The Song Of The Lark In The Perspective Of Mike Crang's New Cultural Geography

Willa Cather(1873-1947)is an important American writer spanning 19 th and 20 th century.She was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1923.As a western female writer,she focuses on the Western Prairie,and The Song of the Lark is one of her famous three prairie novels.The Song of the Lark,tells a story about an American western town girl,with her persistence and hard work finally becomes a famous opera singer in New York.This thesis would use Mike Crang's cultural geography theory to reveal the symbolic cultural meanings of the different literary landscapes and compare Thea's successful paradigm with other character's failed experiences.In this way,it explains the in-depth reason of the author's intention which is a try to solve the spiritual crisis caused by the social norms and modern society.Taking Thea as a successful example,sticking to one's inner heart is the way to achieve the balance between the spirit and the material in the background of capitalistic industrialized society.This thesis has three parts: the introduction,the body and the conclusion.In the introduction part,it introduces the historical context in which Willa Cather lives and the critics on Cather and The Song of the Lark as well as Mike Crang's cultural geography theory.The body contains chapter one,chapter two and chapter three.In Chapter one,the symbolic meanings of literary landscapes: Moonstone,Chicago,Panther Canyon and New York are revealed by the application of Mike Crang's cultural geography theory cultural geography.In chapter two,it discusses Thea's fulfillment of her artistic dream and the effects of landscapes on her.In chapter three,it mainly analyzes the other characters' failed experiences in the landscapes and the author's intention in this novel.In the conclusion part,it summarizes the main content of this thesis and its innovation and its limitations.