Figures of Feelings: Character Representation in The Heart of Thomas

• Main Authors: Tseng, Yu-Fang, 曾郁芳
• Other Authors: Jackson, Earl
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/t2exnj

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 外國語文學系外國文學與語言學碩士班 === 106 === This thesis analyzes how the narrative and visual elements are deployed to express emotion in The Heart of Thomas. It aims to understand how the "multi-layered structure" and the "quasi-literary description" in shōjo manga establish a developed character. This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter examines the social cultural background of shōnen ai, and finds its intimate relation with the trends and women's social status in Japanese society. It shows that the emergence of bishōnen figures is a product of the time. The second chapter illustrates the theme of The Heart of Thomas which centers around psychological entanglements of the character's shame and guilt. The chapter surveys patterns of manga emotional expression and mechanism of manga character according to the arguments of manga studies scholars such as Ozuka Eiji and Ito Go. Shōjo manga writers inherit or transform the technologies in order to preserve more authentic emotions through visual sensation. The third chapter builds on the concepts of the second chapter, and interprets how the inner and outer world of the characters vacillate and merge under different modes of narration, so that the same sentiments appear in different degrees, and a single image contains multiple emotions. The Heart of Thomas matches its style and contents. The concluding chapter summarizes the full text. The Heart of Thomas evokes complex and often painful emotions through its innovations in the genre.