ABSTRACT

Moon Palace is a novel written by Paul Auster, a contemporary American writer, which tells us the story about the growing process of the main character, Marco Fogg, who finally becomes mature through a series of life hardship. Based on the relevant theories concerning bildungsroman, at first, this thesis intends to consider Moon Palace is a bildungsroman, and then through exploring the growing experiences of the protagonist, the thesis concludes four growth stages which are innocence, confusion, epiphany and maturity. To some extent, this dissertation might be helpful for the growth of adolescents who are stuck in frustration and pain.

Key words: Moon Palace; Bildungsroman; Paul Auster; Marco Fogg

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 An Brief Introduction of Paul Auster and Moon Palace-1

1.2 Structure of the Present Thesis-2

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 A Brief History of Previous Studies-3

2. The Significance of Present Study-4

Chapter Three MOON PALACE AS A TYPICAL BILDUNGSROMAN -6

3.1 A Brief Introduction of Bildungsroman-6

3.2 An Interpretation of Moon Palace in Terms of Characters-7

3.3 An Interpretation of Moon Palace in Terms of Content-8

3.4 An Interpretation of Moon Palace in Terms of Structure -10

Chapter Four MARCO STANLEY FOGG’S GROWTH-12

4.1 The First Stage: Innocence-12

4.2 The Second Stage: Confusion-12

4.3 The Third Stage: Epiphany -13

  4.4 The Fourth Stage: Maturity -14

Chapter Five CONCLUSION-15

WORKS CITED-17