A Study of the Use of Color in To the Lighthouse开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义

To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf''s most painterly novel, is a constant narrative negotiation between color and the identities it shapes. Woolf began writing To the Lighthouse partly as a way of understanding and dealing with unresolved issues concerning both her parents and indeed there are many similarities between the plot and her own life. It is a conversation between the sensory experience of beauty and the human impulses--synesthetic experiences, even it spontaneously conjures. The novel lacks an omniscient narrator (except in the second section: Time Passes); instead the plot unfolds through shifting perspectives of each character''s consciousness. Moreover, the use of colors in this book is very special. Colors have close association with characters#8217; personalities and reveal their inner sentiment, different colors represents different characters.So I choose this topic to learn more about the use of color in this book in order to understand the characters and their emotions better. Though the study of this book, we can have a deep understanding of Woolf''s use of color which shapes the structure and content of To the Lighthouse, and, paired with her synesthetic imagery, which helps to construct the identity of her characters and compose the emotional landscape of the text. It is also helpful for us to have a better understanding of the association between colors and characters and their inner sentiment

2. 研究内容和预期目标

1.the brief classification of colors in this book: masculine, feminine, and androgynous colors; a darkening and fading of color ; a disassembly of color . the author uses different colors to reveal different characters and their emotions.

2. the symbolic meaning of colors in to the lighthouse: colors in this book have rich meanings, they represent different characters and atmosphere. these meanings can be deacribed as the eternal flux of time; the uninterrupted continuity of human life; the meaning of life.

3. the key problem is how author constructs the the identity of her characters and composes the emotional landscape of the text and how author revealed the association between color, personality and inner sentiment. also, how plots and atmosphere develop through the use of color.

3. 国内外研究现状

At home, the study of color gets more attention especially psychologists. They study the association of colors and human beings rather than the literal meanings of colors. For example, Xiao Shimeng#8217;s Study on Silk Color in Pre-Qin, through the study of silk colors, Xiao reveals people#8217;s mental activity and character. Wu Tieping#8217;s Theory of Color Words and Its Fuzzy Properties, in this book he divides colors into different categories and reveals the association between colors and human beings in detail. In foreign countries, there are some theories about the use of color. For example, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe''''s Theory of Colors. Through a series of experiments on his thesis that color is really the interplay of light and dark, Goethe discovered a peculiarity that seemed to confute the Newtonian system. There are clearly two ways to produce a color spectrum: with a light beam projected in a dark room, and with a shadow projected within a lighted room. The color produced also depends upon the color of the material on which the light or shadow is cast. Besides, Jogannes ltten#8217;s The Art of Color, in this book, he describes colors and pattern, the changes of colors and color fusion. He explains color red and purple specially in detail.

4. 计划与进度安排

1、2022年1月16日至4月9日--完成初稿和中期检查工作

2、2022年4月10日在至4月30日--完成论文修改、二稿工作

3、2022年5月1日至5月14日--完成定稿和外文文献翻译工作 4、2022年5月16日至6月10日--完成答辩环节工作，成绩发布

5. 参考文献

1.abel, elizabeth. virginia woolf and the fictions of psychoanalysis[m]. chicago, up to chicago, 1989.

2. evans, william a. virginia woolf: stragist of language[m]. lanham: university press of america, 1989.

3. fleishman, avrom. virginia woolf: a critical reading[m]. baltimoreamp;london: the johns hopkins university press, 1975.