주요섭 작품의 비판적 분석

Abstract

The analysis of this dissertation isn't confined exclusuvely to Chu's novels. It deals estensively with the historical background of his novels and the stesam of Korean literary thought in general. Envisaging Chu's works, we can discover the characteristics of Korea literature because the history of Chu's consciousness in his works well represents the main trends of Korean literature. The essential spirit of Chu's works has been lost to the common people under the misleading name of naturalism or realism. Chu's works can be divided into three periodical stages ; 1) The early period (1920's) 2) Ths middle period (1930's) 3) Post-liberation The ordinary people identify Chu, the writer with the works of second stage. But Chu's great spirit and consciousness doesn't belong to that stage. He was rather seccessful in his earlier works. The fact that Korean writers have not produced better works in their later atage is a matter of great reget for us, those who have no real literary tradition in which we can take pride. The real meaning of Chu's works has never been correctly understood and fully analed. This is partly due to the fact that he is still living. This criticism may be the first challenge to his works. Before analyzing his works, let me introduce the two main themes of this dissertation. Korea has irs own tradition. By tradition we mean peculiarity and irreduceability in literary, historical, social, political and philosophical aspects. The lack of material abundency can under no circumstances mean cultural backwardness. From the turn of this century the penetration of Western influence in this country began to erode the basic structure of Korean thinking. Such erosion has been masquerading under the name modernization. Modernization in this sphere should mean Koreanization, but unfortunately it has been Westernization. Modernization is a phenomenon which is favorable to the Occident. Because the modernization process has been brought about by foreign power, it can't have an indigenous meaning for Koreans and anti-Western feeling has at most a sort of xenophobia or an inferiority complex of the intellectuals. Ironically, traditional irreduceabillity was able to find its meaning in conformity to the so-called advanced culture. This kind of tragic situation has also been intricately hidden in the Korea literary field. In the literary context. European literary throught was able to steal into the minds of Korea literati thanks to the Japanese policy of brainwashing for the purpose of cultural conformity. The modernization of Korean literature was initiated by a few intellectuals who were educated in Japan. Their quasinationalism was negatively expressed in the V-narod type of ""Enlightenment"". We can define Korean modern literature as ""the literature of escapism"". Here we must exclude every organizing concept to define Korean literary works into European categories like romanticcism, realism, naturalism and proletarian literature. Thus we are trying to establish the historical peculiarity of Korean literature and to give a theoretical background for the future. For this purpose, this dissertation is dediated. Secondly, the meaning of literature lies in the positive participation of writers in the social problems and in ethical responsibility, By Lipp's theory of empathy (Einfuhlungs theorie) esthetics is one and the same with ethics. We agree with this idea. The belletrist spirit can be harmonized with the participationist spirit because esthetical effect should be accompanied by ethical values. The historical past is living in the present. The present Sollen is the main criteria of interpretation of the past. Our present problematic situation requires the Sollen (ethical values). All the more, the two functions of literature, pleasure and instruction, can be harmonized in the ""power to move"" as De Quincey argued. Power in my sense implies the ethical construction of the future, not excluding esthetic uniqueness. Contemporary arguement between parrticipationists and belletrists can find a point of harmony in the synthetic function of literature. When I talk of harmony, I speak in terms of the Oriental concept of Natyre, the philisophical implication of which repudiates all dischotomic thinking. The consummation of harmonizing thought can be fathomed in the Book of the Mean, Chuang-Tzu, and Wha-Yon. The true spirit of Harmony and Perfection has not been correctly understood by the Western mind and even by the Korean intellect. Harmony and active participation of literary thought constitute the second theme of this dissertation. This dissertation consists of three parts. The first part is the theoritical background of the critical analysis. The second is the actual presentation of the analysis and the third is retrospection upon and future vision for Korean literature using the results of the analysis. The theoretical background of the analysis is mostly centered around the causal necessity of plot in fiction. To develop this idea, we adopted the attitude of the Gestalt psychology. Gestalt means the structural whole of the writer's consciousnesss which enriches reality. we borrowed the neo-kantian idea of criticism. Postulates of practical reason are again emphasized here. And we defind the meaning of ""thought and thinking"" in the Chinese-etymological sense. The work ""Crab Grass"" manifests the future direction of low-class people in capitalistic society. In ""The Unifinished"", the artistic dream of the hero to achieve the spirit of Korea on his painting was thwarted by a series of trifling events Chu's defect was an insufficient grasp of art in the Oriental sense. To the Oriental mentality the supernatural existence of God has never held such invincible authority as in the Occident. Human perfection means artistic consummation which is within the reach of human capability. The spirit of Korea was defeated in front of the divine auuthority of Nazareth Jesus. The insight Chu displayed in A-Ching and Chu Shick's lonesome existences had petered out. Chu's protagonists are not individualistic ones but prototypes. This may be one of his failures. Im my general appraisal, the earlier works are characterized as ""the literature of poverty"", the works of the middle stage "" the literature of languor"", and the post-liberation works are ""the literature of complaint"". Our last categorical omperative was that the anti-Western and anti-religious feeling of A-Ching should be brought to artistic perfection in ""The Korean Spirit"" of Byung Jik. I believe thin small treaties can fine its validity in a more hopeful future for Korean literature.