A Study On The Ethical Narrative Of Martin Eden

Jack London(1876-1916)was one of the most important critical realism writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries of America.His works are closely related to his own experiences and times,and his theme has never stopped discussing class,identity,morality and humanity.The autobiographical novel Martin Eden(1909)is one of his masterpieces.Scholars in domestic and abroad have used psychoanalysis,new historicism,feminist criticism and other theories to explore the characters,themes and plots in Martin Eden.From the perspective of ethical narrative,this thesis uses literary ethics to criticize and analyze the ethical identity,ethical predicament and ethical selection of characters in the text.In addition,it applies classical narratology theory to interpret the narrative strategy adopted by the writer to express the ethical issues of the work and its own ethical position,which leads to a better understanding and grasping on the ethical values of the author's ethical thoughts and works.This paper is divided into three chapters:The first chapter mainly discusses Martin's ethical identity and ethical choices made in ethical dilemma.When Martin was a sailor at the bottom of society,he struggled between wildness and civilization,after which he chose to accept civilization.When Martin became Rose's fiance,he fell into the struggle bet,ween "elegance" and "vulgarity" and then chose to violate the conscience and cater to the market.When Martin became a famous writer,the confusion of ethical identity put him in the realm of survival or destruction.In the end,he made the ethical choice of suicide.The second chapter mainly focuses on the changes of Rose's^ethical identity,and intensively analyses the multiple ethical dilemmas she had fallen into and the ethical choice she had made.As a lady of the upper-class,Rose fell into the obsession of desire and upbringing.She chose to satisfy her own desire.After Rose became Martin's fiancee,she chose to betray love after weighing and comparing it with class.The ethical dilemma and ethical choice of Martin and Rose embody the fierce conflict between wild pursuit and the "civilized" morality outlook.The third chapter mainly elaborates the narrative strategy adopted by the writer Jack London under the ethical choice.At the level of narrative subject,the author mainly uses the non-focusing perspective to express the ethical positions,uses the narrative intervention to show the ethical attitudes,and uses the narrative unreliability to illustrate the ethical orientation.At the level of narrative text,the change of narrative time is used to demonstrate the ethical implication and the conversion of narrative space to convey the ethical significance.By analyzing and expounding the interaction between ethics and narrative in Martin Eden,this thesis reveals the ethical values contained in the content and forms of the works,and reflects London's ethical reflection on class identity issues and the concept of marriage and love.