An Interpretation Of The Known World From Discourse/Power Perspective

With the integration and communication of multi-culture, African-American Literature gradually becomes a significant part of realistic literature of America, and makes great progress among literary circle in recent years. As one of the representatives of modern African-American writers, Edward Paul Jones, awarded many famous awards on literature, is regarded as the most popular African-American writer after William Faulkner and Toni Morrison. According to situation of black slaveholders, The Known World, the masterpiece of Jones, not only pays attention to racial discrimination, but also emphasizes more on the complex of slavery and complicated personality when individuals strive for power. The researches before give analysis from perspectives such as narrative strategies, role theory, new historism, studying the writing styles, and identity construction, severe discrimination and so on.Based on Michelle Foucault's Discourse/Power theory,brief analysis through research methods such as literature research, data analysis and survey method will be given on the discourse power running through the whole story, presenting how the discourse power disciplines individuals on body and soul, describing how the individuals achieve resistance and subversion against the discourse power. Identification and self-reflection of African-American is the foothold of this thesis. The thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter one is the introduction part. An introduction to the writer Jones and The Known World will be firstly organized, then some researches on the literature review of the novel are summarized. Besides, research on discourse and power theory will be also analyzed including the emergence and development of Discourse/Power theory, the main form of Discourse/Power theory and significance of the study.Combined with power theory of Foucault, two main power relations of the novel are summaruzed in chapter two. The complicated power relations are revealed from the seemingly binary opposition of whites and blacks, slaveholders and slaves, preparing for the following disciplines of discourse power next.Discourse practices are discussed in chapter three. On the basis of Discourse/Power theory, with disciplinary means of distribution, hierarchical observation, normalizing judgment and examination, two main discourse forms in the novel are analyzed to explore how the discourse power disciplines and punishes individuals on body and soul and the voiceless phenomenon under the oppression of discourse power. Through which,it reveals the endless discipline imposed on ruled class in the process of striving for power.In chapter four, the resistance and subversion will be discussed. Through four different means of resistance, it indicates readers that no matter which way the individuals choose to fight for freedom, they make efforts to subvert the mainstream discourse power in the world dominated by white people, and also endeavor in the process of achieving self-identity.Chapter five is conclusion part. In this chapter, the profound significance, limitation and difficulties of this thesis will be pointed out to spur the later research.The results found that during the period of fighting for power, discourse power is not always in the hands of one side, but presents the discipline and punishment of one side upon the other with the transformation of power relations in order to occupy power for long time. Meantime, both the ruling class and ruled class are under discipline of discourse power, while individuals of ruled class show struggle and confusion when fighting for freedom and making great efforts to struggle in the world dominated by white people.