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A Study of Yann Martel's Novel Life of Pi from the Perspective of Cultural

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A Study of Yann Martel's Novel Life of Pi from the Perspective of Cultural 单位代码 10445 学 号 2012020487 分 类 号 H319 研究生类别 全日制 硕 士 学 位 论 文 （学 术 学 位） 论文题目 A Study of Yann Martel’s Novel Life of Pi From the Perspective of Cultural Semiotics 从文化符号学视角解读扬.马特尔的小说《少年派的奇幻漂流》 学科专业名称 英 语 语 言 文 学 申 请 人姓名 梁 洪 新 指 导 教 师 惠 敏 教 授 论文提交时间 2015 年 6 月 5 日 A Study of The Novel Life of Pi From the Perspective of Cultural Semiotics By Liang Hongxin Under the Supervision of Professor Hui Min A Thesis Submitted to The English Department of Foreign Language School In Candidacy for Master’s Degree of Arts Shandong Normal University Jinan, Shandong China June, 2015 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 Contents Abstract..........................................................................................................................I 中文摘要..................................................................................................................... III Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1 Background of the Study.........................................................................................1 Significance of the Study........................................................................................ 1 Organization of the Study........................................................................................2 Chapter One Literature Review..................................................................................4 1.1 Yann Martel and His Novel Life of Pi............................................................... 4 1.1.1 Yann Martel............................................................................................. 4 1.1.2 The Novel Life of Pi................................................................................ 5 1.2 Studies on the Novel Life of Pi at Home and Abroad....................................... 6 1.2.1 Studies on the Novel Life of Pi Abroad...................................................6 1.2.2 Studies on the Novel Life of Pi at Home.................................................9 Chapter Two Theoretical Framework......................................................................15 2.1 Saussure’s Semiotics Theory...........................................................................15 2.1.1 Principles of Saussure’s Semiotics........................................................15 2.1.2 Theory of Sign.......................................................................................16 2.2 Roland Barthes’ Semiotics Theory..................................................................16 2.2.1 Langue and Parole.................................................................................17 2.2.2 Signified and Signifier...........................................................................18 2.2.3 Syntagm and System............................................................................. 18 2.2.4 Denotation and Connotation..................................................................19 2.2.5 Roland Barthes’ Semiotics on Culture.................................................. 20 2.3 Lotman’s Cultural Semiotics...........................................................................22 2.3.1 Textual Semiotics Theory......................................................................22 2.3.2 Cultural Semiotics Theory.....................................................................22 2.3.3 Communicative Semiotics Theory........................................................ 23 2.3.4 Semiotics Systematology...................................................................... 25 Chapter Three Religious Culture in the Novel Life of Pi........................................27 3.1 Different Religious Cultures........................................................................... 27 3.1.1 Hinduism............................................................................................... 27 3.1.2 Christianity............................................................................................ 30 3.1.3 Islam...................................................................................................... 32 3.1.4 Pi’s Religious Pluralism........................................................................ 34 3.2 Religious Conflicts and Fusion....................................................................... 35 3.2.1 Religious Conflicts................................................................................36 3.2.2 Religious Fusion....................................................................................39 Chapter Four Cultural Connotations of the Names in the Novel Life of Pi..........43 4.1 Pi’s Names.......................................................................................................43 4.1.1 Pi’s Original Name................................................................................ 43 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 4.1.2 Pi’s New Name......................................................................................44 4.2 Tigers’ Names..................................................................................................46 4.2.1 The Tiger Richard Parker...................................................................... 46 4.2.2 The Tiger Mahisha.................................................................................49 4.3 Mr.Kumar........................................................................................................ 50 4.3.1 Mr.Kumar in History............................................................................. 50 4.3.2 Opposition and Harmony Between Namesakes of Mr.Kumar in the Novel Life of Pi.............................................................................................. 51 4.4 Other Names in the Novel Life of Pi............................................................... 53 4.4.1 The Ship Tsimtsum................................................................................ 53 4.4.2 The Female Orangutan Orange Juice.................................................... 55 4.4.3 Pi’s Relatives......................................................................................... 56 4.4.4 Pi’s Pets................................................................................................. 59 Chapter Five Other Cultural Elements in the Novel Life of Pi..............................61 5.1 Colors.............................................................................................................. 61 5.1.1 The Color ‘Orange’............................................................................... 61 5.1.2 The Color ‘Green’................................................................................. 63 5.2 The Image of Pacific Ocean, Drift and Lifeboat............................................. 66 5.2.1 The Biblical Archetype of Water, Drift, and Ship................................. 67 5.2.2 The Image of Pacific Ocean, Drift and Lifeboat in the Novel Life of Pi... ........................................................................................................................68 5.3 Animals............................................................................................................68 5.3.1 The Tiger............................................................................................... 68 5.3.2 The Hyena............................................................................................. 71 Conclusion...................................................................................................................73 Bibliography............................................................................................................... 77 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................83 发表学术论文..............................................................................................................84 山东师范大学硕士学位论文 Abstract Yann Martel is famous for his novel Life of Pi which has attracted much attention from the public since it was published in 2001. At the same time, the novel Life of Pi was awarded The Man Booker Prize for Literature in 2002 and the German Book Prize in 2004. As a monumental work containing abundant implications, the novel Life of Pi can be interpreted from different perspectives. Given many cultural elements in the novel Life of Pi, this thesis will make a study on these cultural elements by applying cultural semiotics. This thesis is divided into three parts including introduction, main body and conclusion. The first part is introduction which mainly introduces the background, significance and organization of the study. The second part is the main body which consists of five chapters. The first chapter is literature review of the studies on the novel Life of Pi at home and abroad. It not only summarizes the studies on the novel Life of Pi but also points out their merits and limitations. The second chapter principally illustrates the theoretical framework of the study including semiotics by Saussure, semiotics by Roland Barthes and Roland Barthes’ semiotics on culture as well as cultural semiotics by Lotman. The third chapter primarily analyzes the cultural connotations contained in the religious symbols and doctrine of the three religions— Hinduism, Christianity and Islam; besides, the protagonist Pi Patel overcame many cultural conflicts and barriers to become a Hindu, Christian and Muslim simultaneously, so this chapter also analyzes religious conflicts and differences in religious
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