本碩士論文從生態修辭的角度研究懷特的童書。美國作家懷特（E. B. White）以其散文及兒童小說為人所知，其三本著名兒童小說皆為兒童文學的經典：《小不點司圖爾特》（Stuart Little）、《夏綠蒂的網》（Charlotte’s Web）、《天鵝的喇叭》（The Trumpet of the Swan）。 過去關於此三本小說的研究主要從兩個層面談起，一是其語言風格，另一則是生態論述：萊恩（Ryan）從風格的角度探究三本小說中懷特有哪些寫作、用字等特色；維克（Wake）的博士論文則是第一個用生態批評閱讀懷特的研究，生態批評（ecocriticism）研究人與非人（non-human）或環境之間的關係，本論文持續以該角度切入研究懷特的小說，並專注懷特如何使用特殊的修辭表現出人與生態之間的和諧和矛盾，本論文亦會談到與小說場景有關的都市生態學以及農村生態學，以補足先前研究的不足。

This thesis examines environmental rhetoric in E. B. White’s novels for children. American essayist, novelist and journalist, White is best known for his children’s novels: Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte’s Web (1952) and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). Previous research on the novels mainly focuses on White’s language style and ecological concerns in the novels: Ryan (1983) discussed the novels from the perspective of style, and Wake (2007) was the first to study White’s writings from an ecological perspective. Ecocriticism explores the relationship between humans and non-human creatures. Continuing the ecological discussion, this thesis probes into how White’s rhetoric manifests the harmony and contradiction between humans and nature.

論文審定書 ………………………………………………………………………………… i
Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………… ii
Chinese Abstract …………………………………………………………………………… iii
English Abstract ……………………………………………………………………...……. iv
Chapter One: Introduction ………………………………………………………………….. 1
Chapter Two: Ecocriticism and White as a Nature Writer …….…………………………… 8
Chapter Three: Stuart Little and Urban Ecology …………………………………….…… 13
Chapter Four: Charlotte’s Web and Barn Ecology ……………………………………...… 31
Chapter Five: The Trumpet of the Swan and Symbiosis ……………………………...… 41
Chapter Six: Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..…. 54
Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………………….. 58

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