本論文旨在探討約瑟夫.海勒 (Joseph Heller) 第二本小說 <<懼變>>中自我辯証的策略及牽涉在其中自戀的主題. 基本上, <<懼變>>乃為一第一人稱敘述之作品. 身兼小說中的主人翁及敘述者, Slocum 憑藉其在敘述中對語言文字支配的 "優勢," 企圖由文字飄浮的意符中重新建構自我的意指, 以凸顯 / 再塑自我的主體性. 換言之, 經由 "說" 和 "寫" 等自我辯証的手段, Slocum 嘗試建立自我的權力中心, 肯定自我的自發及實體存在. 而本論文的根本論述即在於 Slocum 自我肯定的 "需要" 源起於其病態自戀的人格. 在這一點上, 我將援用 Freud, Lacan,Alford 等人自戀的理論, 指出自戀慾力雖然是自我形成的原始動力, 病態自戀人格卻表現於對自我價值的懷疑和無休止的自我追尋. 在小說 中, Slocum 必須藉著不斷的自我表演來肯定自我, 他的自我追尋正足以彰顯他自我的匱乏和對外界肯定的依賴.本論文分為五章. 首章涵蓋自我問題, 自戀理論及病態自戀三部份,就本論文的理論基礎加以申論. 次章以 Slocum 的追尋 (Quest) 和反追尋 (Anti-Quest) 為主題, 了解Slocum 以第一人稱敘述者對其敘述的控制. 第三章探討自戀人格二元性的論點, 指出潛藏在 Slocum 自我權力爭取之後重返嬰兒前鏡像期 (Pre-Mirror Stage) 的慾望. 第四章引用 Christopher Lasch 文化批判的觀點, 分析美國二次戰後消費社會裡經濟和文化的生態, 以圖找出自戀人格崛起的文化背景. 末章總結全文論述,並以 "自戀敘述" 的概念, 闡明<<懼變>>一書結構上自戀的特質. / The purpose of this thesis is to explore Something Happened, the second novel written by Joseph Heller, in light of the contemporary theories of self, especially the research made on narcissism. Through an analysis of Solcum’s self-politics, I intend to clarify the power-relations between self and other, narrator and his audience, speaker and language, as well as the individual and the culture revealed in the novel. Not only does Slocum embody the self who attempts to exercise self-power by means of self-performance in his narrative but this self-performance, instead of consolidating Solcum’s subjectivity, ironically reduces his self to be an object controlled by the outer world of consumption. Besides summarizing the whole research, the final chapter refers to the concept of the “narcissistic narrative.” Through an analysis of the narcissistic essence in Slocum’s writing, I reconfirm the value of Something Happened in modern literary creation.