research situation, which calls for the necessity to broaden visions of literary criticism to assess Oates’s them by excavating its ethical value and the ethical factors that influence adolescent growth, this thesis sets out to dig out the moral enlightenments brought by Oates’s them and embody its ethical value within the text for adolescent growth by applying the theory of ethical literary criticism to the exploration of Jules and Maureen’s growth experiences in the Detroit’s slum and to probing into the confusions of ethical identity that confront them as well as their ethical choices made under the influence of particular ethical environment.This thesis comprises five chapters. The first chapter offers a brief introduction to Oates’s status in literary arena, her life and career, her novel them, also available in this chapter are a literature review concerning Oates’s work both at home and abroad, and a brief introduction to the research method and the structure of the thesis. The second chapter lays emphasis on the analysis of ethical environment in the text, namely, soil of the formation of ethical consciousness, which includes social and family environments, and on exploring the difficulties that hinder Jules and Maureen to form ethical consciousness. This chapter reveals the disadvantageous impact of violent ambiance in the society and problematic relationship in the family on adolescent growth, highlighting the significance of a favorable ethical environment to the formation of ethical consciousness of adolescents. The third chapter is centered on the confusions that confront Jules and Maureen during their confirmation of ethical identity, and analyzes the reasons for their failures in ethical identity confirmation, unveiling the identity predicaments of adolescents in family and society. In their family, both Jules and Maureen strive to be dutiful children of their parents, whose indifference and violent treatment lead to their escape from family; in the society, the cruel reality endows them powerlessness to change their humble identity. The fourth chapter focuses on Jules and Maureen’s lostness of values and emotion in adolescence, and on their tragic transformation in adulthood. Through analyzing their irrational choices, and the motives as well as consequences of the choices, this chapter indicates that ethical selection plays an important role in becoming an ethical being. In order to achieve freedom and love, Jules and Maureen commit two ethical taboos, murder and adultery respectively, which fail them in accomplishing ethical selection. The fifth chapter draws the conclusion. The violence and unfairness of society, absence of parents and irresponsibility of school education should be responsible for the confusions, lostness and tragic transformation of adolescents during their growth. Thus, ethical factors, such as harmonious ethical environment, effective parental guidance and favorable school education, are indispensable to adolescent growth. Above all, what is of crucial significance is for the society and parents to raise serious concern about the disadvantageous impact of the lack of ethical factors mentioned above on adolescent growth.