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A tormented soul in a locked hut: Can Xue’s short stories

University of British Columbia

This thesis is about Can Xue’s short stories. Can Xue, the pen name of Deng Xiaohua, is a contemporary Chinese woman writer. Her work is characterized by innovation and she is considered by some critics one of the most non-traditional and modernistic Chinese writer. The Introduction of the thesis introduces diverse evaluations of Can Xue’s works and gives the purpose of the thesis, that is, to review Can Xue’s significant short stories and to make my own aesthetic evaluation of them. The thesis divides Can Xue’s short stories into two basic categories: the allegorical and the symbolic. A number of their themes are identified and different features of both the allegorical and the symbolic stories are illustrated. Following this, the focus of the thesis shifts to the artistic techniques of Can Xue’s short stories. The modes of allegory and symbolism, the surrealistic imagination and illogical narrative, and the device of anti typification are examined in detail. Finally, particular attention is paid to making an aesthetic appraisal of Can Xue’s short stories.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-02-26

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5210

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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