An Analysis of Naturalism in Sister Carrie 指.docx
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An Analysis of Naturalism in Sister Carrie 指.docx
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AnAnalysisofNaturalisminSisterCarrie指
AnAnalysisofNaturalisminSisterCarrie
论《嘉莉妹妹》中的自然主义
摘要
《嘉丽妹妹》是美国文学的一个里程碑。
它讲述了关于一个美丽的乡下姑娘嘉丽独自去芝加哥寻找幸福和最终通过各种方式成为百老汇明星的故事。
其作者西奥多德莱塞被认为美国自然主义的杰出代表。
受消费主义环境和物欲横流的社会环境的影响,嘉丽妹妹在欲望中不断找寻财富和地位。
尽管最终她得到想要的一切,却难以摆脱精神上的空虚。
本文从德莱塞创作《嘉丽妹妹》的历史文化背景出发,主要论述了西奥多·德莱塞的自然主义思想和美国自然主义以及《嘉丽妹妹》中的自然主义。
经过分析,可以发现德莱塞的自然主义观点:
人类受遗传和环境因素的驱使;人的自由意志改变不了人类的命运。
这些观点体现了德莱塞的悲观意识,而他的悲观意识的形成与社会背景和自然主义密切相关。
关键词:
自然主义;达尔文主义;欲望;环境
Abstract
SisterCarrieisamilestoneinAmericanliteraryhistory.IttellsastoryofabeautifulcountrygirlCarriegoingtoChicagoalonetoseekhappinessandhowsheturnstoafamousstarinBroadwaythroughallkindsofwaysintheend.TheauthorTheodoreDreiserisconsideredasanoutstandingrepresentativeofAmericannaturalism.Undertheinfluenceofconsumerismandmaterialismofthesocialenvironment,SisterCarrieisdrivenbyinsatiabledesiretopursuewealthandfame.Althoughshefinallyattainswhatshewants,sheistrappedinthespiritualwasteland.
BasedonthehistoricculturalbackgroundofSisterCarrie,thispresentpaperismainlyanalyzing:
TheodoreDreiser’snaturalisticthoughts;Americannaturalism;Dreiser’snaturalisticthoughtsinSisterCarrie.Fromthestudy,itiseasytofindDreiser’snaturalisticthoughts:
manisdominatedbyhereditaryandenvironmentalfactors;thepredestinedfatecannotbeaffectedbyman’sfreewill.ThatindicatesDreiser’spessimisticvision.However,theformationofhispessimisticvisioniscloselyrelatedtothesocialbackgroundofhistimesandnaturalism.
KeyWords:
Naturalism;Darwinism;desire;environment
Contents
摘要I
AbstractII
1.Introduction1
1.1AnIntroductiontotheAuthor1
1.2AnIntroductiontoSisterCarrie1
2.NaturalismandTheodoreDreiser2
2.1TheDevelopingofNaturalism2
2.2AnOverviewofAmericanNaturalism2
2.2.1TheBackgroundofAmericanNaturalism2
2.2.2ThePhylogenyofAmericanNaturalism2
2.3Dreiser’sNaturalism3
2.3.1TheCausingFactorsofDreiser’sNaturalism3
2.3.2TheJudgementofDreiserandSisterCarrie4
2.3.3TheSignificanceandInfluenceofDreiser’sNaturalism5
3.NaturalisminSisterCarrie5
3.1Carrie,aFigureDrivenByDesireandInstinct5
3.2Hurstwood,aFigureofTragedy7
3.3AnExplorationintotheTwoCharacter’sConduct9
3.4SisterCarrie,aChallengetoTraditionalMorality9
4.Conclusion10
Bibliography12
Acknowledgments13
1.Introduction
1.1AnIntroductiontotheAuthor
TheodoreDreiserisoneofAmericannaturalismwritersaswell-knownashisexploringspiritforroughreallife.In1871,hewasborninaGerman-AmericanfamilyinIndiana,whosebrotherPaulDreiserisafamouslyricist.Then,TheodorehadbeenattendinginIndianaUniversityandlaterhebegantowritecomposesforChicagoGlobeandStLouisGlobe-Democrat.
HisfirstnovelSisterCarrie,tellastoryofCarrieMeeber,ayoungwomanwhogotawayfromthecountrytoChicagoandthenlivedacriminalvainlife.Sinceheneverattemptedtopromoteit,thenoveldidnotsalewell.Afterthat,Dreiserstartedtoeditfemalemagazinewhilehehadtoresignthejobonaccountofofficeromance.Thenextyearthesecondnovelwaspublishedandlotsofhisnovelswerealwaysaboutsocialunfairphenomena.Sincehisworksdiscussedthesocialstatusandpeople’sdesireforsubstance,itsnaturalismstyleandthedescriptionofdetailsstronglyverifiedthetheme.
Dreiserwasnotknownforhisstylebuttherealityofhisnovels.Thushecouldspecializeatdescribingthevariationofpersonalcharacters,andhehadparticularperspectivesaboutAmericanlife,sothathebecameafamousAmericannaturalismwriter.
1.2AnIntroductiontoSisterCarrie
SisterCarrietellsthestoryofCarrieMeeber,ayoungcountrygirlleavingforChicagotolookforabetterlife.Shefirstliveswithhersisterwhoseworking-classhomeis,however,toopoortokeepher.Winteriscomingandsheisseriouslyill,whileDrouet,atravelingsalesman,comestoherandofferhelptoher.Sister’sbeautyattractsDrouet’sfriend,Hurstwood,sothattherespectablemanagerdiscardshisfamilyandpersuadeshertoelopewithhim.TheyescapedfromChicagoandthensettledowninNewYork.Forsometimetheyexperiencedirepoverty,SisterCarriefindsajobonthestageandbecomesafamousstarwhileHurstwoodistoodifficulttosurvive.HecannotfindajobandbegsforandreceivessomeoccasionalsupportfromSisterCarrie.Finally,Hurstwoodcommitssuicideononecoldwinternight.
2.NaturalismandTheodoreDreiser
2.1TheDevelopingofNaturalism
Atthebeginning,it’sofimportancetodefinewhatnaturalismis.Asamatteroffact,that’satroublesomequestion,fortherearevariousopinionsandconsistentdebatesaboutit.Thispapertendstodefinenaturalismasaspecialcreativecurrentofthoughtwhichemergedin1890sandcametoadominantpositionin1900sinEuropeandAmerica.ItoriginatedinFrancein1850s,representedbyZola,whoisrespectedasthemostinfluentialnaturalisticwriterinEurope.Itischaracterizedbyitsgreatemphasisonfidelityandtruthfulness.ThiswaytodescriberealitiessooncaughttheattentionofmanyyoungwritersinAmerica.Undersuchaliterarybackground,naturalismcameintobeinginrapidprocess.Theenvironmentandheredityplayedanimportantroleinshapingthefatesofindividuals.Nevertheless,theamoralattitudeandpessimisticdeterminismwasstressingtheevilsideofhumannature.
2.2AnOverviewofAmericanNaturalism
2.2.1TheBackgroundofAmericanNaturalism
Therearesomegreatchangesonthelatterpartofthe19thcenturyinAmerica:
industrialcitiesdevelopingrapidly;corporatebusinessrosinglikemushrooms;immigrantlaborflockingintocitiesandfightingforabetterworkingconditions.Theliterarycircleisalsocharacterizedbyitsopportunities.Tosomenewlyemergedyoungwriters,HowellsianrealismwastoorestrainedandgenteeltoreflecttherealitiesofAmericanlife.Therealistswereunabletore-orientthemselvesinthenewperiod.
2.2.2ThePhylogenyofAmericanNaturalism
Asthecontinuingdevelopmentofthefictionofrealismwithitsnewcontentandstyle,itwitnessedtheemergenceofschoolofnaturalistsrepresentedbyTheodoreDreiser.Thesenaturalistswerefirstcohorttorecognizeandnotsurprisedwitjhthegreatchangebroughtbytheirreversibilityofacceleratingindustrialismandurbanization.ItcouldbeconcludedthatAmericannaturalismisamoreadvancedstageofrealism.In1859,thewholeworldwasstartledbythepublicationofDarwin’sOntheOriginofSpecies.Thisbiologicalmasterworkexplainedman’soriginintheanimalworldandthroughthescientificdiscoveriespeopleexpandedtheirhorizonandbegantounderstandthemselves.Darwin’sevolutionarytheorygavenaturalismitstheoreticalbasis.DonaldPizerpointsoutthatDarwin’sevolutionarytheoryisthecomparativelymostimportanttheorytonaturalism.“Darwin’sOntheOriginofSpecieswouldprovemoreimportantfornaturalism,thoughitcameoutasearlyasthe19thcentury.”(Pizer,1859:
27)In1880s,beingmuchinfluencedbyFrenchnaturalist—EmileZola,thesenaturalistsemphasistheinsignificanceandhelplessnessofmaninthemodernlife.Moreover,theyalsoregardedrealityasthehigheststandardsofwritingandtriedtoexploreintohumannaturebyputtingindividualintobigenvironmentofthewholeworldandtouncovertheevilsideofthesociety.
2.3Dreiser’sNaturalism
2.3.1TheCausingFactorsofDreiser’sNaturalism
TheodoreDreiserencounteredbothcriticismandpraiseofhisuniqueliterarystyleforhiswriting.Since1900,AmericancriticshaveneverceasedtheirstudyonDreiser.Intheearlyresearch,thewriter’slifeexperiencehadanpivotaleffectandprovidelotsofusefulinformationaboutthewriterforus.TheodoreDreisergrewupinafamilycompletelydifferentfromthemainstreamofAmericanlife.BornintoaCatholicGerman-Americanfamily,DreiserdidnothavemuchearlyfamiliaritywithEnglish.Heneverquitemasteredthegrammarordevelopedarichvocabulary.Thesewerestillformlessandwereallrejectedbuthedidgetajobbeforehewastwenty-oneasreporterinasmallnewspaper.Forthenextsevenyearshewanderedfromonecitytoanother,learningaboutallaspectsofcitylife.Thisexperiencehaspavedthewayforhislaterliterarywriting,especiallyinSisterCarrie.ItissaidthateventsinthisnovelarecloselybasedonDreiser’spersonalandfamilyexperiences.Carrie’spersistenceforseekingforthedesirealsoseemstoreflectthewriter’syearningforabeautifullife.Sheisnotonlyasimplegooddigger,butalsomuchmorecomplexthanthat.Shehasallplentifulnecessities:
clothes,money,andconvenientlivingroom.Atthesametime,shewasnotsatisfied.Sherealizedsheshouldconquerahighersocialstratum.ShewasalsoatypicalAmericanimagewhostruggledinbigcities.(Hu,2007:
300)
2.3.2TheJudgmentofDreiserandSisterCarrie
Whenfirstpublishedin1990,SisterCarriewasinnocircumstanceswarmlywelcomed.Theyoungauthorfeltsodepressed.AnexamplefromChang“Hisfirstnovel,SisterCarrie,wasrejectedbecauseofitsrelentlesspresentingthetruenatureofAmericanlife.”(Chang,2008:
148).Andtheanotherexampleisthat:
“Infact,whenpeoplesummarythenaturalism,SisterCarrieisthefirstarticletobecitedandTheodoreDreiseralsoisthefirstpersontobeargued.”(Ma,2008:
221)Itwascriticizedusuallyforthefollowingreasons:
firstly,SisterCarrieviolatedthesocialmoralityatthattime.WeknowthatAmerican1iteraturein1890swasstillundertheruleofgenteeltradition.Theeldergeneration
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