Deconstruction Of The Body Discipline-the Carnival Study Of The Fifth Child

Filled with the traces of disciplined body and rebellious carnival,The Fifth Child is one of the classics of contemporary British writer Doris Lessing after her return to realism.Carnival,distinct from serious official discipline,is deeply rooted in merry folk culture.Its festive atmosphere and merry tone provide a second space characterized by openness and equality where the oppressed body can escape to freedom.The thesis,based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s carnival theory,focuses on various body disciplines reflected in The Fifth Child,analyzes the carnival behaviour from the individual,the group and the Other,and concludes that carnival,as an active strategy,is a complete subversion and a significant transcendence of body discipline.The introduction presents the background information concerning Doris Lessing,The Fifth Child and relevant researches about the novel home and abroad.The body part probes into the expressions of carnival from sexual relationship,consumption practice and violence behaviour on the basis of Bakhtin’s carnival theory and Foucault’s discipline concept.Chapter one deals with individual sexual carnival with emphasis on reproduction.The Lovatts as obedient individuals disciplined by middle-class tradition boldly returned to a pure sexual relationship.The repressed body thus achieved self-renewal through fertility.Chapter two discusses collective consumption carnival.Festive celebrations became the outlet for frugal bodies from all social classes including the Lovatts.The alienated bodies regardless of rank differences engaged in equal communication at the feast of abundance.Chapter three keeps an eye on the violence carnival from the Other.The rebel represented by the fifth child Ben and marginalized teenagers resisted oppression through violence.Grotesque body gained liberty by violence practice and authority degradation.The conclusion reveals that different forms of carnival in The Fifth Child made it possible for the submissive bodies to break through the bondage from social tradition,industrial society and official violence.The carnival in various forms is a real return to folk culture featured by freedom,equality and openness.In the dynamic battle between folk carnival and official discipline,carnival by means of body is an active rebellion against the official framework.In light of Bakhtin’s carnival theory,the thesis provides a new perspective to interpret The Fifth Child and delves into the significance of carnival strategy for the restrained body to subvert the disciplines and pursue freedom.