1.目的及意义 Noon Wine, a 1937 short novel by American author Katherine Anne Porter, is a dark tragedy about a farmer's futile act of homicide that leads to his own suicide. The story takes place on a small dairy farm in southern Texas during the 1890s. This paper is aimed to explore the meaning of noon wine, basing on a comprehensive reading of the themes, historical background as well as Porter' s intention of writing the story, so as to find out the significance of Noon Wine and have a better understanding of author's writing characteristics.
Literary scholars view the tragic events in Noon Wine as an allusion to the Greek structure of dramatic tragedy, in which a hero suffers a terrible fate caused by his/her own self. Critics also view the character of Homer T. Hatch as Thompson's doppelganger, interpreting the conflict between them as a psychological battle between warring aspects of Thompson's personality. Hatch seems to reflect darker aspects of Thompson's mind, distorting and accentuating them in a manner that is unbearable to Thompson(Wynn, 1975). Some educators claim that “Noon Wine”deals primarily with human fallibility. In Noon Wine Porter examines the theme of guilt, the adulterated nature of human motivation(2004). David Yost, however, focused on themes of nationalism and nativism by analyzing both the hypocrisies of nativist reasoning as well as the violence that the story inexorably creates(2011). Similarly, M. Wynn Thomas, who builds his insightful analysis of the novella around the repeated use of the word "stranger," sees the discussion of foreignness as a theological metaphor for alienation and estrangement, "the fateful privacy of meaning" in God's world (1975:159), rather than as a commentary on the politics of race and immigration(1975). Darlene Harbour Unrue reads the moment similarly, seeing the labels of "stranger" and "foreigner" as symbolizing the isolation inherent in "basic human nature," rather than in a specific political context.
As for stylistic skills, some readings usefully contrast the verbal styles of main characters. Janis P. Stout, for example, contrasts Hatch's garrulousness with Helton's taciturnity and observes how Mr. Thompson finds himself caught between these two extremes (1990:212), while Robert H. Brinkmeyer, Jr. focuses his reading on Hatch's and Thompson's failures of storytelling (1993:144-145).
So there is merely no study interpreting the tittle's implication, except for Porter's explanation of the analogy of Noon Wine and characters Helton and Thompson.
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2. 研究的基本内容与方案
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This paper consists of there parts. The first part is the introduction of the story in Noon Wine, interpreting the plot and characters. The second part is the literal analysis of the "Noon Wine". Namely, what is the literal meaning of Noon Wine, a tune that is played from time to time in the story? The third part is about the study of the implied meaning of "Noon Wine", includinghistorical background of society and character analysis and their relationship with the tune. The forth part composes of a comprehensive analysis of the themes of Noon Wine. The Last part is conclusion.
The target of this paper is dealing with the tittle's implication, in order to better understand South American literature at the end of 19 century.
Therefore, before writing this paper, it is necessary to refer to as more as possible relevant researches and any other information. secondly, interpret the conflicts and characters of the novel. Next, analyze the song Noon Wine and its implied meaning. Then follow the implication and understand its themes. In sum, research techniques used here include: documentation, comparison, and descriptive analysis.
3. 参考文献[1]Charles E. May. "Noon Wine - Themes and Meanings" Comprehensive Guide to Short Stories[DB/OL]. http://www.enotes.com/topics/noon-wine/the
mes#themes-themes-and-meanings, 2004-5-17/2018-3-18.
[2]Felton,S. Strategies of Reticence: Silence and Meaning in the Works of Jane Austen,Willa Cather, Katherine Anne Porter, and Joan Didion[J]. Modern Fiction Studies. 1991, 37(02): 360-361.
[3]Janis P. Stout. Strategies of Reticence: Silence and Meaning in the Works of Jane Austen, Willa Cather, Katherine Anne Porter, and Joan Didion[M]. Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 1990.
[4]O'Connor, John J. Noon Wine Explores Psychological Truth[J]. The New York Times, 2017,10, 26.
[5]Porter, K. Anne. Noon Wine[M]. Detroit: Schuman's,1937.
[6]Robert H. Brinkmeyer Jr. Katherine Anne Porter's Artistic Development: Primitivism, Traditionalism, and Totalitarianism (Southern Literary Studies)[M]. Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1993.
[7] Skloot, F. Clarity, Grace, and Elegance[J]. Sewanee Review, 2009, 117(03):35-39.
[8]Thomas,M.Wynn. Strangers in a Strange Land: A Reading of "Noon Wine". American Literature,1975, 47(02):230-246.
[9]Yost, D. The Harm of "Swedening": Anxieties of Nativism in Katherine Anne Porter's "Noon Wine"[J]. The South Literary Journal , 2011, 43(02):75-86.
[10] 谷香娜. 叛逆者的乡愁——论《中午酒》的视角与隐含作者[J]. 燕山大学学报, 2009(01):25-27.
[11]凯瑟琳·安·波特. 《中午酒》的源流·小说鉴赏[M]. 北京:世界图书出版公司北京公司, 2006.
[12]章国锋,王逢振. 二十世纪欧美文论名著博览[M]. 北京:中国社会科学出版社, 1998.
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