【正文】 好人難尋》；《善良的鄉(xiāng)下人》 iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... ii Chapter One INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 Brief Introduction of William Faulkner and Flannery O?Connor...................... 1 Brief Introduction of Protagonists in Faulkner?s Works.................................... 1 Brief Introduction of Protagonists in O?Connor?s Works.................................. 2 Importance of Women Images ........................................................................... 2 Chapter Two SIMILARITIES OF WOMEN IMAGES IN SHORT STORIES OF FAULKNER AND O’CONNOR............................................................................. 4 Frequent Usage of Indirect Depiction ................................................................ 4 Description of Historical, Cultural and Value Changes..................................... 6 Existence of Religious Influence ....................................................................... 6 Southern Gothic Heroines .................................................................................. 6 The Tragic Fates of Women Figures ................................................................. 7 Chapter Three DIFFERENCES OF WOMEN IMAGES IN SHORT STORIES OF FAULKNER AND O’CONNOR............................................................................. 9 The Characteristics of Women Images—Traditional Ones Verses New ones .. 9 The Religious Element and the Application of Gothicism .............................. 11 Reasons That Make Females Tragic ................................................................ 12 A Rose for Emily—faith in tradition ........................................................ 12 A Good Man Is Hard to Find—faith in moral ......................................... 12 Good Country People —faith in knowledge ........................................... 12 Chapter Four POSSIBLE REASONS ON FAULKNER AND O’CONNOR’S DIFFERENT DECIPTION ON WOMEN IMAGES ................................................ 15 Difference of Personal Experiences of Faulkner and O?Connor ..................... 15 Difference of the Background on Stories......................................................... 15 Different Angles of A Male Writer And A Female One ................................. 16 Chapter Five THE BRIEF CONCLUSION ............................................................ 18 WORKS CITED............................................................................................................ 19 1 Chapter One INTRODUCTION Brief Introduction of William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor Both William Faulkner and Flannery O?Connor, major figures of contemporary American literature, were representative of Southern Renaissance in the United States. Faulkner wrote 19 long novels and more than 100 short stories, of which A Rose for Emily earned him a wide reputation. He is considered one of the most important Southern writers along with Mark Twain, Robert Penn Warren, Flannery O39。女性角色歷來在不同作品中有著不同的意義及命運，傳達(dá)著作者不同的主旨，同時又受作品時代背景而影響。 A Good Man Is Hard to Find。 聲明人（簽名）： 年 月 日 ii Acknowledgements Upon the pletion of the present paper, I feel deeply indebted to those who helped me during my study of William Faulkner and Flannery O?Connor?s short stories. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Zhao Guanghui, my supervisor, for her constant encouragement and her invaluable advice during my study and the writing of this paper. Her generosity and readiness to help, and her profound literary and critical knowledge have always been a valuable source of any advancement I have made during the past four years. Besides, her literary wisdom and critical insight will enlighten my way of life, and her personal charm as a scholar always stimulates me to pursue further goals in the future. Equal gratitude is extended to other professors and teachers for their encouragement and illuminating suggestions, from whose brilliant lectures and great personalities I have benefited greatly. My gratitude also goes to my peers and friends for their kindness to spend time and energy in appraising and editing my thesis. Grateful acknowledgements are also extended to all those whose works and essays I referred to or quoted in this thesis. Finally I thank all the people mentioned above again. Without them, it would have been impossible for me to acplish this task. Yang . ABSTRACT An Analysis of Protagonists in Short Stories of William Faulkner and Flannery O?Connor Yang Qujing This paper intends to analyze the similarities and differences between women images of Southern Literature in short stories of William Faulkner and Flannery O?Connor, taking the three of them as examples, A rose for Emily, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Good Country People. Women images of the three stories may serve for various intentions of the two authors, which is mainly discussed and studied, and may also be influenced by times. The continuous studies on protagonists have been a tradition in the world of literature, which often carry the great importance of motifs. The similarities lie in the indirect depiction, depiction on changes in south, religious influence, Southern Gothic heroines and the tragic fates. The differences may be due to characteristics, the religious element and the application of Gothicism and the roots of tragedies of the protagonists. Through the interpretation and parison of protagonists? fate, we may be able to understand the underlying and indispensabl