A Study Of Jhumpa Lahiri's Cosmopolitanism In The Lowland

Jhumpa Lahiri is a famous contemporary Indian American writer.From the perspective of cosmopolitanism and based on a close reading of the text,this thesis tries to explore Lahiri's cosmopolitan ideas implicated in The Lowland through the analysis of the three themes: responsibility,trauma,and ethics in the work.With the acceleration of globalization,cosmopolitanism has been rejuvenated and has become a frontier theoretical topic in the international academic world.The core idea of cosmopolitanism is that all human beings,whatever their political affiliation is,do belong to a community.In that sense,it is consistent with the essence of the “A Community of Common Destiny” proposed by General Secretary Xi.Chapter one mainly introduces Lahiri's family background,abundant literary achievements and her writing style.Chapter two introduces the domestic and international researches on Lahiri's works and cosmopolitanism which lays solid foundations for this thesis.Chapter three makes a detailed introduction and systematical combing to the theory of cosmopolitanism.Based on Appiah's individualistic and universal cosmopolitanism,Caruth,Freud,and Herman's relevant trauma theory,and Nie Zhenzhao's ethical literary theory,chapter four,five and six respectively make an in-depth analysis on main characters' sense of responsibility,trauma source and consequence,reconstruction of ethical identity in The Lowland,trying to reveal Jhumpa Lahiri's cosmopolitan dispositions contained in the novel.Chapter seven is a conclusion of the thesis.This thesis shows that Lahiri agrees with Appiah's cosmopolitan ideology that the actual,real individuals are the ultimate aim of ethical care.Through the writing of immigrants' dislocation,search for nationality and belonging,pain of border-crossing as well as imagination and pursuit for homeland,Lahiri expresses her hope for a construction of a harmonious cosmopolitan world in The Lowland.