Prejudice and Enlightenment in the Novel Clock Without Hands

Abstract

Clock Without Hands is the most impressive and final novel by American southern female writer Carson McCullers. The novel portrays three characters of different ages: Judge Clane, a respected former member of the House of Representatives in his eighties; Malone, a pharmacist diagnosed with leukemia and is also a loyal follower of the judge; Jester, the seventeen-year-old grandson of the judge who has high hopes; and Sherman, the old judge’s private secretary, who was a Black man with blue eyes. Prejudice is a common phenomenon in cross-cultural communication. This paper analyzes the specific manifestations of prejudice in the book Clock Without Hands from the perspective of “prejudice”, through three dimensions: disease, race and gender. Through analyzing the manifestation of prejudice in the novel, it will bring inspiration for the public to improve their intercultural communication skills.