A Study On The Ethical Narrative In The Public Burning

As a famous American postmodern novelist,Robert Coover（1932-）focuses on exploring the morality of human nature in American society and thinking about the true meaning of ethics to American society.The research on The Public Burning at home and abroad mainly focuses on metafiction research,interdisciplinary research,linguistic deconstruction research,cultural interpretation research,etc.However,few scholars study the ethical narrative of The Public Burning from the perspective of ethical literary criticism.The thesis analyzes Coover’s The Public Burning in ethical narrative content and ethical narrative structure.According to ethical literary criticism,it also attempts to explore the ethical value of characters,the ethics behind the narrative form,and the public’s ethical responsibility in the narrative text.Firstly,the introduction is about Robert Coover and his work The Public Burning,literature review at home and abroad,and presents the theory of ethical narrative,ethical literary criticism,as well as the significance and structure of the thesis.Afterward,the thesis discusses the ethical narrative content in the work,starting with ethical confusion,ethical identity,and ethical selection,clarifying the identity differences between different characters,and analyzing the theme and character image in The Public Burning.Then,it illustrates the ethical narrative structure of the work from the perspectives of narrative logic,space construction,and ending setting,to maintain the balance between social norms and moral and ethical relations.Finally,the thesis restates the theme based on summarizing the full text,and reiterates Robert Coover’s concern about the major social event,to explore the ethical implications and ethical intentions in the work.Through careful reading of the text,The Public Burning not only retells the Rosenberg case,but also exposes the current status of the collapse of the American society’s ethical defense line.Today,when the epidemic is raging,we must respect and defend the dignity of social laws and ethics.When a major social event appears,only clear self-awareness and correct moral and ethical guidance can promote the realization of personal and social values.