赏析《生命中不能承受之轻》英语毕业论文.doc

某某某某大学本科毕业论文（设计）任务书分 院 外国语学院 专 业 英语 班 级 英本xxxx 学 生xxx 学 号 xxxxxx 指导教师 xxx 论文题目 an analysis of the unbearable lightness of being 1、论文的主要任务及目标 写出一篇不少于5000实词的毕业论文，检验学生大学四年来的学习、研究和实践的能力。考察学生的创新思维，创新意识及发现、分析和解决实际问题的能力。2、论文的主要内容this thesis contains three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusionthe introduction is made up of a synopsis of the novel, a literature review over the novel, research motivation,philosophy methodology and questions.the body is made up of seven chapters. chapter one: lightness and weight. chapter two: soul and body. chapter three: words misunderstood. chapter four: soul and body. chapter fiver: lightness and weight. chapter six: the grand march. chapter seven: karenins smile.the conclusion summarizes the above findings 3、论文的基本要求 本专业内选题，体现所学专业特点选题能够使学生达到综合运用所学知识获得比较全面的训练，同时也能使少数学生对某些专题进行比较深入的研究。4、主要参考文献kundera, milan. new york review of books m. new york: the novel and europe, 1984: 15.fuentes, carlos. the other k m. new york: triquarterly v.51, 1981: 268.王哲外国文学名著速读m北京：中国工商出版社,2002:213.5、论文进度安排论文各阶段名称起 止 日 期1 选题12月1日1月8日2列提纲1月9日2月1日3搜集材料2月2日 3月1日4初稿3月2日 4月1日5定稿4月2日 5月1日注：一式三份，学院、指导教师、学生各一份某某某某大学本科毕业论文（设计） 学号：xxxxxan analysis of the unbearable lightness of being 赏析生命中不能承受之轻分 院 外国语学院 专 业 名 称 英 语 班 级 英 本xxxx 姓 名 xxx 指 导 教 师 xxx 2010年5月10日an analysis of the unbearable lightness of being by xxxsupervisedby xxxxxxx university may 2010contents摘要iabstract ii1. introduction12. the characters of the unbearable lightness of being2 2.1 tomas2 2.2 tereza2 2.3 sabina3 2.4 franz33. themes, motifs and symbols of the unbearable lightness of being4 3.1 themes4 3.2 motifs5 3.3 symbols64. the plot of the unbearable lightness of being7 4.1 section one:lightness and weight7 4.2 section two:soul and body8 4.3 section three:words misunderstood9 4.4 section four:soul and body10 4.5 section five:lightness and weight10 4.6 section six:the grand march11 4.7 section seven:karenins smile125. conclusion13references14acknowledgements15 摘 要米兰昆德拉于1929年出生在捷克，在笑话出版之后，他开始被认定为持不同政见的知识分子。生命中不能承受之轻是他的代表作之一。生命中不能承受之轻讲述了一个布拉格的外科医生托马斯与他的妻子及其情人之间的爱情故事，他们各自在爱情生活中做出的选择也反应了该部作品的主旨生命不能承受的轻与重。昆德拉的作品总是表达出这样一种思想：他先前所知并欣赏的布拉格文化已一去不复返。而生命中不能承受之轻对我们的思想和生活中的选择也产生了很大的影响，我们在做出选择的同时也会思考这个选择带给我们的是轻还是重。关键字：爱情，轻与重，昆德拉，思想，选择abstractmilan kundera was born in czech in 1929. after the joke was published, kundera came to be perceived as a dissident intellectual. the unbearable lightness of being is one of his masterworks. the unbearable lightness of being tells a love story about a prague surgeon, tomas with his wife and his mistress. the choices they make in their love lives also reflect the central idea of the novel: the unbearable lightness and weight of being.kunderas works always demonstrate a belief that the culture he had previously known and enjoyed in prague was irrevocably lost. and the novel also has a great influence on our minds and our lives. when we choose we also will think whether our choice is lightness or weight.key words: love, lightness and weight, kundera, mind, choose1. introductionmilan kundera was burn in czech. among his most remarkable novels are the joke (1967), laughter and forgetting（ 1978），the unbearable lightness of being（1984），immortality（1990） farewell waltz（1976） and the dignity（1997）。kunderas first novel, the joke，describes life under communism with harsh cynicism and satire. as his partly autobiographical text, the unbearable lightness of being becomes his masterwork.the unbearable lightness of being tells a love story about a prague surgeon, tomas with his wife and his mistress. in the end, three of the four main characters in the novel have died: tomas and tereza die together; franz, sabinas mistress, died a dreamers death. it is noteworthy that none of the four characters ultimately seem to find a solution, and sabina, the only character left living, tomass mistress, leaves a surmise about her last adventure.for the unbearable lightness of being narrated with a first person narration from author kundera, and follow alternately one then other characters. this thesis attempts to think the novel from the authors point of view. and it also mainly analyzes the characters and their relationship, structures and plots.this thesis contains three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.the introduction is made up of a synopsis of the novel, a literature review over the novel, research motivation, methodology and questions as well as the organization of the thesis.in chapter one effort are intensified to investigate the characterization. chapter two mainly analyzes themes, motifs and symbols. in chapter three, i will analyze the relationship of “lightness and weight” among tomas, tereza and sabina. chapter four i will analyze each part of the novel in order to understand the structure.the conclusion summarizes the above findings. the individualism and intellectualism of kundera come through in the aesthetic and political content of his work. his experiences are not only the resource of his novel, but also serve as an integral part of his artistic vision. peoples attitude towards life and the lifes meaning, which enrich the connotations of the novel and add to its readability and profundity.河南农业大学华豫学院本科毕业论文(设计)2. the characters of the unbearable lightness of being.2.1 tomastomas was silenced after the soviet invasion of prague，who belongs to the czech intellectual class. as an international surgeon，tomas is forced to leave his career for he refuses to renounce an anti-czech communist article he wrote. although he is not a committed or active political dissident，the article puts him in grave danger. tomas wants to avoid political parties and society altogether so as to being a free agent and independent thinker who acts as he chooses. after losing the job of surgeon，tomas becomes first a window washer and then a farmer，falling into the lower rungs of society in search of a peaceful life.as a man，tomas try to practice a philosophy of lightness. he thinks sex and love two separate and unrelated entities; he sleeps with many women，and loves only tereza, and sees no problem with the simultaneous existence of these two activities，though tomas is an intellectual and a thinker，he is not romantic idealist as simon or franz. he cant obey the laws on which politics and romantic fidelity are based. he believes pragmatism，experience，and individualism; which make him unwilling to identify himself as a political liberal or as a faithful husband. therefore，most of the characters misinterpret tomas.2.2 terezatomas see tereza child put in a basket and sent downstream for tereza is so purity and innocence. tereza is waiting for someone like tomas to appear even before she meets him. however，after she meets him，his constant betrayals mean she have to frequently wait for him to return. they love each other deeply，but make each other miserable. tereza is not vulgar or kitsch in any easily recognizable sense；however，where tomas and sabina are light，she is heavy.tereza doesnt blame tomas on his infidelities，and instead characterizes herself as weaker than him when she leaves zurich and tomas and return to prague along，her strongest moment comes，sacrificing her own happiness to relieve tomas of the burden of her love. rightly because of her intelligence and compassion，tereza presents a kind of heaviness tomas cannot easily dismiss.tereza changes a lot during the course of the unbearable lightness of being，as she is increasingly forced to recognize the impossibility of her youthful dreams. nothing keeps as black and white as she feels it should be；tereza even start to admire her archrival sabina and feels sabinas powerful sensuality，although she knows sabina is tomass mistress. just as tomas must question his lightness，tereza must question her heaviness.2.3 sabinasabina shows extreme lightness of confronted with the ugliness and kitsch in her early times，sabina declares war on the ugly and unoriginal through her paintings and lifestyle. and her life is full of betrayals：betrayal means breaking ranks and going off into the unknown. sabina thinks nothing more wonderful than these. in order to pursue freedom，she went to america，and on the completed isolation she find it.sabina becomes tomass mistress is based on their mutual lightness. there is no family elements and usual romantic kitsch in their relationship；instead they just love a playful eroticism. however，like tomas，sabina also feels the intensity of heavier spirits. she make friends with tereza and falls in love with franz，both of whom are heavy characters. sometimes sabina also feels charm of the kitsch she so detests.sabina knows her extreme choices might leave her alone，which makes she feels uneasy；the unbearable lightness of being is that we can only make one decision and one possible end. tomas choose tereza and burden，sabina choose freedom and total lightness；neither knows whether they are right.sabina also has special relevance as a permanent and ambivalent exile. kundera，like sabina never go back to his country.2.4 franzfranz shows extreme heaviness. he creates meaning in his life by attaching solemn weight and importance to concepts and events. unlike tereza，he is innocent to believe that his approach is the only possible one.franz can be described as kitsch in his tastes and ideas，but he is more sympathy than vulgar，since he is a kind and compassionate man. he makes decision according to his belief，and is noble and gentle，if impossibly unperceptive. he suspects he may have made errors in judgment only at the end of his life；however，this realization comes too late，his idealism，innocence and lack of understanding his surroundings lead to a meaningless death3. themes, motifs and symbols of the unbearable lightness of being.3.1 themesthemes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.3.1.1 lightness and weightlightness and weight both are related with a philosopher，a philosophic life，and some characters. the ancient greek paremenides is a philosopher of lightness，which mentioned in the opening pages of the novel. he thinks weight is negative. generally speaking，accepting the lightness of being means accepting the life lacks ultimate meaning，so the life is just for momentary beauty. sabina and tomas are considered as lightness. sabina is lighter because she refuses to be tied down. while tomas finally chooses tereza and prague. kundera relates heaviness with nietzsches eternal return. he doesnt believe eternal return exits and thinks that man only has the opportunity to attempt to one path. and so there is no point of comparison and meaning. on the contrary，those people who are heavy cannot accept the unbearable lightness of being. tereza and franz are both heavy characters. tereza is heavy emotionally and cant accept the lightness，and is driven nearly to insanity. franz describes all the events of his life as heavy，which lead to a early and unnecessary death.the key themes of the unbearable lightness of being are lightness versus. weight，a paradox that cant be resolved. it sets the stage for the entire novel.3.1.2 politicsin the unbearable lightness of being，politics exist as a background are not completed. the three protagonists all can recognize one of kunderas most important ideas，that is all diehard political or ideological parties are fundamentally the same. sabina realize this from the artistic level，she found some parties，like fascists and the extremely religious all used sentimentalist kitsch，bad art，and propaganda. tomas also recognizes this as both the czech government and dissident groups try to pursue him and let him sign something；he realizes both groups want to use and misrepresent his article. in the beginning，tereza was tempted by dissident glamour. but after knowing all political parties would deny her privacy，she understands on an intuitive level that they are anti-individualistic. the three characters all could be identified as political.kundera describes the soviet military occupation of prague as horrifying. the foreign tanks and soldiers on behalf of a rape of the beautiful city，and the government let its most intelligent men and women to exile or permanent silence. the cultural world that tomas and sabina belonged in the early days of the novel has been destroyed permanently.3.2 motifs3.2.1 sexualitykundera show sexuality in terms of lightness and weight. the lighter characters are erotic and see their sexuality as generative and creative. sabina paint as imaginatively as she makes love. tomas cure his patients with the same precision he uses to seduce women. neither feels any degree of guilt for their sexual promiscuity. while tereza hates bodies, especially her own, the extramarital affairs of tomas destroy her. her one affair with the tall engineer that almost drives her mad. franz is also tormented, especially by the thought that he must betray his wife. he cannot bear these and ultimately leaves his wife in order to avoid deceiving her. kundera also use sexuality in gendered terms. in the unbearable lightness of being the sexual comfort and joy the characters feel seems directly related to certain gendered behaviors. tomas and sabina both like to make love, while tereza always thinking her submission to the engineer feel she fusty leave prague or die of shame. 3.2.2 the bodysince the body cant be clearly identified as heavy or light，it also presents a separate paradox. the philosopher parmenides considers the body as heavy and the soul as light ；but in this novel，those choose the soul over the body seem the heavier. franz，a scholar and professor，and tereza，a political photographer. both are favor of lofty ideas and convictions. while sabina and tomas both have many lovers and are fascinated by the body.in terms of sexuality，sabina and tomas are very comfortable with their bodies and interested in others. franz thinks his strong body is useless in the civilized world.，and refuses to use his strength in a sexuality. tereza goes further，she considers nakedness and sexuality are horror.the body also can be describes the symbol of death or corpse. at last，no one are prepared for or have an understanding of death. the characters all have reasons to fear the dead body through all division of lightness or weight3.3 symbolssymbols can show characters、objects、colors or figures used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. 3.3.1 bowlerthe bowler hat that sabina describes as the theme of her life，symbolizes her eroticism and rebellion. the hat has been made into an erotic plaything by sabina and tomas, which belonged to her grandfather. when franz remove her hat before making love，it symbolizes the stifling effect he has on what sabina thinks as her most important characters，her unabashed eroticism and betrayal of roots.3.3.2 suitcasebefore coming to prague，tereza packs all her belongings into the suitcase which on behalf of her whole life and philosophy. tomas understand this point when she arrives at his door， he knows that she would offer him up her life, and that her life is in that suitcase. the heavy suitcase also represents tereza herself，when tomas carries the heavy suitcase into his house，he voluntarily accepts the burden their love will bring him，and teresas heavy character.when seeing a book on tomass cafe table，tereza falls in love with him. she was burn in a town where no one reads，and has a vulgar mother，so she looks the book as a secret brotherhood by which she thinks tomas as hers. they name their dogs use the character in the book，and the book is their only mutual possession and responsibility.why does kundera structure the novel in several sections，telling the same story over and over again from different perspectives and filling in details？what significance can be found in this depiction of time？in the three parts i will summaries and analyze each sections of the novel and understand the authors intention.4. the plot of the unbearable lightness of being.4.1 section one: lightness and weightthe first section introduces and establishes tomass character，and his understanding of his own relationship with tereza. tomas and the narrator seem preoccupied with the same question，the philosophical question of lightness versus weight，and want to know how the question applies to his everyday life. tomas seems to be a selfish and objectionable man，kundera try to make him immensely sympathetic. he likes lightness and freedom，and resists attempts made by others to trap him. tomas is a natural individualist. he is also strongly compassionate， but cant passively watch genuine suffering.the relationship of tomas and tereza between lightness and heaviness is outlined as a conflict