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Chapter 1 Introduction

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) is a famous modern English novelist and is regarded asCatholic writer for the Catholic thoughts contained in his works published after theSecond World War (Zheng, 1987: 10). The novel Brideshead Revisited is his first seriousnovel with the Catholic theme and reflects how the power of God functions in a Catholicfamily in the world without the deity belief (Gao, 1996: 35). This Catholic theme of thisnovel is researched in this thesis through the following chapters. This chapter introducessome important elements relating to the thesis: the research objects, the research contentand methods, the research purpose and significance, and the structure of the thesis.

1.1 Research objects
The thesis chooses the Catholic theme and significance of the novel BridesheadRevisited as the research objects. The novel sets the background in the two world wars,which result in the economic destruction and the spiritual wasteland, and describes the fallof a noble Catholic family and the conversion journey of different characters, reflectingthe Catholic theme, that is, “the operation of divine grace on a group of diverse but closelyconnected characters” (Waugh, 2009: ix). In the novel, duty and desire, faith andhappiness come into conflict, and the characters, whether Catholics, half-heathens andagnostics, struggle to find their place in a changing world. After experiencing thesufferings and punishment, they all convert to Catholicism and become pious Catholics.The faith, which represents as Catholicism in the novel, becomes important and necessaryto provide guidance in the uncertain society. Therefore, this thesis researches the Catholictheme by analyzing the conversion process of the characters in the novel.
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1.2 Research content and method
The main content of the thesis is the analysis of the conversion process and theCatholic elements in the novel. It is about the religious conversion of the characters in thenovel, mainly the pious Catholics, the half-heathens and the agnostics. The conversionprocess reflects that in the background of the western cultural soiciety, Catholicism is the symbol of belief, which can help people to make the world better especially in uncertainsocieties, and a good instrument to research the western culture.The main research methods of the thesis are close-reading and case study. Thetheoretical perspective is the narrative theory, which is the narrative voice proposed bySusan Lanser, mainly the categorization of narrative voice. Through the theory application,the thoughts and power of Catholicism can be clearly presented during the conversionprocess.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review

The domestic and overseas researches of the novel Brideshead Revisited draw criticalattention on these themes: Catholicism, post-war nostalgia for the glorious past of theBritish aristocracy, the writing techniques and the cultural elements. The followingsections introduce and analyze the researches in China and other countries, and then findthe openings for the further study.

2.1 Researches in China
The Chinese scholars emphasize their researches on two aspects. The first and themost important aspect is the Catholic thought, which is the main theme expressed in thenovel. The second aspect is the writing techniques, mainly the narrative features of thenovel.Brideshead Re