《绿野仙踪》人物性格的自我矛盾性分析.doc

.绿野仙踪人物性格的自我矛盾性分析AcknowledgementsI gratefully acknowledge all those people who have assisted me in the process of completing my graduation thesis. Without their help, this thesis would be impossible.First and foremost, I am extremely grateful for my respected supervisor: Xu Lei, who has followed my toils with invariable kindness and patience, reading as well as correcting this dissertation at different stages of its conception, giving me advice instructive and constructive in addition to valuable encouragement.I would also like to express my appreciation to other teachers in school of foreign studies, for their encouragements and suggestions in the opening defense of this paper which have given me much benefit in writing it. Finally, my thanks go to my beloved classmates and my dearest parents, who in one way or another have given me help and encouragement during my work on this thesis.ANALYSIS OF SELF-CONTRADICTIONARY CHARACTERS IN THE WIZARD OF OZAbstractThe Wizard of Oz is a wonderful fairy tale which is also suitable for adults to read. It tells a story about a girl named Dorothy Gale after being swept away from her Kansas farm home in a tornado to the country of Oz finds the way to return home. She encounters and befriends the Scarecrow who wants a brain, the Tin Woodman who wants a heart,and the Cowardly Lion who wants some courage,to find the wizard of Oz together. The story discusses the theme of self-contradiction. These three characters embody the classical human virtues of intelligence, caring, and courage, but their self-doubts keep them from being reduced to mere symbols of these qualities. They dont lack them at all, and what they really need is actually sufficent self-confidence and right self-recognition. Those characters stand for different kinds of us, so it deserves our serious study to know us better, encourage us to trust ourselves firmly, recognise us rightly and depend on our own power to get what we want for better life and more cheerful struggle.Key Words: self-confidence; self-recognition; self-contradiction绿野仙踪人物性格的自我矛盾性分析摘要绿野仙踪是适合成人阅读的童话，它主要讲述了一个女孩多萝西在被龙卷风带到神奇的奥兹国后，努力寻找回家之路的故事。一路上她遇到了稻草人、铁皮伐木工和胆小的狮子。它们分别想要获得大脑、心和勇气，并和想要回家的多萝西一起踏上了寻找奥兹国的巫师的奇妙旅程。但是事实上，他们所要寻找的东西他们都已经拥有了，只是自己没有意识到而已。这部童话告诉我们，我们每个人身上都有自我矛盾性，我们已经拥有我们想要的品性，而真正缺少的，其实是自信和正确的自我认知。生活中，我们每个人身上都有他们的影子，通过对这些人物性格的分析，可以让我们更好地了解自己，并鼓励我们做一个自信的人，真正去了解自己，相信自己，通过自己的力量获得我们想要的一切，更好地生活与奋斗。关键词： 自信 自我认知 自我矛盾Thesis Statement: There are many good qualities in us which we may even never know at all, and no one except yourself can give you what you want. Outline1. Introduction. 11.1 The plot11.2 The author32. Character Analysis42.1 Dorothy: kind and strong-minded 42.2 The Scarecrow: resourced and calm62.3 The Cowardly Lion: brave and strong72.4 The Tin Man: sentimental and kind-hearted8 2.5 The Wizard of Oz : tricky and ordinary9 3. Conclusion10Bibliography10.ANALYSIS OF SELF-CONTRADICTIONARY CHARACTERS IN THE WIZARD OF OZ1. IntroductionThe Wizard of Oz is a childrens novel written by L.Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. The story chronicles the adventures of a young girl named Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz, after being swept away from her Kansas farm home in a tornado. She encounters and befriends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion to find the wizard of Oz for different purposes together.The novel is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Baum explores the theme of self-contradiction in The Wizard of Oz. The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion all lack self-confidence. The Scarecrow believes that he has no brains, though he comes up with clever solutions to several problems that they encounter on their journey. The Tin Woodman believes that he lacks a heart, but is moved to tears when misfortune befalls the various creatures they meet. The Cowardly Lion believes that he has no courage even though he is consistently brave through their journey. Carl L. Bankston III of Salem Press noted that These three characters embody the classical human virtues of intelligence, caring, and courage, but their self-doubts keep them from being reduced to mere symbols of these qualities.From those characters in it, we can learn that there are many good qualities in us which we may even never know at all, and no one except yourself can give you what you want. 1.1 The PlotDorothy is an orphan raised by her aunt and uncle in the bleak landscape of a Kansas farm and has a little black dog named Toto . One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy and Toto inside, is caught up in a cyclone and deposited in a field in Munchkin Country, and the falling house kills the evil ruler of the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the East.The Good Witch of the North who comes with the Munchkins to greet Dorothy gives Dorothy the silver shoes (believed to have magical properties) that the Wicked Witch had been wearing when she was killed. In order to return to Kansas, the Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy that she will have to go to the Emerald Cityand ask the Wizard of Oz to help her. On her way she meets a Scarecrow who needs a brain, a Tin Man who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who desperately needs courage. They all hope the Wizard of Oz will help them. The party finds many adventures on their journey together, including overcoming obstacles such as narrow pieces of the yellow brick road, vicious Kalidahs, a river, and the Deadly Poppies. Then travelers arrive at the Emerald City.When each traveler meets with the Wizard, he appears each time as someone or something different. To Dorothy, the Wizard is a giant head; the Scarecrow sees a beautiful woman; the Tin Woodman sees a terrible beast; the Cowardly Lion sees a ball of fire. The Wizard agrees to help each of thembut only if one of them kills the Wicked Witch of the West who rules over the western Winkie Country. As the friends travel across the Winkie Country, the Wicked Witch sees them coming and attempts various ways of killing them, she used 40 great wolves, 40 crows, a swarm of bees and her Winkie soldiers to attack them, but all failed. At last, she summons the Winged Monkeys to capture Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion and Toto to her castle to do hard work.and to destroy the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.At the castle, when the Wicked Witch gains one of Dorothys silver shoes by trickery, Dorothy in anger grabs a bucket of water and throws it on the Wicked Witch. To her shock, this causes the Witch to melt away. Dorothy, after finding and learning how to use the Golden Cap, summons the Winged Monkeys to carry her and her companions back to the Emerald City.When Dorothy and her friends meet the Wizard of Oz again, he tries to put them off. Toto accidentally tips over a screen in a corner of the throne room, revealing the Wizard to be an ordinary old man who had journeyed to Oz from Omba long ago in a hot air balloon. The Wizard has been longing to return to his home and be in a circus again ever since.To convince the characters they have the qualities they desire, the Wizard places an amalgamation of bran, pins, and needles in the Scarecrows head to inspire intellect; gives a silk heart to the Tin Woodman to inspire love; and a drink to the Cowardly Lion to inspire bravery.Oz makes a hot balloon to take him and Dorothy home, but Dorothy chases Toto after he runs after a kitten in the crowd and misses the rising balloon. So she have to Glindas palace in the Quadling Country with her friends to ask for help. On the road, they escape the Fighting Trees, tread carefully through the China Country and The Cowardly Lion kills a giant spider who is terrorizing the animals in a forest .At Glindas palace, it is revealed by Glinda that Dorothy had the power to go home all along. The Silver Shoes she wears can take her anywhere she wishes to go. She tearfully embraces her friends, all of whom will be returned, through Glindas use of the Golden Cap, to their respective kingdoms: the Scarecrow to the Emerald City, the Tin Woodman to the Winkie Country, and the Cowardly Lion to the forest. Then Dorothy knocks her heels together three times, and wishes to return home. When she opens her eyes, Dorothy and Toto have returned to Kansas to a joyful family reunion.1.2 The AuthorLyman L. Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 May 6, 1919) was an American author of childrens books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote thirteen novel sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and a host of other works (55 novels in total, plus four lost novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, an unknown number of scripts, and many miscellaneous writings), and made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen. His works anticipated such century-later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high risk, action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Janes Nieces at Work).2. Character Analysis 2.1 Dorothy: kind and strong-mindedIn the Oz books, Dorothy is an orphan raised by her aunt and uncle in the bleak landscape of a Kansas farm and has a little black dog named Toto. One day, Dorothy and Toto are swept away by a tornado to the Land of Oz and, much like Alice of Alices Adventures in Wonderland, they enter an alternative world filled with talking creatures. In the adevnture of returning home, we can find that she is a very kind and strong-mind girl.Firstly, She is very kind, and willing to help those in trouble. Even though whom her house falling down from the sky killed is the Wicked Witch of East, she also felt sad and cried,clasping her hands together in dismay:” Oh dear,! Oh dear! The house must have fallen on her,Whatever shall we do?” And when Oz asked her to kill the Wicked Witch of the West ,she resisted it sadly.I never killed anything, willingly, she sobbed; and even if I wanted to, how could I kill the Wicked Witch? If you, who are Great and Terrible, cannot kill her yourself, how do you expect me to do it? Dorothy is undoubtedly responsible for killing both the Wicked Witch of the East and the Wicked Witch of the West. The former is killed by the cyclone dropping the farmhouse on her and the latter is killed by a bucket of water that melts her. Dorothy is dismayed that she is held responsible, even though she rid Oz of two evil sorceresses. True, she did not mean to kill either of them - both deaths were accidental. And the witches are unambiguously evil and have no redeeming qualities, and their deaths free the Munchkins and the Winkies from slavery, so within the world of Oz the deaths were victories. But Dorothy still felt sorry for their deaths, she is just a kind girl unwilling to kill anyone, even though the killing is a victory.Besides, on her way to find the Wizard of Oz, she helped the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman get out of troubles. She lifed the Scarecrow off the pole stuck up his back to make him free and oiled the Tin Woodmans rusty joints to release him. She shared their sorrows and worries, including the latter Crowdly Lion, telling them to ask Oz for help with her. Because of her kindness, they became friends and get on journey together. When others have difficulties in the later adventure, she always did her best to help them. For example, when the Crowdly Lion and her were imprisoned in the Wicked Witchs castle, the Witch took no food to the lion to make him willing to be harnessed like a horse, Dorthoy carried hin food from the cupboard while the Witch was asleep every night. After the Lion had eaten he would lie down on his bed of straw and Dorothy would lie beside him and put her head on his soft,shaggy mane, while they talked of their troubles and tried to plan some way to escape. Another example is when they were in the dainty china country, Dorothy asked the china princess she loved very much if she could carry her back to Kansas and stand her on Aunt Ems manel, the china refused and said it would make her unhappy, then Dorothy exclaimed “ I would not make you unhappy for the world! So I will just say goodbye!” She is always so kind to care about any others feelings. Secondly, Dorothy is also brave. When the house was swept away by the cyclone and whirled around in the sky terribly, she behaved very calmly and bravely. It was described like this: “Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf. At first she had wondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again,but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened, she stopped worring and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring. At last she crawled over the swaying floor to her bed,and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her. In spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.” As a little girl encounting such sudden misery, Dorothy is brave enough! It is worth mentioning that Dorothy is not only brave for herslef in difficulties,when her friends encounter danger, she always stands out and protect them. For example,When they firstly meet the Crowly Lion in the forest, the Lion attacked them. She is so brave that when the Lion opened his mouth to bite Toto, she rushed forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out:“ Dont you dare to bite Toto! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a big beast like you, to bite a little dog!” we all konow that she loves Toto very much, and the deep love gives her courage to fight against any great beast without fear. Above all, Dorothy loves her hometown and families very much, and is strong-minded to return home. For example, when the Scarecrow asked her to talk about her hometown, she told him all about Kansas, and how gray everything was there. The scarecrow listened carefully and said, “I cant understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas.” “That is because you have no brains” answered the girl, “ No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country , be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.” This words, which contains the phrase There is no place like home, exemplifies Dorothys state of mind, a major theme of the text, and the simple, rural values that Baum espoused. It might seem strange that Dorothy wants to return to the bleak and lifeless Kansas prairie - especially in light of the wonders of Oz - but she does indeed understand that this fairyland is not her home and she has obligations to her aunt and uncle. She is not swayed by the land of Oz to the extent that she wants to reside there; she understands her roots and her identity lie back in Kansas. The quote also represents a major theme, which is that people have an allegiance to their homeland and should strive to do right by it. This is one of Baums personal values. As an American, and one who so profited by his country through the opportunities it provided for him, Baum reinforces the understanding that being true to where you came from is a virtue. It is the deep love for home that gives her the courage and strong mind to overcome all the difficulties in the adventure. So when she asked Boq how far it is to the Emerald City and Boq told her gravely that it was better for people to keep away from Oz unless they have business with him ,it was a long way to the Emerald City which would take her many days ,and she must pass through rough and dangerours places before reaching the end of her journey, the little girl worried a little but barvely resolved not to turn back! 2.2 The Scarecrow: resourced and calmThe Scarecrow encounters Dorothy in a field in the Munchkin Country while she is on her way to the Emerald City. He tells her about his creation (he is only two days old)and of how he at first scared away the crows, before an older one realised he was a straw man, causing the other crows to start eating the corn. The old crow then told the Scarecrow of the importance of brains. The mindless Scarecrow joins Dorothy in the hope that The Wizard will give him a brain. Brains are the only thing worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.he said.They are later joined by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. When the group goes to the West, he frequently finds the solution to particularly vexing situations and helps himself and his friends get out of danger. After Dorothy and her friends have completed their mission to kill the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard gives the Scarecrow brains ,which is just made out of bran, pins and needles in reality a placebo, as he has been the most intelligent of the travelers all along, only then does the Scarecrow believe himself smart.Before he leaves Oz in a balloon, the Wizard appoints the Scarecrow to rule the Emerald City in his stead. In fact,we can easily find that the Scrarecrow is the most resouced and cleverest in the party. He always came up with good ideas when they were facing danger and didnt know what to do. There are many examples:When the Kalidahs, a kind of monstrous beasts, catched them, the party fled to a gulf across the road which was so broad and deep that they could not leap across it. So they sat down to consider what they shold do,and sfter serious thought the Scarecrow said: “Here is a gre