The Research On Ethical Thought Of Jonathan Franzen’s Novel

Jonathan Franzen is a famous American contemporary novelist,simultaneously a leading public moralist in the nation.He regards the novel as an excellent medium for social enlightenment and emphasizes the important role of ethical criterions in personal life,family life and social life.Therefore,Franzen’s works tend to have evident ethical characteristics,show the writer’s unique ethical concepts.This paper mainly studies the circumstance and concrete manifestation of Franzen’s ethical thoughts(individual,family and social ethics),and reveals Franzen’s sense of social responsibility and moral mission as a novelist.The full text consists of six parts.The first part is the introduction,mainly introduces the life and creation of Franzen,combs and sums up the present situation of Franzen’s research at domestic and abroad,briefly analyzes the current research results,discusses the research space waiting for exploration,and put forward the ideas,methods and significance of the paper on this basis.The second part is the generation context of Franzen’s ethical thoughts,mainly from the four aspects of politics,culture,familiy and creation,analyzes the background of Franzen’s ethical thoughts;points out that the writer’s moral dismay and ethical awareness are rooted in contemporary America that increasingly losing the spirit of value in social context and the family that adhere to the Protestant ethic and the spirit of Puritan.The third part analyzes the individual ethic in Franzen’s novels,and shows the writer’s reflection on the individual’s unrestricted freedom.Through the ethical dilemma,which initiated by the characters who pursuing for the the absolute freedom,Franzen tries to restore the moral dimensions of the freedom,advocates to build the “moral” freedom.The fourth part analyzes the family ethic in Franzen’s novels.By showing the ethical chaos and distortion of the family,the author expresses the reflection on the anti-mainstream cultural movement in the 1960 s.On the basis of this reflection,Franzen demands to reconstruct the orderly and harmonious relationship between human relations,achieving the return of traditional family ethics.The fifth part analyzes the social ethics in Franzen’s novel from three aspects: politics,economy and ecology.Facing the separation of power politics and moral justice,the contradiction between economic efficiency and social fairness,the conflict between the model of ecomony increment and environmental protection,Franzen utters an ethical call to justice.The sixth part is the conclusion,summarizes the ethical concept of Franzen’s novel,reveals the "responsibility" kernel of the ethical thought,and clarifies the profound significance and modern value of his creation.In the fiction,Franzen explicitly reflects on the anti-cultural movement in the 1960 s,and explores the political and economic crisis resulted from this movement.He brings in ethical issues to the individual,family,society and other fields,reflects a writer’s consciousness of social responsibility.