A Study Of Ian McEwan's Solar From The Perspective Of Critical Humanism

Ian McEwan(1948-)is one of the most influential writers in contemporary English literature.Throughout his writing career,McEwan focuses his great attention on and shows deep concern for the state of human nature and the living conditions of human beings which are represented as prominent themes in his novels.His early works are filled with dark and horrifying presentations of the lopsided development of young adults and the morbid state of human mind concealed by the themes of incest,sexual violence,murder,etc.His later works turn to be concerned with family life,ethical and moral problems,reflections on history and conflicts in faith.All these earn for him the name of National Writer.Solar is a novel written by McEwan which depicts his journey to the Arctic Ocean in Norway.With its plot development centered around global warming,the novel tries to bring to light how the abundance of physical life goes side by side with the deterioration of spiritual life on the part of the people in the contemporary society against the background of great development in economy and science.Beard the protagonist,who is a scientist of physics himself,takes the central place in the novel,and his story is about romantic adventures,fishing for fame and compliments,getting nowhere in academic career,all of which result in his alienation of himself.In the light of critical humanism,this thesis takes Solar as the object of study,trying to unveil the popularity of utilitarianism,the crisis of natural environment,the disorder in the public realm and the private realm,moral corruption,lack of sense of responsibility,etc.which are all representations of the decline of humanism.Through the representation of decline of human nature,it hopes to call upon the return of humanism with which human beings' inner life can be restored to its best state.This thesis adopts the perspective of critical humanism to interpret Solar.On the cultural level,humanism and scientism are found to be in conflict with each other,as isrepresented by the overstatement of the power of science,the state of intense ecological crisis,the despise on literature and art from scientists like Beard,prevalence of utilitarianism,the weakening of fostering human spirit and mind in the mission of higher education.All these are the manifestations of the decline of humanism.On the sociological level,the publicness of human beings tends to decline;there is the rupture between the public realm and the private realm;people in the academic community bring their pursuit for self-value to a stop;human beings are more alienated than ever;mass media invades the private life of human beings and private life is in disorder and chaos.All are embodiments of lack of humanistic care and mental decay.On the moral level,the restricting power of “inner check” is now fading;human beings become more avaricious than ever;social code in the academic field is destroyed;cultural philistinism appears everywhere;ethical responsibility in the family and the sense of responsibility as public intellectuals wither away.Moral predicaments of human beings as expressed in Solar can all be found here.This thesis tries to make a critical study of the social phenomena revealed in Solar on the basis of critical humanist ideas represented by Irving Babbitt,Lionel Trilling and Edward Said,justifying the novel as a wise counsel that admonishes the world.Critical humanism probes deep into the novel,appealing to human beings to bring humanism back to their lives,make reflections on the complicated state of human nature,and enlist greater concern over the state of both physical and spiritual environment of human beings.