1、内蒙古民族大学毕业论文摘要：美国作家西奥多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Dreisers Naturali
2、sm in Sister Carrie Zhang Yu Abstract：Theodore Dreiser is 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 cult
3、ural background of the novel which are Darwinism， Determinism. 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
4、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 or they are doomed to be unhappy etc, and from which we can see Dreisers naturalism easily. Key Words：Naturalism Darwinism Consumerism desire
5、 environment ContentsIntroduction .11. The historical and cultural background for Sister Carrie .21.1 Darwinism and Determinism.21.2 American naturalism .2内蒙古民族大学毕业论文2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie.22.1 The relationship among reason, free will and instinct.22.2 The infl
6、uence of the environment .33. Dreisers naturalistic attitude of truthful reflection of life .33.1 Dreisers “Sister”一 Carrie .33.2 Hurstwoods decline 一 Dreisers fear of failure .3Conclusion.3Notes.4Bibliography.5内蒙古民族大学毕业论文1Dreisers Naturalism in Sister Carrie Zhang Yu IntroductionTheodore Dreiser is
7、 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 reg
8、arded 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. The
9、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 Dreisers
10、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 tran
11、sition 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 macro
12、scopic 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 of te
13、xt analysis is employed in this thesis. The author of this thesis reads the novel intensively so that 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文2evidences 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
14、 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 cultural background for Sister CarrieTheodore Dreisers Sister Carrie reflects the pr
15、ofound 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 DeterminismSister Carrie was written at the time when Darwinism was prevalent. Many of Sister Ca
16、rries 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
17、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 Dreiser 2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister CarrieIn Sister Carrie I find out that some of its themes differ from
18、 those of other naturalistic works 2.1 The relationship among reason, free will and instinctIn 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 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文3latter in most instances; humans fr
19、ee will is mostly an illusion and submits to humans instinct 2.2 The influence of the environmentEnvironment 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 M
20、innie tells her, “Youll want to see the city.” 1 3. Dreisers naturalistic attitude of truthful reflection of lifeA 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
21、, marching alone, 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 CarrieEmma Dreiser, the prettiest of the five Dreiser sisters, was eight years o
22、lder than Theodore 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 Dreisers fear of failureFor Hopkins Dreiser substitutes the prosperous and respected upper-middle-class manager who keeps a well-app
23、ointed house on the North Side, the best section of Chicago ConclusionThis short thesis can not cover Dreisers meaningful naturalism. His greatness is in his insight, his sympathy, and his tragic view of life内蒙古民族大学毕业论文4Notes1Bantam. Sister Carrie M. New York: Bantam Classics , 1992. p.61.2 Ibid., p
24、.51.Bibliography 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.pragmat
25、ics China. Com/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 CarrieWu XiaojunAbstract: Theodore D
26、reiser ,the writer of 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 th
27、e novel which are Darwinism, Determinism, American Naturalism and Industrial Revolution .And the thesis analyzes three features of naturalism. At last, we pay attention to 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文5Dreisers exploration -human desire and revelation of the dark side of human natureKey Words: Naturalism Darwinism de
28、sire environment human natureNaturalism of Dreiser in Sister CarrieIntroductionTheodor 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 h
29、is critical spirit. His first 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
30、 Dreiser is regarded as a pioneer 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
31、 truthful in his works when other 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
32、in Sister Carrie1. The historical and cultural background for Sister CarrieTheodore 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 recogni
33、tion. Before Darwin, human was separated from the animals because of its 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文6moral. 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. T
34、hey attempted to achieve extreme objectivity 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
35、.Freuds theory gives theoretic basis to 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 i
36、n his opinion.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 a
37、nd Theodore Dreise.At the end of nineteenth 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
38、against the ideas that literature should 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
39、extremes of life. American naturalists 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 Industr
40、ial Revolution内蒙古民族大学毕业论文7Industrial Revolution brought 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 an
41、d happiness. Then appeared small amounts of industrial 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
42、typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister CarrieIn 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 environmentsFreuds theory gives theoretic basis to Dreisers description of mans desire. Freud considers
43、 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.This thesis covers Dreisers meaningful ideas-desire. Mans behavior is dominate
44、d by instincts (desires, needs and fear) and 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 perso
45、nal affirmation, a desire they can neither articulate 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
46、 else has and I must get.” (Theodore Dreiser, 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, 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文8she has a feeble instinct of self-production. However, deep in her mind, there is a strong desire for better clothes,
