An Analysis Of The Alienation Phenomena In As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner is a well-known modern novelist,one of the most influential writers in American literature.Because of his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel,Faulkner won Nobel Prize in Literature in1949.He is skilled at using stream of consciousness,multiple perspectives,symbolism,metaphors and religious allusion together with obscure languages,long sentences,and intricate styles to express the bankrupt of morality system and the complicity of the whole world,especially alienation and loneliness to give prominence to the theme.Faulkner always used works to reflect drawbacks in modern society and As I Lay Dying was once praised by Faulkner as his best novel.The work shows the Bundrens experience a burdensome and absurd funeral journey in which betray,adultery and internal conflicts are commonly seen and in their wasteland world,the alienating condition and hard existing situation are disclosed completely.Scholars from home and abroad have been studying the work for a long time with abundant contents.However,As I Lay Dying is received comparatively less attention in its alienation phenomena.So the author thinks it can be meaningful to study As I Lay Dying from this angle.This paper is based on Fromm's alienation theory to expose the common poor white family's situation so as to insinuate the universal alienation in modern society,that is alienation between man and God,man and nature,man and society and man and himself.Under the roaring development of capitalism,the evil and morbid side of people is simulated with indifference,estrangement,savage,folly,selfishness and disbelief prevailed.While Faulkner's ultimate goal is to follow the humanitarian and optimistic spirit and have faith in human and he firmly believes that man not only can endure and he will prevail.The thesis consists of three parts.They are the introduction,the main body and the conclusion.The first part is introduction in which the writer' life,his works and literature reviews are presented.The author of the thesis puts forward research perspective and points out the theoretical and practical meaning.The main body is divided into four chapters.Chapter One is the overview of Erich Fromm's humanistic alienation theory.The source and development of alienation theoryand Erich Fromm's humanistic alienation theory are covered in this chapter.Fromm studied nature,world,society,God and human beings from various perspectives,namely politics,economy,philosophy,psychology and anthropology to reveal the distortion and alienation between man and society,man and man and man himself under the influence of all kinds of contradictions along the process of capitalist society's deformed development.Estrangement and alienation in As I Lay Dying interact with Fromm's theory,so with the combination of discourses and theory,the thesis can better present alienation phenomena in As I Lay Dying and express writer's humanistic care for modern people under the special social and economic transformation period.Chapter Two is the analysis of three social causes for alienation phenomena,namely the shocking impact of World War I and the outcome of the Lost Generation;the rapid and deformed development of modern society and the decline of the traditional South and the collapse of traditional morality.The Bundrens' mental condition mirrors tradition's collapse,the loss of morality and values,the expanded self interests and desires and shaking beliefs at that time.The profound and subtle spiritual crisis occurs in people's consciousness,highlighting the theme—modern man's survival predicament and spiritual alienation.Alienation from mind,belief and society suffocates modern people,together with the burden and price people have to take and pay for.Chapter Three is an analysis of alienation between man and the outside world during the funeral journey based on Fromm's theory.Through the analysis of alienation between man and God,man and nature and man and society to show isolation between man and outside is not uncommon,but a miniature of whole society.Heroes in As I Lay Dying are representatives of modern people who lose belief,alienate from God and become perplexed without spiritual support;they are punished by nature severely for their ignorance and destruction to nature with flood and fire hindered on their pilgrimage and the importance to live in harmony with nature;they live in wasteland for the broken of traditional ideology,struggling to fight against fate.Chapter Four is the analysis of alienation between man and man along the funeral pilgrim with the alienation theory of Fromm.Alienation between husband and wife,parents and children,sisters and brothers and man and himself are presented to illustrate such estrangement,indifference even persecution and how modern men struggle to livein this wasteland with betrayal and internecine conflicts.By completely or even exaggeratedly showing people's indifference,stupidity,absurdity and pathosis,Faulkner intends to lead people to think how they survive in the situation with no respect and love in marriage,with no understanding and care in parents-children relations,with no help and forgive in siblings and in self-collapse.The last conclusion part is the summary of the research result and limitations of the thesis and then proposes suggestions accordingly;offers a new perspective to study alienation in As I Lay Dying based on Fromm's theory;shows its warning and enlightening effect.Alienation accompanies human development all along and it's not a specialty in 20 th century's individual,family,region or country,because even in 21 th century,there are still alienating problems between man and nature,man and society and man within himself.Faulkner encourages people to establish beliefs,face up to alienation,accept challenges and arm with love and forgiveness and enlighten others to alienate from alienation and achieve man's sustainability.