1、内蒙古民族大学毕业论文论嘉莉妹妹中的自然主义张宇摘要：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“人心盲目的追
2、求，命中注定本该如此.” 关键词：自然主义 达尔文主义 消费主义 欲望 环境 Dreisers Naturalism 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
3、. 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. At last, we can draw the conclusion that the leading character of the novel-Carries
4、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 or they are doomed to be unhappy etc, and from which we can see Dreisers naturalism e
5、asily. 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文Key Words：Naturalism Darwinism Consumerism desire environment ContentsIntroduction 11. The historical and cultural background for Sister Carrie .21.1 Darwinism and Determinism.21.2 American naturalism .22. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie22.1 The relations
6、hip among reason, free will and instinct.22.2 The influence 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 .3Conclusion3Notes.4Bibliography.5内蒙古民族大学毕业论文1Dreisers Naturalism in Si
7、ster Carrie Zhang Yu IntroductionTheodore 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 published in 1990 revealed the financial disparity an
8、d 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 and as a naturalist Dreiser expresses the char
9、acteristics 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 advocates truthful reflection of life in his fict
10、ion. 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 experience. It provided us with lots of useful info
11、rmation 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 his works from different angles. However, on
12、e 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 major publishing fields for these critics In ord
13、er to find out Dreisers naturalism, the method of text analysis is 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文2employed 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 complicat
14、ed 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 cultural background for Sister C
15、arrieTheodore 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 DeterminismSister Carrie was written at the
16、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 ri
17、se 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 Dreiser 2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister CarrieIn Sister C
18、arrie I find out that some of its themes differ from 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 内蒙古民族大学毕业论文3instinct: When humans instinct and reason are at war, the former p
19、revails over the latter in most instances; humans free 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 w
20、ill find lots to see there. Even her meager sister Minnie 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 S
21、wedish Academy that Dreiser “more than any other man, 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 pret
22、tiest of the five Dreiser sisters, was eight years older 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 respe
23、cted upper-middle-class manager who keeps a well-appointed 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
24、M. New York: Bantam Classics , 1992. p.61.2 Ibid., p.51.内蒙古民族大学毕业论文5Bibliography 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
25、-29.2He Gang. The Brief Analysis of Jane Eyre. http:/www.pragmatics 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，1990.34-42.5678910
