An Interpretation Of To Kill A Mockingbird From The Perspective Of Foucault's Theory Of Power And Discourse

To Kill a Mockingbird,written by the famous American Southern writer Harper Lee,was published in 1960 and won the Pulitzer Prize that same year.The novel is set in the Great Depression and depicts a typical American South town in 1930 s from the perspective of a six-year-old girl,inspired by events and situations witnessed by the author as she was growing up.The story begins with the children's fascination concerning their reclusive neighbor—Arthur Radley,and develops with the rape trial of a black laborer named Tom Robinson,which reflected the social hierarchy,injustice,racial discrimination and other social problems in the American South of 1930 s.From the perspective of Foucault's theory of power and discourse,this thesis aims to make inquiries about the following topics by analyzing the control of racial discrimination and patriarchy over the residents in Maycomb: 1.the concrete embodiment of how racial and patriarchal power discourses work and operate in Maycomb County.2.the consequences of racial and patriarchal power discourses on Maycomb residents.3.Resistance from Maycomb residents under the pressure of racial and patriarchal power discourses.The thesis is divided into three parts: introduction,main body and conclusion.The first part briefly introduces the life of Harper Lee and the story of To Kill a Mockingbird,makes a literature review both at home and abroad,and provides the theoretical framework used in this thesis as well as the outline of the thesis.The main body consists of three chapters.Chapter One analyzes the two main power discourses in Maycomb: the power discourse of racial discrimination and the power discourse of a Southern patriarchal society.White race occupied the dominant position of discourse power,while blacks were subordinated in all fields of life.In the patriarchal discourse,women and children were in subordinate positions to men as husbands,fathers and town leaders.Chapter Two analyzes the consequences of the two power discourses on the residents in Maycomb: the subordinates are turned into docile bodies;they are deprived of discourse power and they lack true knowledge.Chapter Three discusses the resistance to racial and patriarchal power discourse put up by the residents in Maycomb.In the world of the novel,much of the resistance to racial power discourse is effective in varying degrees although it sometimes may also be voiceless and anemic,depending on how they choose to resist.In the Southern patriarchy,the discourse power of the females and male offspring is always suppressed and controlled.Nevertheless,their resistance throws a light upon the nature of people in that society.The conclusion winds up the thesis with a summary and,combining Foucault's theory with this reading,reinterprets the message Harper Lee tries to convey through the novel: Any society as a disciplinary mechanism of power may entail injustice and inequality;in face of oppression,the resistance of the individual is precious.We should try our best to improve the social system by seeking and upholding justice;and more importantly,we must share the conviction that all humans are created equal.