On Paul's Transformation Of Self-Consciousness In Decline And Fall

Evelyn Waugh is one of the most famous novelist and reviewer in the twentieth century in Britain. Decline and Fall, known as Waugh's first novel, was published in 1928. It tells various absurd events experienced by the hero Paul who is expelled from the university on the pretext of indecent behavior and then forced to wander in the modern world. Through the hero's change of psychological state after suffering from various absurd events, Waugh truly displays the social disorder and moral anomie of Britain in the interwar period and meantime,reflects the spiritual crisis and existential predicament of the lost generation grown up after the Great War under the conflict between the tradition and modernity.The famous American existential psychologist Rollo May points out in his work Man's Searching for Himself that the modern life in the twentieth century has speeded up so that the individual is so weak and feeble that he conceals his self-consciousness when falling into the predicament. What's more, Rollo May reveals the common phenomenon of modern people's separated sex from love relationship in spite of the true meaning of love which lies in the sincere connection with other people. Therefore, true love is fading and sex appears to occupy a relatively higher position in modern society. And the modern people lose the self-consciousness in the superficial love. By virtue of Rollo May, the individual should make endeavors to search for the development of his self-consciousness when facing the crisis of existence. By this way, the existential values can be realized.Focused on the hero Paul's transformation in self-consciousness, this thesis attempts to explore the existential predicament and spiritual state of British during the transitional period between the two world wars. It analyzes from three psychological states such as “compliance”,“disorientation”, and “introspection” of the hero Paul. Firstly, a literature review about this novel is made, and then a brief introduction of Rollo May's existential psychology theory is given, finally three questions are raised: how does Paul, as the embodiment of tradition and rationality, conceal his self-consciousness in order to comply with the license collective will?Having left the chaotic environment, how does Paul gradually lose himself in the emotional life? What's the change of Paul's inner attitude towards the solitude and how does he find the nature of his own?The main body focuses on three psychological states of the protagonist Paul. It starts with the analysis of Paul's weakness and compliance with the surrounded environments. Paul symbolizes the traditional morality and rationality rarely existed in the disorderly modern society. When he suffers from various attacks from the collective unrestrained freedom and corrosion of the decaying moral values, he has no choice but to step out from the safe academic ivory tower, conceals the nature of his own and superficially commits to depraved community. Then, it comes to the exploration of the hero's blindness and self-lost in the emotional interaction. Paul desires to own the settled family life portrayed in the Edwardian novels when he feels annoyed by the deceptive life in the collective environment. However,he is too inexperienced and innocent to ignore his lover's selfishness and shameless underneath the attractive appearance. As a result, he gradually loses his self-consciousness in the purposed sweetness. At last, it illustrates Paul's awareness and positive introspection in the solitary confinement. In the mist of love affair, Paul sacrifices himself at the cost of freedom. In jail, Paul is forced to lose the contact with the modern world, which creates opportunity for him to introspect himself. He comes to realize that the modern society deficient in faith and order has sunk into the profound spiritual crisis. So, at last, Paul retreats from the modern society to sustain his self-consciousness.The conclusion part responds the above questions and shows that by the analysis of the hero Paul's self-compliance, self-lost and self-introspection, Waugh in this novel truly presents the transformation of Paul's self-consciousness in the disorderly modern society. As the embodiment of the traditional moral values, Paul's existential predicament represents the conflict between the tradition and the modernity in Britain during the transitional period.Through the analysis of Paul's existential state, we can see Waugh's humanistic concern about the reality of the Britain society and his aspiration for the stable and harmonious social order.