Abstract Proceeding from the perspective of new historicism, especially its concepts of “self-fashioning”, “the historicity of texts” and “the textuality of history”, this thesis attempts to interpret James Welch’s The Indian Lawyer by putting it in its historical context, exploring how Welch depicts the identity development of Sylvester, hero in The Indian Lawyer, seeking how he constructs the intertextual relations between history and The Indian Lawyer (as “text”) and analyzing how he embodies the dilemma of American Indian existence and his reflection on the way out of it in his text.26092
This thesis consists of the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The body is pided into three chapters. Chapter One proceeds from the concept of “self-fashioning”, exploring how Sylvester fashions himself as well as others, analyzing what influences different forces have on this process. Chapter Two proceeds from the concept of “the historicity of texts”, probing into the historical context of The Indian Lawyer, examining the discrimination revealed in the text and exhibiting white supremacy as its root cause. Chapter Three proceeds from the concept of “the textuality of history”, analyzing The Indian Lawyer as a textual explanation, discussing the contributions Welch makes to the construction of readers’ knowledge and exploring what inspirations can be drawn from Sylvester’s final withdrawal. Based on the above interpretation, this thesis attempts to confirm the historical value of The Indian Lawyer and its historical role in a specific historical context.
Key Words：James Welch     The Indian Lawyer     self-fashioning     the historicity of texts and the textuality of history     dilemma and way out
摘  要本文拟从新历史主义的“自我形塑”、“历史的文本性”和“文本的历史性”等概念出发，将著名印第安作家詹姆斯•韦尔奇的《印第安律师》置于历史语境之中，探索小说中主人公的自我形塑过程，考察小说中“历史与文学的互文关系”，剖析文本所反映的白人至上的社会背景和印第安生存困境，并探讨作者对印第安人如何摆脱困境的思考。
本文分为引言、正文、结语三个部分。其中，正文分为三个章节。第一章从新历史主义的“自我形塑”概念出发，分析《印第安律师》中主人公自我形塑的主要过程及其对他者的塑造，并探究三种主要力量对其形塑过程的影响。第二章以新历史主义有关“文本的历史性”的论述为框架，探讨《印第安律师》的历史性依据，挖掘小说中印第安人备受歧视的现状，并分析歧视的根源在于白人至上的殖民主义意识。第三章以新历史主义有关“历史的文本性”的论述为依据，分析《印第安律师》的文本阐释功能，探究韦尔奇对构建读者的印第安认识做出的贡献，并探讨文末主人公主动撤退所反映的韦尔奇对印第安生存困境的思考。基于以上解读，本文肯定了《印第安律师》在特定历史和文化背景下的文学创作地位以及小说的历史性价值。
毕业论文关键词：詹姆斯•韦尔奇     《印第安律师》     自我形塑     文本的历史性和历史的文本性     生存困境和出路
Contents
Abstractⅰ
摘 要.....ⅲ
Contents....ⅳ
Introduction... 1
Chapter One Where to Go and Where to Belong: The Self-Fashioning of Sylvester Yellow Calf ... 9
Chapter Two The Historicity of Texts: Existential Dilemma under White Supremacy.....18
Chapter Three The Textuality of History: Pursuit of the Way Out of Existential Dilemma....28
Conclusion.....36 詹姆斯韦尔奇的《印第安律师》新历史主义解读:http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_20154.html