Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie 论在嘉莉妹妹中德莱赛的自然主义Word格式文档下载.docx

1、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Dreisers Naturalism in Sister CarrieAbstract： Theodore Dreiser is regarded as an outstanding representative of American naturalism. In this thesis, Dreisers first nov

2、el 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, Determinism. American Naturalism and Consumerism. Meanwhile the thesis analyzes three features of naturalism

3、. 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 failure, but Dreiser attributes Carrie and Hurstwoods unhappiness to their insatiable desire for life

4、 or they are doomed to be unhappy etc, and from which we can see Dreisers naturalism easily.Key Words： Naturalism Darwinism Consumerism desire environmentContentsIntroduction11. The historical and cultural background for Sister Carrie21.1 Darwinism and Determinism21.2 American naturalism22. The typi

5、cal characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie22.1 The relationship among reason, free will and instinct22.2 The influence of the environment33. Dreisers naturalistic attitude of truthful reflection of life33.1 Dreisers Sister” - Carrie33.2 Hurstwoods decline - Dreisers fear of failure3Conclusio

6、n3Notes4Bibliography4Dreiser ,s Naturalism in Sister CarrieZhang YuIntroductionTheodore Dreiser 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 publish

7、ed 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 pioneer of American naturalism

8、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.When most novels deal only with the smiling and beautiful aspects of life, Dreiser adv

9、ocates truthful reflection of life in his fiction. It is not an exaggeration to say that Dreisers 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 experi

10、ence. It provided us with lots of useful information about the writer. The study witnessed a transition 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

11、 his works from different angles. However, one thing they share in common is that they lack macroscopic 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 maj

12、or publishing fields for these critics.In order to find out Dreisefs naturalism, the method of 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 e

13、mployed to research the complicated relation between Dreiser and the society he lived in. Dreiser 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

14、cultural background for Sister CarrieTheodore Dreisers Sister Carrie reflects the profound 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 DeterminismS

15、ister Carrie was written at the time when Darwinism was prevalent. Many of Sister Carries 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 naturalismSister 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