Carson McCullers (1917-1967) was an American writer of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Member of the Wedding, Reflections in a Golden Eye, and Clock Without Hands. McCullers was recognised as a very good minor novelist.And so many respectable people appear willing and eager to elevate her to major status. Her novels often center around the loneliness, isolation and the huge significance and insoluble problems of human love.#160;#160;

#160;The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, which made her an overnight literary sensation, explores the spritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South. The struggle of four of John Singer#8217;s acquaintances make up the majority of the narrative.

Since the publication of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, the research and discussion on the theme of it has never dismissed. Scholars at home and abroad spare no efforts to uncover the veil of McCullers#8217; mill town in the South. By applying the theories and ideas in Psychology, Politics, Philosophy, Religion and other fields to making an analysis of the novel, the understanding of the theme has been deepened. During the process, more details and background of the South emerges and rises to the surface.

The researches on The Heart is a lonely Hunter can be divided into two branches: one branch focuses on the cause of the loneliness and spiritual isolation of the characters, the other is dedicated to make an analysis of the novel by using theories. Both of them help to explore the world of the novel and dig out what#8217;s hidden behind the story.

Some scholars hold that the cause lies in the loss of faith. Jan Whitt notes that ””I've lost the presence of God!#8217; cried the author of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter late in her career.” (26) He thinks that ” Haunted by a Christ who remained entombed, a twenty-one-year-old McCullers created an allegory in which numerous characters seek to work out their own salvation by relaying their individual fears to John Singer. Singer, a deaf mute, becomes a paralyzed Christ figure, so restricted by the expectations of others that he is fictionalized by them.”(26) Zhu Zhenwu and Wang Yan also say that The Protagonists in this novel, being lonely and bewildered, cannot obtain salvation due to the crisis of faith, which sounds the siren horn to us and calls us to give our attention to the spiritual crisis of modern society.

However, Fu Shubin puts forward another understanding of the cause of the loneliness and isolation of the character. He argues that ”their desire for new life and challenging the present contributes to the loneliness, the positive loneliness of those people, which caters to the rule in Psychology.”(111) Another reason is that ” the industrialization brings about numerous problems. Besides, the social reform, the war, the economic crisis and racial discrimination aggravated the psychological disorder of people,” which can be seen in Huang Chun yan#8217;s analysis.(110)

#160;The other branch concentrates on the theories application when it comes to the analysis of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Wan Dan interprets the”anti-language structure#8217;as reflected in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in the light of Michel Foucault#8217;s thought of ”discontinuity#8217;. （23）Fan Binbin argues that In McCullers#8217; novels, main characters are mainly described as gender outlaws and sexual outlaws, including cross-dressers, transsexuals, homosexuals, as well as bisexuals.He analyzes these elements via queer theory and explores the ambivalence of the queers who yield to or fight against the mainstream social rules. What#8217;s more, existentialist analysis and Lacanian reading also play important roles in understanding the novel.

However, when it comes to the relationships with their acquaintances, no one has ever done relevant researches. To trace the source and study how the loneliness comes into being, Foucalt#8217;s theory of Power is the best choice. As a postmodern philosopher and literary critic, Foucalt sensed the hiding system and relationship which control the whole people. He thought each person has certain power relationship with others and everyone lives under discipline and punish. By applying such ideas to analysing The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, something magic and meaningful comes out, which leads us into a new world where literature mingles well with philosophy. In the light of Michel Foucault#8217;s power theory and ideas on discipline and punish, this thesis is based on Foucault#8217;s thinking of the panopticon and explores the relationship between each character and another people or the outside world. By using this method, this novel will be interpreted in a macroscopical way and Foucault#8217;s theory will be known by more people .

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