Chinese Scholars' Perspective on John Updike's "Rabbit Tetralogy"1
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Linguistics and Literature Studies 8(1): 8-13, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/lls.2020.080102 Chinese Scholars' Perspective on John Updike's 1 "Rabbit Tetralogy" Zhao Cheng Foreign Languages Studies School, Soochow University, China Received Ocotber 15, 2019; Revised November 25, 2019; Accepted December 4, 2019 Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Updike's masterpiece, using skillful realism, most productive, and most awarded writers in the United succeeded in drawing a panoramic picture of the American States in the second half of the twentieth century. "Rabbit society from the 1950s to the early 1990s in the "Rabbit Tetralogy", Updike’s masterpiece, the core of the entire Tetralogy." Updike strives to reflect the changes in literary creation system of Updike, composed of "Rabbit contemporary American social culture for nearly half a Run" (1960), "Rabbit Redux" (1971), "Rabbit is Rich" century from the "rabbit" Harry, the everyman of the (1981), and "Rabbit at Rest" (1991), represents the highest American society and the life experiences of his ordinary achievement of the writer’s novel creation. In famil y. "Rabbit Tetralogy" truly reflects the living contemporary American literature, the publication of conditions of the contradictions of contemporary Rabbit Tetralogy is considered as a landmark event, and Americans: endless pursuit of free life or independent self Updike’s character "Rabbit" Harry, one of the "most and the embarrassment and helplessness of it; the confusing literary figures in traditional American customary life and hedonism under the traditional values, literature", has become a classic figure in contemporary the intense collision of self-indulgent lifestyles inspired by American literature. thought. The endless pursuit of so-called freedom and self "Rabbit Tetralogy" closely touches the pulse of the times, is bred. As the greatest masterpiece, John Updike's "Rabbit in which historical events are closely related to the details Tetralogy" shows readers nearly half a century of the of daily life. Great changes in American society and culture American’s social life, and provides literary critics listless from the 1950s to the early 1990s are depicted in "Rabbit raw material as well, and becomes a beloved apple in the Tetralogy", involving some important historical mind’s eye of Chinese scholars. This paper, adopting a backgrounds of contemporary America such as the comparative method, combs the historical clue of the study Vietnam War, the moon-landing, the energy crisis, and the in the past three decades, two different phases and the ending of the Cold War, thus forming a life picture of respective research results and the main viewpoints are contemporary American society. One of the main lines summarized and presented. Also this paper probes into the throughout "Rabbit Tetralogy" is the endless pursuit of main problems in this field, i.e. the lack of sufficient individual freedom and self by the hero, the Rabbit, as well research perspectives, relative research redundancy and the as the setbacks and failures encountered therein. The reader lack of communication between home and abroad, etc. and can see the Rabbit’s honesty in "Rabbit Tetralogy", his engages to point out the direction and tendency of future pragmatism, his guilt, his arrogance, his racism, narrow research. Further studies are suggested to conduct via national outlook/narrow nationalism, and selfishness. literary space theory, etc. to enhance the study of "Rabbit Tetralogy". 2 . Materials and Methods Keywords John Updike, "Rabbit Tetralogy", Current Situation, Review, Future Study Domestic research on Rabbit Tetralogy began with two articles written by HUANG Jiade(黄嘉德) in 1979 and 1981: "On Updike's "Rabbit, Run" and "Ten Years of Vicissitude: Comment on John Updike The novel "Rabbit 1 . Introduction Redux". HUANG Jiade's introduction to Rabbit Tetralogy is regarded by the academic circles as Rabbit Tetralogy and John Updike (1932-2009) was one of the most important, even the first attempt of Updike's Chinese study which Linguistics and Literature Studies 8(1): 8-13, 2020 9 exerts important historical significance. Research history publication opened the prelude to the study of Updike and can be divided into two stages. In the 1980s, the study in its "Rabbit Tetralogy" by the domestic academic system. In the first stage was based on translation. GUO Yingjian(郭 this kind of environment, the research on the domestic 英剑) translated "Rabbit, Run" and published in the "Rabbit Tetralogy" series of novels has entered a new era. "World Literature" magazine, Nos. 5 and 6 of 1986, and Experts and scholars have borrowed different literary opened the translation of "Rabbit Tetralogy". In 1987, criticism theories and cut into the "Rabbit Tetralogy" study Chongqing Publishing House first published the translation from different research perspectives. A series of new of "Rabbit, Run". In 1998, Henan People's Publishing academic findings, summed up, have reached consensus on House launched the first "Rabbit Tetralogy" in China for the following aspects: the first time. In December 2007, Shanghai Translation First of all, similar to Western academic circles, Publishing House organized the translation and publication domestic scholars pay attention to the study of religious of Rabbit Tetralogy, entitled "Rabbit, Run," "Rabbit and philosophical thoughts in the "Rabbit Tetralogy." JIN Redux," "Rabbit is Rich," and "Rabbit at Rest," in early Hengshan (金衡山) believes that religion is a recurring 2008. The National Symposium on "Rabbit Tetralogy" was theme in Updike's novels. The concept of religion is deeply held in Shanghai, marking the beginning of a new phase in influenced by Karl Barth, one of the main theologians of the study of Rabbit Tetralogy series in China. (ZHAO the 20th century. His access to Barthism and contemporary Cheng, 2015: 65) American culture is closely related (JIN Hengshan, 2007: In the 1980s, most Chinese scholars adopted class 103-111) GUO Yingjian who pointed out that religious analysis method to introduce the realism structure and themes appear without exception in Updike's novels, short performance in Rabbit Tetralogy in the research stories, poems, literary criticism and other four types of perspectives, focuses, research methods and research works (GUO Yingjian, 2000); HONG Zengliu (洪增流) results. The technique is to discuss the deep reason why the believes that the embarrassing situations of modern rabbit runs away from home and thinks that the rabbit's Americans in the faith and the author's contradictory mediocrity reflects the vulgarity of contemporary mentality on religious issues are vividly displayed in the American society. To sum up, the following characteristics book "Rabbit, Run". The relationship between religion and are presented: First, most scholars stand on the moral high secularism is increasingly evident in contemporary ground and think that Updike explores topics such as American society. With the influence of the traditional humanity and religion in the moral debate of Rabbit religions such as the Puritanism on the influence of the Tetralogy Updike believes that rabbits through public, the religious secularization began to form and self-identification and escape attempt to achieve became increasingly manifested. The concrete self-identification and personal freedom, and the manifestation was that the sacred religion gradually realization of the middle class life pattern, but ultimately merged with the secular life to lead to the formation of end in failure, which was accepted by scholars of this secularized religion. (HONG Zengliu, 2004: 111-116) historical period; Second, most of the reviewers aim to HAO Yunzhi ( 郝蕴志) in the doctoral thesis "John explore the underlying causes of rabbit escaping, that is to Updike and the Christian Faith", combed the specific say, his extreme dissatisfaction with reality, the belief and representation of religious themes in Updike's works, needs reflected in the ultimate problem, the contradictory subdividing into beliefs, Christian Protestantism, churches, "contradictory tendency" and the moral dilemma. Again, believers, pastors, emerging religions, etc. Religion most of the comments used the popular analysis method of reflects Updike's view that faith is essential to the survival the garbage at that time, and analyzed the class situation and redemption of Americans. However, the secularized reflected in the rabbit as a member of the working class and religions and clergy have become increasingly unstoppable the situation of the black people's rights movement in the and unable to guide the people to maintain this belief. New 1960s. Finally, scholars of this period in-depth forms of religion cannot make people get this faith. examination of Updike's literary identity have always Although Updike thought hard, he could not find a solution, recognized that Updike is a person like "everyone with and thus revealed a confusing attitude towards life. (HAO strong modernism and realism expressions and Yunzhi, 2007); feelings."(SHENG Ning 1984: 94) Secondly, it comments on the imagery in the novel: Since the 1990s, with the Westernization of Western from the perspective of feminism, through the shaping of literary criticism theory, domestic scholars have learned female characters closely related to Harry, which