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1、Dreisers Naturalism in Sister Carrie Contents Introduction.1 1. The historical and cultural background for Sister Carrie .2 1.1 Darwinism and Determinism.2 1.2 American naturalism .2 2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie.2 2.1 The relationship among reason, free will and inst
2、inct.2 2.2 The influence of the environment .3 3. Dreisers naturalistic attitude of truthful reflection of life.3 3.1 Dreisers “Sister”一 Carrie .3 3.2 Hurstwoods decline 一 Dreisers fear of failure .3 Conclusion.3 Notes.4 Bibliography.5 Dreisers Naturalism in Sister Carrie Abstract：Theodore Dreiser i
3、s regarded as an outstanding representative of American naturalism. In this thesis, Dreisers first novel Sister Carrie is taken as an example to analyze the features of Dreisers naturalism. The thesis referred to three great historical and cultural background of the novel which are Darwinism，Determi
4、nism. American Naturalism and Consumerism. Meanwhile the thesis analyzes three features of naturalism. At last, we can draw the conclusion that the leading character of the novel-Carries destiny has a great connection with Dreiser himself and the decline of Hurstwood is a result of Dreisers fear of
5、failure, but Dreiser attributes Carrie and Hurstwoods unhappiness to their insatiable desire for life or they are doomed to be unhappy etc, and from which we can see Dreisers naturalism easily. Key Words：Naturalism Darwinism Consumerism desire environment 论在嘉莉妹妹中德莱赛的自然主义论在嘉莉妹妹中德莱赛的自然主义 摘要：摘要：美国作家西奥多
6、德莱塞被认为美国自然主义的杰出代表，本文以其第一部小说嘉 莉妹妹为例分析德莱塞自然主义的一些特征。论文从德莱塞创作嘉莉妹妹的历史文 化背景出发，研究德莱塞在嘉莉妹妹中表现出来的自然主义思想。论文涉及该小说的 主要三大背景：一是达尔文主义和宿命论；二是美国然主义；三是 19 世纪末在美国兴起 的消费主义。同时分析自然主义的三大特点：欲望,本能和环境,最后得出结论：嘉莉妹 妹一文中主人公嘉莉妹妹的最终命运与德莱塞本人的命运息息相关，赫思渥德的最终堕 落也是德莱塞惧怕失败的结果。而德莱塞却把嘉莉妹妹和赫思特渥德最终得不到幸福归因 于“人心 Introduction Theodore Dreiser
7、is one of the most influential American writers of critical realism, but many of his works referred to the description of naturalism and weakened his critical spirit. His first novel Sister Carrie published in 1990 revealed the financial disparity and the moral decline of American society and thus r
8、egarded as forbidden book. But now the book becomes one of the best-sellers of American literature because of the naturalistic features in it. Then Dreiser is regarded as a pioneer of American naturalism and as a naturalist Dreiser expresses the characteristics of naturalism in most of his works. Th
9、e themes of Darwinism and Determinism are the common features of Dreisers story which also characterize Sister Carrie. When most novels deal only with the smiling and beautiful aspects of life, Dreiser advocates truthful reflection of life in his fiction. It is not an exaggeration to say that Dreise
10、rs Sister Carrie clears the way for the development of American fiction. Since 1900, American critics have never ceased their study on Dreiser. The early research was mainly based on the writers life experience. It provided us with lots of useful information about the writer. The study witnessed a t
11、ransition from the author himself to the text in 1960s. From 1980s, scholars employed new devices of Freudianism, Feminism and Post-Structuralism in their studies. These new methods help us know Dreiser and his works from different angles. However, one thing they share in common is that they lack ma
12、croscopic analysis. In china , some Chinese critics have also shown great interest in Sister Carrie. Two domestic literary magazines, Foreign Literature Study and Foreign Literature Review, have been the major publishing fields for these critics In order to find out Dreisers naturalism, the method o
13、f text analysis is employed in this thesis. The author of this thesis reads the novel intensively so that evidences can be dug out to demonstrate Dreisers naturalism. Another method, cultural criticism, is employed to research the complicated relation between Dreiser and the society he lived in. Dre
14、iser is investigated in his historical and cultural background. The conclusion shows that Dreiser is not only a criticizer of capitalism, but also a builder of American cultural system. 1. The historical and cultural background for Sister Carrie Theodore Dreisers Sister Carrie reflects the profound
15、transformations in American life in the late nineteenth century. Among the most sweeping changes registered in the novel are the economys shifting from an agricultural base to an 1.1 Darwinism and Determinism Sister Carrie was written at the time when Darwinism was prevalent. Many of Sister Carries
16、themes-struggle, survival and desire-derive directly from the evolutionary views. The concept of evolution was put forward in the mid-19th century by Charles Darwin 1.2 American naturalism Sister Carrie was written and published also at the rise of American naturalism, which means a particular genre
17、 of fiction that developed in the late 19th century America, and associated principally with writers such as Jack London ，Stephen Crane, Frank Norris and Theodore Dreiser 2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie In Sister Carrie I find out that some of its themes differ from tho
18、se of other naturalistic works 2.1 The relationship among reason, free will and instinct In Sister Carrie Dreiser details the relationship among reason, free will and instinct: When humans instinct and reason are at war, the former prevails over the latter in most instances; humans free will is most
19、ly an illusion and submits to humans instinct 2.2 The influence of the environment Environment is a tremendous thing and often leads human to a wrong direction. We know that Drouet tells Carrie that Chicago is a wonder, and that she will find lots to see there. Even her meager sister Minnie tells he
20、r, “Youll want to see the city.” 1 3. Dreisers naturalistic attitude of truthful reflection of life A phrase often applied to Dreiser by others is standing alone or marching alone. In his Nobel Prize address, Sinclair Lewis tells the Swedish Academy that Dreiser “more than any other man, marching al
21、one, usually unappreciated, often hated, has cleared the trail from Victorian and Howell Sian timidity and gentility in American fiction to honesty and boldness and passion of life.2” 3.1 Dreisers “Sister”一一 Carrie Emma Dreiser, the prettiest of the five Dreiser sisters, was eight years older than T
22、heodore Dreiser. As a young girl in the small town of Sullivan, Indiana, she and her other sisters were deeply interested in boys . 3.2 Hurstwoods decline 一一 Dreisers fear of failure For Hopkins Dreiser substitutes the prosperous and respected upper-middle-class manager who keeps a well-appointed ho
23、use on the North Side, the best section of Chicago Conclusion This short thesis can not cover Dreisers meaningful naturalism. His greatness is in his insight, his sympathy, and his tragic view of life Notes 1Bantam. Sister Carrie M. New York: Bantam Classics , 1992. p.61. 2 Ibid., p.51. Bibliography
24、 1Bartlett, L. Teacher Development Through Reflective Teaching A. in Richards & Nunan (eds.). Second Language Teacher Education C. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press/Cambridge University Press, 2000.26-29. 2He Gang. The Brief Analysis of Jane Eyre. http:/www.pragmatics China. Com/
25、grammaticalization.htm, 2003-05-12. 3Williams, M & L. B. Burden. Psychology for Language Teachers M. Beijing: Foreign language Teaching and Research Press/Cambridge University Press, 2000. 4肖晨.英语语言、文学工具书及其使用M.北京：学苑出版社，1990.34-42. Naturalism in Sister Carrie Abstract: Theodore Dreiser ,the writer of
26、Sister Carrie ,is one of the most outstanding representatives of American naturalism. In this thesis, his first novel Sister Carrie is taken as an example to analyze the features of Dreisers naturalism. The thesis referred to three great historical and cultural background of the novel which are Darw
27、inism, Determinism, American Naturalism and Industrial Revolution .And the thesis analyzes three features of naturalism. At last, we pay attention to Dreisers exploration -human desire and revelation of the dark side of human nature Key Words: Naturalism Darwinism desire environment human nature Nat
28、uralism of Dreiser in Sister Carrie Introduction Theodor Dreiser (1871-1945)，an American author, outstanding representative of naturalism, whose novels depict real-life subjects in a harsh light. Many of his works referred to the description of naturalism and weakened his critical spirit. His first
29、novel Sister Carrie published in 1990 revealed the financial disparity and the moral decline of American society and thus regarded as forbidden book. But now the book becomes one of the best-sellers of American literature because of the naturalistic features in it. Then Dreiser is regarded as a pion
30、eer of American naturalism and as a naturalist Dreiser expresses the characteristics of naturalism in most of his works. The themes of Darwinism and Determinism are the common features of Dreisers story which also characterize Sister Carrie. Dreiser chose to reflect life truthful in his works when o
31、ther novels deal only with the beautiful aspects of life,. It is not an exaggeration to say that Dreisers Sister Carrie clears the way for the development of American fiction. From follow analysis of three aspects and conclusion,we can find out the naturalism of Dreiser in Sister Carrie 1. The histo
32、rical and cultural background for Sister Carrie Theodore Dreisers Sister Carrie reflects the profound transformations in American life in the late nineteenth century. 1.1 Darwinism and Determinism In 1859, Darwins The Origin of Specie appeared. It soon changed mans recognition. Before Darwin, human
33、was separated from the animals because of its moral. However, at this time evolutionist considered human as a part of natural things and a member of the animal kingdom. American naturalists accepted “bestiality” and “ human beast” as an explanation of desire. They attempted to achieve extreme object
34、ivity and frankness presenting characters of low social and economic classes who are determined by their environment and heredity. They dismissed the validity of comforting moral truth. Darwinism is the most important theory, which greatly affects Sister Carrie. Freuds theory gives theoretic basis t
35、o Dreisers description of mans desire. Freud considers mans natural instinct as determination. To him man is a part of nature since man is a member of animals. Human mentality and action will forever be determined by instinct. Desire is just a genetic instinct in his opinion. 1.2 American naturalism
36、 Sister Carrie was written and published also at the rise of American naturalism, which means a particular genre of fiction that developed in the late 19th century America, and associated principally with writers such as Jack London , Stephen Crane, Frank Norris and Theodore Dreise. At the end of ni
37、neteenth century came a generation of writers whose ideas of the working of the universe and whose perception of the societys disorder led them to naturalism. A new and harsher realism, naturalism was introduced to the United States, literary naturalists spoke out against the ideas that literature s
38、hould present what Howells called for the smiling aspects of life. Instead, they attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness presenting characters of low social and economic classes who were dominated by their environment or heredity in depicting the extremes of life. American naturalists
39、 emphasized that world was amoral that men and women had no free will, that their lives were controlled by heredity and the environment, that religious truths were illusory, and that the destiny of humanity was misery in life and ablivion in death. 1. 3 Industrial Revolution Industrial Revolution br
40、ought American people a value crisis. The 19th century was the time of industrialization. Serial changes made people feel they were conquering the world and obtaining their treasures. The surprising development made people feel too close to wealth and happiness. Then appeared small amounts of indust
41、rial giants and large number of poor people, American value materialistic to the core. Living in such a society with such a value system, the human individual is obsessed with a never end, yet meaningless search for satisfaction of his desire. 2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister C
42、arrie In Sister Carrie I find out that some of its themes differ from those of other naturalistic works. 2.1 The desire, instinct and the ifluence of environments Freuds theory gives theoretic basis to Dreisers description of mans desire. Freud considers mans natural instinct as determination. To hi
43、m man is a part of nature since man is a member of animals. Human mentality and action will forever be determined by instinct. Desire is just a genetic instinct in his opinion. This thesis covers Dreisers meaningful ideas-desire. Mans behavior is dominated by instincts (desires, needs and fear) and
44、environments (cities and consumerism) and chances. In the process of evolution, man is not able to control instincts completely. Desire is considered hereditary and instinctive. In this novel most of the central characters are hurried by a desire of personal affirmation, a desire they can neither ar
45、ticulate nor suppress. And Carrie Meeber is the representative. She sufferd from a need that her lives assume the dignity of dramatic form, and they suffer terribly, because they do not really understand it. Her view to money is “Money, something everybody else has and I must get.” (Theodore Dreiser
46、, 1979, P77) Drouet then becomes her first ladder. When Drouet give her money for the first time, she hesitates. She knows clearly that no deep, sinister soul with ulterior motives could have given her fifteen cents under friendship, since “nature has taught the beasts of the beats of the field to fly when some unheralded dangers threatens” (Theodore Dreiser, 1979, P79) Here in her superego, she has a feeble instinct of self-production. However, deep in her mind, there is a strong desire