Flight and Quest: Philip Pullman’s Novel The Firework-Maker’s Daughter and its Chinese Translation

• Main Authors: LO, WAN-CHI, 羅婉琦
• Other Authors: YU, CHEN-WEI
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/58687568070122352645

碩士 === 佛光大學 === 外國語文學系 === 105 === This thesis consists of two chapters. The first chapter is a critical introduction to Philip Pullman’s novel The Firework-Maker’s Daughter. There are three parts in the introduction. The first part introduces the author of the novel. The second part is the summary of the novel: in this novel, Lila, a young girl, wants to become a firework-maker in the footsteps of her father, Lalchand. However, her father believes that firework-making is an unsuitable job for girls. Thus, she leaves home to search materials which she believes to be essential in firework-making. She goes through many difficulties in her journey and finally becomes a distinguished fire-work marker. In the third part the plot of the novel is read from the perspective of Gilles Deleuze’s theory. In Deleuze’s theory he terms the rigid social systems as “tree.” Lila’s father and the King in their country are considered as the representatives of the concept “tree” because behind their thinking is the male-centered norm. Deleuze names the manifestation of escape as “rhizome.” This Deleuzian theoretical concept offers an explanation of deviation as the way to escape patriarchal constraints. Accordingly, Lila’s advantage and her social interaction with other people are analyzed this way. Furthermore, the study introduce Deleuze’s concept of “three line.” The first line is the molar or rigid segmentary line that cannot be broken due to its formulated rules of power; the second line is the molecule or supple segmentary line that is looser than the first line; the third line is the lines of flight. The study pinpoints Deleuze’s concepts of “three lines” in the story in order to show Lila’s growth and transition to being a firework-maker. The critical introduction is followed by a Chinese translation of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, which is the second chapter.