Kiwi Bigtree's Growth In Swamplandia! From The Perspective Of Spatial Criticism

Karen Russell is an American novelist of New Generation.She uses the abundant coastlines of Florida and swamps as a background to describe the pains and desires of growth in Swamplandia!.Through the analysis of Kiwi's living conditions and psychological predicament under the two different worlds,this thesis depicts how the protagonist goes through the hardships in the process of growing up.The first chapter is a general introduction to Karen Russel and her first novel Swamplandia!,as well as the literature review on the study of this novel.It also introduces the significance and the layout of this thesis.The protagonist Kiwi has always been wandering in a space full of confusions and chaos,and he has confronted a series of hardships and challenges in such a space.With the help of spatial criticism,the geographical space,social space and individual psychological space of text are discussed to analyze Kiwi's growth.This spatial study can be an easier access to understand the social and cultural connotations the space carries and reveal Kiwi's inner change from innocence to maturity.This thesis centers on Kiwi's childhood in a secluded swamp island and his adolescence in a confined world of the mainland.Faced with the two opposites of “the old world and new civilization”,Kiwi gets lost in the process of exploring.Because of the indifferent family relations and the confusing family history,Kiwi is lack of the right understanding of himself.When he confronts the separation between children's world of innocence and adults' world of experience,he feels confused in social communication and sexual relations.Young Kiwi struggles in the World of Darkness between ideality and reality,desire and repulsion,pursuit and confusion.He tries positively in searching self-identity and finally recognizes his identity and becomes more mature.Influenced by the enlightenment of the protagonist,the author draws the conclusion that only keeping balance between the two cultures the teenagers living on the fringe of society and culture would not get lost.Thus they find a more proper direction,know the value of family and get ready for any challenges on their way of growing up.