Contradictions Of The Colonial Discourse And Anti-colonial Discourse In The Plumed Serpent

D.H.Lawrence is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century in the English literature history.Based on Lawrence’s idea of “spirit of place”,this thesis explores Lawrence’s inner conflicts and contradictions between his unchangeable European identity and his anti colonialist thinking,besides,this thesis digs into the contradictions between Lawrence’s attempt to revive the old Mexico past and the limitations of what a European can do.This thesis consists of three parts.The first part is an introduction to Lawrence’s works and achievements,along with literary reviews of The Plumed Serpent and thesis statement.The second part is the body part of the thesis which consist of three chapters.Chapter One introduces the “spirit of place” as a post-colonial concept and its influence on Lawrence’ contradictions in The Plumed Serpent;Chapter Two focuses on the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized,revealing Lawrence’s colonial discourse;Chapter Three discusses the anti-colonial discourse in the novel,interpreting the religious reformation and Lawrence’s exploration on ideal political system.In Lawrence’s mind,the racial and geographic difference that “spirit of place” shares,should be cherished instead of being destroyed by western civilization.The last part is the conclusion.After summarizing the general contents of the thesis,a conclusion is made: Lawrence cannot see the colonized world the same way as the colonized see it,but his belief in the “spirit of place” is a try to decolonize the colonized and find another way out for modern western civilization.Ambivalent and limited it may seem like from The Plumed Serpent,Lawrence’s efforts to decolonize the colonized and attempts to embrace different culture should be appreciated.