An Interpretation Of McEwan’s Values On Children’s Development From The Cement Garden

Ian McEwan is one of the most influential writers in contemporary Britain literary circle,who have won many literary awards like Man Booker Prize and Somerset Maugham Award.The Cement Garden(1978)is one of his masterpieces in “Ian Macabre” period.The story is narrated by “I”,a rebellious Jack of 15 years old,telling the growth dilemma of children from marginalized family in the process of urbanization.The death of parents leaves the four children be trapped in the cement garden as prisoners and become the survivors on the isolated island.They live alone and form a ethically dislocated family,in which they commit astonishing “crimes”beyond the ethical recognition.The theory of individual psychology holds the opinion that personality has wholeness,and it has a unique life goal and lifestyle.The theory emphasizes “social feeling” and centers on “inferiority” and “creative self”.It holds that children’s development is a process of overcoming inferiority,pursuing superiority,developing healthy lifestyle and forming healthypersonality.With the help of the theory of individual psychology and the close reading of the text,this paper focuses on the concepts of “social feeling” and“lifestyle”,analyzes the influence of the two factors inside and outside the family environment on the construction of children’s personality in the island,and explores McEwan’s values of children’s growth presented in the work.Firstly,the paper analyzes the relationship between the family external environment and social feeling.Due to the isolation of the development zone,the abandoned environment around the family hinders the connection between children and the outside world,and the neglect of the society aggravates the lack of social sense of children.The development of social feeling has a decisive influence on the choice of individual lifestyle.Secondly,the paper focuses on the “lifestyle” and further studies the negative influence of disordered relationships inside the family on children’s growth.The autocratic paternal love and indulgent maternal love make children choose wrong lifestyles to pursue the sense of superiority.In addition,the absence of family education and the disharmonious family relationship eventually lead to children’s wrong identity recognition.When faced with external threats,children make the wrong ethical choices to keep the family together.The horrible and gloomy environment in The Cement Garden has a serious impact on children’s psychology,which brings about problematic children one after another.Finally,through the above research,this paper finds that whilecriticizing the negative impact of urbanization on children’s growth,McEwan also expresses his values on children’s development: children’s healthy growth calls for a joint support from internal and external environment,including the favorable external environment,effective social interaction,proper education,and harmonious family relationships.Based on individual psychology,this thesis analyzes the requirements of children’s healthy growth presented in the story,which is of significance in deepening the understanding of McEwan’s works,broadening the research field of children literature and introducing the individual psychology in literary criticism.Meanwhile it can also give enlightenment for the construction of children’s growth environment in the process of contemporary urbanization.