《鳥人》書評與相關論文多將鳥人舉止視為戰後創傷症候群之表現，或視鳥人本身即具有心理障礙，並因戰爭緣故而更加與社會脫節；艾爾則鮮少被提及，若有，則非其存在僅為增加故事深度，即為其亦受戰爭或社會體制影響而欲跳脫現況。本論文試圖透過三個面向對文獻做出修正，說明戰爭僅為影響兩位主角言行舉止的一個元素，他們對整體社會的看法才是決定他們（不）與社會互動的關鍵。第一章主要援用恩斯特‧布洛赫 (Ernst Bloch)《希望的原則》(The Principle of Hope) 中提及促進社會發展的要素，與路易‧馬蘭 (Louis Marin) 對布洛赫其他思想之延伸及其自身對托馬斯‧摩爾 (Thomas More)《烏托邦》 (Utopia) 的分析，來探討鳥人對鳥類世界的執著如何協助他創造出一個理想的社會。第二章則應用史提夫‧馬修斯 (Steve Matthews) 與珍妮提‧凱妮特 (Jeanette Kennett) 對敘事自我 (narrative self) 及真相和謊言間關係之分析，與瑪莉‧琴‧狄瑪 (Mary Jean DeMarr) 和珍‧S‧貝克曼 (Jane S. Bakerman) 對六零年代以降青少年小說之解讀，來檢視艾爾面對社會時遇到的難處與應對方法。第三章則透過羅蘭‧巴特 (Roland Barthes)《中性》(The Neutral) 與漢斯-格奧爾格‧高達美 (Hans-Georg Gadamer) 《真理與方法》(Truth and Method) 中對（遊）戲的分析，說明鳥人與艾爾如何處理與面對人生。本論文總結為鳥人並非心理障礙，艾爾亦非僅想逃避現況，而是兩者都在學習如何與社會共存。

Set in a psychiatric hospital during the postwar period, William Wharton’s debut novel Birdy often tempts the pathological interpretations of the behavior of the protagonists, Birdy and Al. This thesis aims to adapt the interpretations and argues that the aftermath of the war is just one of the causes, rather than the key one, of Birdy’s physical and Al’s verbal behavior. In fact, it is the struggle to maintain their own position in their interaction with the world(s) that influences how Birdy and Al behave. Chapter One investigates how Birdy’s obsession with the bird world helps him create an ideal world that determines his position. The theories Ernst Bloch proposes in his The Principle of Hope and Louis Marin in his Utopics will support the interpretations of this chapter. Chapter Two applies Steve Matthews and Jeanette Kennett’s “Truth, Lies, and Narrative Self,” together with Mary Jean DeMarr and Jane S. Bakerman’s The Adolescent in the American Novel Since 1960, to the examination of how Al deals with his life and attempts to help Birdy through anecdote-telling. Chapter Three employs the observations of play that Roland Barthes makes in his The Neutral and Hans-Georg Gadamer in his Truth and Method. Their ideas about play, especially when it is the synonym of game, can clarify how Birdy and Al’s union helps them figure out a way of really standing firm in the face of the world(s). That way is neither to fit in nor to escape from, but to live with, the world(s).

Table of Contents
論文審定書 i
Acknowledgments iii
摘要 iv
Abstract v
Introduction/ The Background and the Criticism of Birdy 1
Chapter One/ Meet Birdy: A Round Trip to Utopia 9
Chapter Two/ Meet Al: Truth in Pretense 29
Chapter Three/ Birdy and Al Revisited: Play with Utopia and Truth 55
Conclusion 75
Works Cited 77
Appendices 79

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