Abstract Vampire is an image of folk literature with a long history. In the contemporary western culture, the vampire culture has historical backgrounds and realistic meanings. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice’s first vampire novel published in 1976, has become a great success and drawn the international attention. Louis is a main character in the novel. After becoming a vampire, his life changes a lot. Many scholars mainly focus on the topics like the male homosexuality and the special family in the novel. Few scholars have analyzed the main vampire characters from the perspective of psychology. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Louis’s behaviors from the perspective of Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory. From this analysis, we can get a better understanding of the character Louis and the vampire culture. This thesis also analyzes the social problems reflected in his behaviors such as the crisis of religion and the decline of self-identity in America. 54559
Keywords: vampires; behaviors; Maslow’s theory; needs; reflections
摘要吸血鬼是一个流传很久的民间文学形象,在西方文化中具有深厚的历史背景和现实意义,深受世界各地人们的喜爱和追捧。《夜访吸血鬼》是安妮·赖斯于1976年出版的第一部吸血鬼小说,获得了很大的成功,也引起了各界的讨论。路易是安妮·赖斯吸血鬼小说中一个比较典型的吸血鬼角色。在路易变成吸血鬼之后,他的生活发生了很多变化。大部分学者主要关注该书中的一些另类话题,例如书中男同性恋和特殊家庭。很少有人从心理学角度分析书中的主要人物。本文试图从马斯洛需求层次理论来分析路易的不同需求。通过这个分析,我们可以了解更多关于吸血鬼文化的知识,也可以引起更多对吸血鬼文化的研究和关注。本文还分析了路易的行为所反射的一些社会问题,如美国社会的宗教危机和人们自我认同感的降低等。
毕业论文关键词:吸血鬼;行为活动;马斯洛理论;需求;反射
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Literature Review 3
3. Maslow’s Need-hierarchy Theory 4
4. The Analysis of Louis’s Behaviors under Maslow’s Theory 6
4.1 The Instinctive Desire for Blood 6
4.2 Keeping away from Dangers 7
4.3 Belonging and Love from Louis’s Nuclear Family 8
4.4 Louis’s Choice of Armand for Esteem Needs 9
4.5 Louis’s Failure to Realize Self-actualization 10
5. The Reflections of Louis’s Behaviors 11
5.1 The Crisis of Religion 11
5.2 The Decline of Self-identity 12
6. Conclusion 13
Works Cited 14
1. Introduction
The word “vampire” comes from Slavic word “obyri”. It is said that the vampire history is as long as or even longer than the history of human beings. A historian Brian J. Frost held that “we accept the proposition that the belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself” (1989:3). The more people want to know, the more addicted to vampire culture they will be.
Vampires are supernatural, mysterious and evil creatures, they appear at night and drink human’s blood. Vampire culture is like the universe, expansive and mysterious. “The generation of the vampire is the result from the fear of mysterious powers. People can’t explain this phenomenon, so they become eager to know more about vampires. Then, the vampire culture is enriched” (Li Yuefeng, 2011:2). Concerning the vampire ancestors, the most popular explanation is closely associated with the Christianity. The vampire ancestors are considered as Cain and Judas according to the Bible. “Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve, and he killed his younger brother Abel because of his jealousy. Then he was published seriously and was exiled by God”(Liu Yanan, 2011:4). “Judas was turned into a blood sucker by God after his suicide. God was very sorrowful for his son’s death, so he made Judas the first vampire suffering from the nature of bloodsucking immortally” (Wang Yajun, 2011:2). Therefore, Cain and Judas were regarded as the first vampires by a great many people, indicating that the vampire’s birth derived from the religious beliefs. Religions, especially the Christianity, have a significant impact on vampire culture.