Oppression,Anxiety And Resistance-The Spatial Predicament Of Marginal Southerners In The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

Carson McCullers is a distinguished southern American writer in the 20 th century.She has drawn people’s attention for her strong southern features,grotesque characterization and exquisite depiction of the isolation of human spirit.The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is her first and most famous work.Since its publication,the theme of spiritual isolation and the grotesque characters in the novel have caught much attention of researchers.However,the social significance of the novel has been neglected to some degree.In the second half of the 20 th century,there appeared a wave of “spatialization” in the field of humanities and social sciences.Western scholars led by Henry Lefebvre and Michel Foucault observed the social significance of space.Since then,space in literature is not just a geographical landscape or a static platform for human activities,but a dynamic space with multi-dimensional social connotation.Set in a small southern town,The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter depicts the living plight of the people in the small southern town.The southern town is not only a geographical living space,but also a power space full of economic,political and ideological factors,which restricts and affects the individuals living in it.From the perspective of spatial criticism,the survival predicament of the marginal southerners is closely associated with the space.First,this thesis analyzes suffocating family space and public space in the novel,and reveals the oppression of power space on the vulnerable groups.Next,the anxious spatial experience of the marginalized characters in the oppressive space is elucidated.Then,the thesis focuses on their resistant spatial practice to break away from the spatial predicament.Finally,it comes to the conclusion: in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,space is closely related to the survival predicament of marginal southerners.The space in the novel is a power space under the control of social ideology,which exerts an impact onindividuals living in it.Meanwhile,the marginal southerners try to get rid of the spatial predicament through their rebellious spatial practice.In their brave attempt,the author tries to prove that there is still hope for a breakthrough in the power space.In this regard,the novel is endowed with positive social significance.It aims to provide a new perspective for the interpretation of the novel,and further understand strong humanistic consciousness in the work.