AnAnalysisofNancy’sCharacerandisFormingFacorsinOliverTwis_开题报告

Charles Dickens was the greatest novelist in Britain in the 19th century whose work Oliver Twist under the heading of critical realism was his most distinguished representative.Oliver Twist, published in 1838. Since its publication, it has generated a huge response both in China and abroad with a variety of studies emerging in an endless stream. And many scholars have done some researches both on Oliver Twist and the characters in thus book such as Nancy.

Researches  Abroad

There are a great number of researches about Oliver Twist. Nancy is only one of the secondary major roles in the novel—"Oliver Twist" which written by Charles Dickens but it is a very typical figure in the novel. She was not like the other characters just show good side or the bad, but at some point, shows the positive side, sometimes show the mean one. Because of this, this figure is more close to life, its complexity character worth us to study. This thesis takes Oliver Twist written by famous critical realist author Charles Dickens as major material. In this novel, Nancy first appears in chapter 19. Dickens describes her from Oliver’s point of view. “She is not exactly pretty, but she has a great deal of color in her face, and looks quite stout and hearty.” This description shows that Nancy is a good girl. Her later behavior shows that she is clever, kind and cautious.In Parentage and Inheritance in the Novels of Charles Dickens (1994) written by Anny Sadrin, the author focus on the parent-child relationship and the triple inheritance of looks, name and property in Charles Dickens’s novels. In Andrew Dowing’s Manliness and the Male Novelist in Victorian Literature (2001), firstly, the author gives a definition of Victorian masculinty in light of discipline. Then, he gives an answer to the question of why there are many images of male deviance in literature. Then, he makes a detailed analysis of the male novelist, such as Charles Dickens, is defined against multiple images of unmanliness. Finally, Dowling claims that masculingty is a complex construction instead of a natural given. Other Dickens: Pickwick to Chuzzlewit (2003) written by John Bowen, is widely regarded as one of the best book on Dickens and an indispensible work for learning novels of Dickens. John Bowen applies temporary theory and historical awareness to study Dickens’ famous novels, including The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and Martin Chuzzlew it. 

(二)Domestic Research

Many scholars have done some research on the analysis of Nancy in Oliver Twist. A large number of masterpieces have been searched in the library and Internet in the period of writing this thesis. The author of this paper finds some scholars lay emphasis on the fate of Nancy in the Oliver Twist. Gu Yuanhua makes a description of Nancy’s fate in his Analysis of Nancy’s Fate in Oliver Twist. He summarizes Nancy’s fate in her different stage and has an insig into the reasons of Nancy’s fate.

Others focus on the kindness of Nancy and demonstrate their favor. For example, He Shunli (2011:30) in her Excavating Human’s Shining Point in Oliver Twist said” It’s not difficult for us to find human’s radiance, female thief Nancy, is a prominent example. The maiden who loses family and parents’ care from childhood grows completely in the thief’s den, but her conscience doesn’t vanish. She hates and loves and she has sympathy and sense of righteousness.” Wang yan, in her Analysis of Nancy’s Side of Kindness in Oliver Twist (2011:17-18), she said “She is only an ordinary people of social underclass, a female thief, but this status shows her kindness. The character Nancy makes people see the great strength of trueness and conscience in the dreggy society. Darkness and evil can’t influence and control people’s soul forever. Nancy’s forgetting her life to save Oliver and her unswerving loyalty to love reflect her trueness and kindness”.

All in all, Oliver Twist is a masterpiece which is worthwhile to make a deep exploration and analysis. Through the analysis of Nancy’s character in this novel, we can find the exquisite description of the inner world, and have some insight into the social environment in that time as well as its influence on Nancy’s character which has much to ponder.

二、The Outline

1 Brief Introduction to Oliver Twist

1.1 Brief Introduction to the Author Charles Dickens

1.2 Brief Introduction to Oliver Twist

2 Character Analysis of Nancy in Oliver Twist 

2.1 Evilness

2.2 Kindness

2.3 Resourcefulness and Braveness

2.4 Loyalty to Love

3 The causes of Nancy’s Character 

3.1 The Influence of Nancy’s Self-experience

3.2 The Influence of the Society

4. Conclusion

三、References

[1] Bowen, J. Other Dickens: Pickwick to Chuzzlewit [M]. Oxford University Press, 2003. 

[2]Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist. Beijing: Tsinghua university press, 2009.

[3] Chesterton, G. K. Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens

[M]. New Jersey: Princeton University, 1911. [4] Dowling, A. Manliness and the Male Novelist in Victorian Literature [M].Ashgate Publishing Group, 2001.      [5] Foster, J.  The Life of Charles Dickens [M].BiblioBazaar, 2009.   

[6] Sadrin, A. Parentage and Inheritance in the Novels of Charles Dickens [M].  

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

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