1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述）

this paper intends to interpret william faulkner’s a fable, awinner of both the pulitzer prize and the national book award in 1995, from theexistentialist perspective which combines philosophy with literature and offersa new approach to exhibiting the mixed and profound meanings in this novel.

a fable was published in 1954, onwhich faulkner spent more than a decade and tremendous efforts. it took placein france during world war i and stretched through the course of one week in1998. corporal stefan, who represents the reincarnation of jesus, orders 3,000troops to disobey orders to attack germans in the brutally repetitive trenchwarfare. in return, the germans do not attack them, and the war stops since ittakes two sides to fight a war. the generalissimo, who is stephan’s father and representativeof leaders who use war to gain power, invites his german counterpart to discusshow to restart the war. he then arrests and executes stefan. before stefan'sexecution, the generalissimo tries to convince the corporal that war can neverbe stopped because it is “the essence of human nature”. following the executionof the corporal, his body is carried back to his wife and his sisters, and heis buried in vienne-la-pucelle. however, after the conflict has resumed, thecorporal's grave is destroyed in a barrage of artillery. the spirit of thecorporal is reincarnated in a british message runner, who eventually confrontsthe old generalissimo.

existentialism is from france, originating with kierkegaard. sartreis perhaps the most prominent existentialist philosopher, who posits the ideathat “what all existentialists have in common is the fundamental doctrine thatexistence precedes essence”. in the 1930s and 1940s, american novels and filmsbecame popular in france, among writers and throughout the society. sartre wasdrawn to certain american novelists, including william faulkner, whose methodsseemed uniquely suited to the modern era. drawing on the techniques of thesewriters, sartre and camus created philosophies that tended to exaltunreflecting actions. after the liberation of france, french existentialismwas, in turn, popularly received in the united states. many american writers,including william faulkner, were drawn to the philosophy which they modifiedand adapted to the crises and controversies of their own time.

2. 研究的基本内容与方案

this paper intends to interpret william faulkner’s a fable fromthe existentialist perspective which combines philosophy with literature andoffers a new approach to exhibiting the mixed and profound meanings hidden inthis novel. it consists of three main parts. part one gives a briefintroduction to william faulkner’s a fable including the plot, theme andcharacters, and then a brief introduction to existentialism including its basicideas, development and ways to analyze literature; part two to part four arethe major ones, analyzing a fable with the existentialist approach,focusing on the characters, with both depth and reasoning; part five gives aconclusion.

to achieve this goal, the paper author will read the novel afable carefully at first, with the plot, theme and main charactersunderstood, despite the complex language and structure. with some familiaritywith the novel, the paper author will read and annotate a number of books andpapers concerning it, deepening the understanding. furthermore, the paperauthor will read literature on existentialism and explore ways to analyzeliterary works from this perspective. after that, this novel will be analyzed fromthis perspective, combining philosophy and literature together, offering a newand profound interpretation of this novel.

3. 研究计划与安排

before 22th january : settlement of the title

before22th march: submission of the outline

before31th march : submission of the first draft

4. 参考文献（12篇以上）

[1] hutton, h. imported from france: american adaptations of existentialistideas and literature [d]. new york: the city university of new york, 2004.

[2] godden, r. a fable···whispering about the wars: part 1, find thejew: modernity, seriality, and armaments in a fable [j]. faulkner journal,2002(2): 25-89.