An Interpretation Of Root-seeking Literature From The Perspective Of Myth-prototype Criticism

Myth-prototype criticism theory holds that literature originates from the imitation of primitive culture such as myth,ceremony and totem.Literature can find its source in primitive culture.By putting literature into primitive culture and background of the times,we can dig out the deep structure and connotation of literary works through the surface structure and connotation of literary works.Root-seeking writers unconsciously use mythological reconstruction,metaphor,symbols and other means to narrate in their literary creation.Therefore,the characters,images and plots in Root-Seeking literature can find archetypes in myths,rituals,totems and other primitive cultures.Influenced by the background of the times and the creative intentions of root-seeking writers,mythological archetypes have undergone replacement and transformation in Root-Seeking literature.The characters often appear in Root-Seeking literature,such as folk heroes,women living at the bottom and incomplete characters.Their archetypes can be found in myths.Folk heroes embody the spirit of benevolence and justice,responsibility and dedication in Confucian culture;women living at the bottom are persecuted by feudal ethics,some of them succumb to the alienation image of feudal culture as spirit,some change their own destiny through resistance;the incomplete figures embody the "shadow" of politics,culture and humanity.Through the portrayal of these characters,the author expresses the root-seeking writers' criticism of the Confucian culture,the feudal culture and the reflection on the bad root of the nation.Under the influence of the root-seeking trend of thought,the image in the root-seeking literature has its realistic symbolic significance.Water prototype is transformed into root-seeking literature in the form of well water,river water and flood.Well water symbolizes people's living consciousness,river water symbolizes the local complex of root-seeking writers,flood conveys root-seeking writers' hidden worries about the decline of traditional culture;deer prototype symbolizes national spirit and reconstruction consciousness in totem and myth,and expresses root-seeking writers' rebuilding national consciousness by depicting deer images.The tree archetype symbolizes nature and homeland in totems and myths,and the root-seeking writers express the root-seeking of Taoist culture with the idea of "inaction" as the main body by depicting the image of the tree.The metaphor of mythological plot is embodied in the form of simile in Root-Seeking literature.The metaphor of tracing the origin of life by the prototype of seeking father is manifested in many plots of seeking father in the literature of seeking root,and "seeking father" symbolizes the re-construction of national culture;the regeneration plot is manifested in the reexcavation of national spirit on the one hand,and in the chronic disease of national culture on the other hand;the wandering plot shows the confused state of the educated youth group,which realizes self-realization by returning to the countryside.Identity and self-worth.The significance of root-seeking literature lies in its rediscovering the value of national culture and examining traditional culture with an open eye.However,there are limitations in Root-Seeking literature,such as the contradiction of value judgment and the inconsistency between "root-seeking" intention and practice.