| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 104 === This thesis focuses on exploring different forms of posthuman bodies—the human, the cyborg and the vampire—in Marge Piercy‟s He, She and It and Octavia E. Butler‟s Fledgling via the posthuman perspective. Also, it aims to explore the processes and outcomes of becoming posthuman bodies. In He, She and It, Piercy depicts a future where people take use of high-tech facilities and devices to enhance the function of their bodies or replace damaged body parts with prostheses. They also create cyborgs as weapons to defend their city. In Fledgling, Butler imagines an alternative society where vampires make use of genetic engineering and a kind of unique venom to transform bodies and control humans to become their symbionts. Becoming posthumans is significant because it means that traditional binary oppositions, such as the human/nonhuman dualism and the human/machine dualism, are challenged and deconstructed. As the two authors imply in their novels, the only way for posthumans to ensure a better life and prolong one‟s life span is to cooperate with and embrace different life forms. Nevertheless, it is dangerous to see only the bright side of the concept of becoming posthumans and crossing boundaries because there might be desperations and disasters coming along with it. We should also examine its dark side. This thesis will draw from Donna Haraway‟ and Katherine Hayles‟ theories to re-examine traditional dualisms, explore the possibilities of crossing boundaries, and discuss the importance of cyborgs and how different posthuman bodies survive in the future. It will also explore the transformation of bodies. And then, Jacques Lacan‟s theory on identification would be discussed to explore how the posthumans identify themselves. It is hoped that this thesis can open a new path to re-think the question of what the human is via the posthuman perspective so we can re-explore the relationship between the self and the other.
|
|---|
