Abstract: The Trumpet of the Swan is written by famous American essayist E·B·White. It tells the story of a trumpeter swan, Louis, who was born without a voice. Fighting against his fate, Louis overcame varieties of difficulties and finally succeeded by learning to play a trumpet. The initiation theme in the novels plays a positive role in teenagers’ cognitive development. Based on Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, this paper will specifically analyze Louis’s growing experience according to his intellectual cognition, emotional cognition, self-cognition, social cognition and moral cognition to enrich its study and help readers better understand the novel.

Key words: The Trumpet of the Swan; Louis; growth; the theory of cognitive development

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 The Initiation Story and The Trumpet of the Swan-1

1.2 Literature Review-4

2. The Theory of Cognitive Development-5

2.1 An Overview of the Theory of Cognitive Development-5

2.2 Different Stages of Cognitive Development-6

3. Louis’s Cognitive Development-7

3.1 Sensorimotor Stage: Intellectual Cognition-7

3.2 Pre-Operational Stage: Emotional Cognition-10

3.3 Concrete Operational Stage: Self-Cognition-12

3.4 Formal Operational Stage: Social Cognition and Moral Cognition-14

4. Conclusion-17

References-19