Discipline Of Power And Individual's Revolt-an Interpretation Of The Fifth Child And Its Sequel Ben, In The World From Foucault's Perspective

Doris Lessing is a winner of Nobel Prize for literature.Her works mainly focus on probing and pondering the real and spiritual life of human beings.The Fifth Child is regarded as an important novella of Doris Lessing in her late writing period and the writing of its sequel Ben,in the World shows the writer's special attention to this novella.Most researches of these two novellas in China and foreign countries are in the areas of the genre,the symbolic meaning,psychological analysis,feminism and philosophical ideas.This thesis,by applying the theory of power and the aesthetics of existence,attempts to explore the main characters' loss and revolt in the net of power.This thesis is composed of five parts.The first part briefly introduces the author and the two novellas The Fifth Child and its sequel Ben,in the World as well as the relevant research in China and foreign countries.Besides,brief introduction of Foucault's theory of power and his thought about aesthetics of existence is given to pave the analysis of the novellas.The second part,on the basis of power and discourse,analyzes the deprival of Ben's voice under the power and the impact of discourse on David and Harriet.And by employing Foucault's disciplinary techniques,this part also elaborates the constraint and oppression of main characters in the power operation,revealing the difficulty of modern people in disciplinary society.Part three illustrates the people's loss in spiritual world and the fear of the unknown.These people are under different kind of life but are all in the control of the power for a long time.The fourth part,based on Foucault's resistance and aesthetics of existence on one hand,explores the main characters' revolt for self-quest;on the other hand,it demonstrates that self-care is the only way to realize the real freedom.The conclusion part illustrates the combination of the two novellas and the theory as well as the realistic significance and the value of this thesis.The study of the novellas based on the theory of power and aesthetics of existence not only enriches the research perspective of the two novellas and Doris Lessing,but also points out the way of realizing the emancipation of the spirit and the free development for the people who are in the control of power.