（英语语言文学专业论文）走出茫茫的迷雾+寻找真正的存在——对《看不见的人》的萨特存在主义分析.pdf

acknowledgments 摘 要 通过运用萨特存在主义原理对看不见的人中主人公寻找真正存在历程的分 析本文揭示了人对自我价值和生存意义的不懈追寻这一主题小说的主人公看 不见的人是一个非洲裔美国人他在战后美国种族歧视的背景下经历了存在的困 境曾经痛苦绝望和孤独但他并没有屈服于这种命运而是勇敢地克服了这些 悲观的情感超越了恶劣的环境最终获得了自由并对自己的行动承担了责任由 此他实现了自我的真正存在而这一历程恰恰打上了萨特存在主义的烙印 本论文分为两个部分论文的第一部分通过运用萨特的自在存在自欺 和他人来探析主人公不可见性的存在状态论文的第二部分则通过运用萨特 的自为存在自由 和责任”来探析主人公可见性的存在状态看不见的人 觉醒之前 作为一个精神上的奴隶他最初的存在方式是自在存在在萨特看来 自在存在是一种物的存在方式没有自由的意识没有责任而看不见的人 此时正处于这种象物一样的生存方式他从来没有意识到自己有权利去进行自由地 选择和行动他只是按照别人的意愿去定义自己并试图实现别人对他的期待因 此他的存在是一种毫无生气简单的存在即自在的存在而他的心理则是自 欺萨特认为自欺是自己对自己掩盖真相是一种不是其所是的心理状态 所以看不见的人对自己掩盖了种族歧视和压迫这一事实而逃避到自欺中以为自 己凭借着谦虚恭顺的品行并努力地工作最终会出人头地然而事实证明他不 过是个被别人视而不见的人一个隐形人而他的不可见性正是他人由于种 族偏见而拒绝看到他的结果在他人的眼中看不见的人被剥夺了活生生的人 性变成了一个物体一个为达其目的而被利用的工具在经历了种种痛苦的非人 的生活后看不见的人最终觉醒他总结了自己的过去并在此基础上决心要按 照自己的自由意志来不加限制地定义自己从而他由自在存在而转变成自为 存在在萨特看来自为存在是一种人的真正存在方式有自由的意识有 责任感并能经过自由选择而创造新的自我的存在状态因此看不见的人获得了 自由承担了责任并最终走出了心理和社会的茫茫迷雾寻找到了真正的自我价 值和的本己的真正存在 关键词 真正存在萨特存在主义自由责任种族 contents abstract through the analysis of the heros search for his true existence in invisible man by employing sartrean existential theories, this thesis intends to reveal the individuals persistent pursuit of his own worth and the sense of meaning. the hero, known as the invisible man in the novel, is an african american. he experiences his existential predicaments in the context of the anti-black racism in postwar america. for this reason, he feels anguished, despairing and lonely. but instead of being resigned to his tragic fate, he gains his freedom and assumes his responsibility for everything he does by overcoming his sufferings and transcending the vicious conditions. thus, by going out of the nothingness of existence, he finds his true self. and his journey exactly bears a marked brand of sartrean existentialism. my thesis consists of two chapters. in the first chapter, the thesis explores the invisible mans invisible existence by employing sartres “being-in-itself”, “self-deception”, and “the other”. in the second chapter it explores the invisible mans visible existence by employing sartres “being-for-itself”, “freedom” and “responsibility”. before the invisible man awakens, he originally exists on the level of “being-in-itself” as a spiritual slave. this mode of being, says sartre, is “the mode of being of matter, which is not in any sense free and responsible.” existing in this way, the invisible man doesnt know he is entitled to the freedom of making choices and taking actions. instead, he defines himself according to other people views and tries to fulfill their expectations. therefore, the invisible mans being is an inert and simple one as an object. keeping him in this way, the invisible man believes innocently that if he worked very hard, he would have achieved his personal success. thus, he falls in the self-deceptive state of mind. “self-deception”, in sartres opinion, is to “conceal the truth from oneself and it is what it is not.” thus, the invisible man conceals the racial reality from himself and escapes into self-deception, believing that he will uplift himself with his humility and hard work. however, the facts turn out that he is only an invisible man whom other people refuse to see. for “the other”, he is only an object, a tool exploited for his ends. therefore, deprived of his individual humanity, the invisible man is reduced to an object. after experiencing this dehumanized life, he finally awakens. then, after encapsulating his past experiences the invisible man resolves to define himself according to his free will. thus, he converts his “being-in-itself” to “being-for-itself”. and this being, according to sartre, “is in a sense free and responsible.” in this view, “man becomes what he makes of himself through his free choices and decisions.” therefore, transcending his sufferings, the invisible man gains freedom and assumes the responsibility for everything he does. in this way, he comes out of the vast fog and finally finds his own worth and true existence. key words: true existence; sartrean existentialism; freedom; responsibility; race 绪 论 1 introduction since ralph ellisons invisible man was published in 1952, it had achieved one of the most “sensational debuts” in american history. in this novel ellison presents his extraordinary gift for capturing the verbal richness and complexity of postwar american experience. he believes that “literature, like music could capture the revolutionary implications of african american life only by discovering techniques commensurate with the complexities of that life.”1 therefore, in order to celebrate black experience more complex that terms like “protest” can suggest, ellison employs multiple artistic techniques ranging from “realism to extreme surrealism, from tragedy to vicious satire to near-slapstick comedy.” 2 whats more, this novel is also rich in symbolism and metaphor that render ellison to be perceived by a wide variety of critics and scholars as “a writer of genuine importance who was destined to make substantial contributions to american and african american literary traditions.”3 and his invisible man is also claimed as a “major landmark” in black american literature and the most important novel after word war ii. derived from the black rich experience in america, ellisons invisible man reveals human struggle for their individualities and the meaning of existence in modern society. his nameless protagonist, known as the invisible man in the novel, is an afro-american young man who experiences his existentialist predicaments in the racist society. but, instead of living with free consciousness and social responsibility, he indulges in his pursuit of personal success of distinguishing himself from the other ignorant and poor blacks. he holds an idea that humility and submissiveness is the only way to success. in this view, he doesnt know what is freedom and how to achieve freedom. therefore, he actually exists on the level of “being-in-itself” as an object. existing in this way, he falls in “self-deception” in order to escape the pain of real life. yet it is in vain for what he has done, because after suffering his despair and anguish on his journey, he doesnt uplift himself. on the contrary, he is repeatedly exploited and deceived by other people. for this reason, he has lost his human individuality and then is reduced to an object by the racial “other”. in this sense, he becomes an invisible and formless man whom the other people 河北大学英语语言硕士学位论文 2 refuse to see. spiritually shaken by this truth, the invisible man becomes awakened. and he decides not to escape his free life and his responsibility. in this way, the invisible man converts his “being-in-itself” into “being-for-itself”. that is to say, he resolves to define himself freely and independently and take the responsibility for his actions. from this point of view, it is evident that invisible man is heavily influenced by the work of the french writers known as the existentialists, especially sartres. jean-paul sartre is the most important foremost proponent of existentialism, who explores the existential predicaments facing human people and positively calls for people to affirm their own worth and sense of meaning despite the absurdity of the world. existentialism emerged in paris after world war .when it first appeared, it was expected by people that this one was only a philosophical fad that would soon become oblivious. but later, it spread over in europe by “invading virtually every form of human thought and expression, including the novel, theater, poetry, art, and theology.” 4 and it became the important part of modern literature. the existentialists were all concerned about human existence, the conditions and quality of the existing human individual, and they called for people to pursue their true existence despite the absurdity of the world. among these philosophers, jean-paul sartre is the most brilliant and influential one who “had probed into the meaning of being through the deep recess of mans anxious and restless soul.”5 sartres most important conception is freedom. he posits that freedom is the most basic and important prerequisite for establishing ones self and achieving his true existence because man exists only through his free choices and actions. meanwhile, if man makes free choices and takes actions he must take the responsibility for everything he does. concerning the conception of freedom, he has written earlier that: “man is free; man is freedom. in a classic phrase, he says that man is condemned to be free. condemned because he finds himself thrown into the world, yet free because as soon as he is conscious of himself, he is responsible for everything he does.” 6 in addition, he also posits that man, in the process of making free choices and taking actions, always feels anguished, anxious and even despairing. thus, they will try to evade the sufferings by forfeiting his freedom and responsibility. but whoever evades the freedom and responsibility will be in “self-deception”. therefore, he calls for people to transcend the 绪 论 3 sufferings and bravely face up with the reality and pursue his true self by the exercise of free will. in 1947, with the translation of sartres existentialism is a humanism (1945) introduced to americans, sartre became a remarkable representative type and the intellectual celebrity in america. and later, the term “existentialism” entered into the vocabulary of american thought and culture. since then, sartre established his most influential position in america literary world. in postwar america, with the development of black civil rights movement, more and more black writers began to probe into the meaning of existence in their writings. by exploring the deep “recess of mans soul” they intends to represent their persistent search for their own worth and the sense of meaning. ralph ellison, the brilliant writer, is the very one finding his voice through the existentialism in his invisible man. as de beauvoir writes, “ existentialism, as a philosophy of freedom that rejects predetermined identities, lent powerful concepts to african american writers.” 7therefore, in this novel, ellison reveals mans quest for his true identity and meaningful existence. at the beginning of the novel, he intends to show such an idea: “you often doubt if you really exist. you wonder whether you arent simply a phantom in other peoples minds . you ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world.”(p.4) 8 these words are not only ellisons inner feelings but also the invisible mans thoughts haunting in his mind throughout the novel. since 1952, invisible man has received more enthusiastic praise from the critics who focus on the remarkable artistic quality. while from the existential point of view, this novel has received much less critical attention. even if the writers undertake such a research on this novel, they dont let their explorations go further but confine themselves to the problematic nature of human existence and the absurdity of the world. george cotkin, in his existential america, has undertaken his research in his exploration of european existentialisms impact on american culture. he attempts to prove that there is a strain of existential thought in america culture: “much of the best in american thought and culture for the last two hundred years has come from thinking existentially, from a willingness to confront death and finitude with a spirit of critique and 河北大学英语语言硕士学位论文 4 rebellion many intellectuals and artists of influence found their voice through existentialism many of them were able to create art, the ultimate existential testament to overcoming the despair inherent in the human conditions.”9 from this point of view, he suggests that ralph ellison, the brilliant literary figure, has been affected by this philosophy. to ellisons invisible man, cotkin presents that existentialism “merges with” the blues tradition in the novel. that is to say, ellisons black folk song blues implies the individuals quest for his self with sadness and bitterness. in fingering the jagged grain: tradition and from in recent black fiction, keith e. byerman undertakes the same research. he argues that, “the blues is an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a brutal existence alive in ones aching consciousness.” 10 levis r. gorden, in existence in black, emphasizes the importance of race, for he indicates that race cannot be easily dismissed and he seeks to show how race survives as an existential reality. citing ellisons invisible man as an example, he explores how black people exist as victims who evade their selves within the existing political and economic system in racist america. in his opinion, he emphasizes the pessimistic aspects of african americans existence. as same as gordon, selena ward and brian philips also suggest the meaninglessness and absurdity of invisible man in their todays most popular study guides. they pronounce that absurdity plays an central role in the existentialist school of thought, for they portray the world as absurd, that is, the world is full of labor and effort while lacking inherent value or meaning. without engaging themselves in the further researches on the existentialist them of this novel, their discussions seem to be one-sided and pessimistic. different with the above-mentioned critical articles, this thesis is to explore the whole course of the invisible mans growth from ignorance to experience, from invisible being to visible being by transcending his given conditions and sufferings. and this journey exactly bears the brand of existentialism, especially sartres, for in the epilogue the invisible man ends his story in gaining the freedom and taking the responsibility for the decisions he has made despite the gloomy feelings of him and absurdity of world. sartre believes that these gloomy feelings of people are prerequisites for establishing their true selves. that is to say, although the invisible man realizes the worlds absurdity and irrationality he doesnt cast 绪 论 5 off his significant and positive pursuit of his own worth and the meaning his existence. to this, sartre declares, “nobody is defined by their character, or constitution. instead, people are in the position they are in by virtue of choices they have made.”11 in other words, the free awareness and responsibility have validity only when there is positive participation. therefore, the present thesis is to explore the narrators search for his true existence from the point of view of sartrean existentialism and identify him as a sartrean hero who transcends the agony of life and find his true self through sheer “toughness of spirit”. this spirit, according to ellison, is the individuals “affirmative self creation ” and aspiration for freedom and responsibility. besides the existential them, ellison works imageryspecifically that of blindness into the novel to signify the heros invisibility. while the imagery of light is used to affirm his visibility after the hero lives underground. staying there, he makes his hole full of light. light, says ellison, confirms the invisible mans “reality”, gives birth to his “form”. thus, with light he is not only visible but also has his freedom. this imagery not only emphasizes the heros existence; but also shows the heros attempt to see himself clearly without the influence of outside opinions. placing his novel within larger literary and philosophical contexts, ellison presents the richness, diversity and creativeness of black culture. that is why some critics claim that his invisible man is not propaganda but an artistic work. because in 1930s, black culture had been oversimplified by white american leftists who reduced blacks to this stereotype of the wretched of the earth. unwilling to let this reduction go without being criticized, ellison uses his writings to make a protest. he argues that black life is too positive and various and he remarked: “i have no desire to write propaganda. instead, i felt it important in invisible man to explore the full range of american negro humanity and to affirm those qualities which are of value beyond any question of segregation, economics or previous condition of servitude”. 12 the invisible man in the novel is an existential hero who makes every effort to extricate himself from predicaments and finds his true existence. being a poor southern black he experiences his strenuous adventure in the racist society. his aim is to search for his true self, therefore, he often asks questions in the story: “who am i, what am i, how 河北大学英语语言硕士学位论文 6 did i come to be?”13 ashamed of his identity for being grandson of slaves he always tries to remove this label attached to him. but it turns out that he is invisible and formless before the others, for he has lost his true self. furthermore, the racism is also an obstacle to his identity. though he struggles to define himself properly, he finds his efforts complicated by the fact that he is a black man living in a racist america. therefore, he feels anguished and despairing, and escapes into self-deception to be relieved. but what he has done is in vain. if he wants to be visible to other people, he should make free choices and takes actions to create a new self by going beyond all the limits and obstacles. that is, he is what he wants him to be in spite of the racist constrains. therefore, after suffering his despair and anguish on his journey, he finally sheds his illusions and comes to terms with reality. thus he gains freedom and takes responsibility for himself. this spiritual liberation and transcendence present the narrators conversion from “being-in-itself” into “being-for-itself”. at last, by goi