本科生期末论文设计
( 2012 届 )
题
目： 浅析《嘉莉妹妹》中德莱塞的自然主义
学
院：
专
业：
行 知 学 院
英
语
学生姓名：
蒋曼娜
学号：
09096209
指导教师：
江玉娇
职称：
教授
合作导师：
完成时间：
成
绩：
职称：
2011
年
12
月
Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
浙江师范大学本科毕业设计(论文)正文
目
录
Abstract. .............................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
摘要... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2
2. The historical and cultural background of Sister Carrie ................................................ 2
2.1 Darwinism and Determinism .................................................................................... 3
2.2 American naturalism ................................................................................................. 3
2.3 Industrial Revolution ................................................................................................. 3
3. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie .............................................. 4
3.1 The desire, instinct and the influence of environments............................................. 4
3.2 The influence of the environment ............................................................................. 4
4. The human desire and revelation of the dark side of human nature ............................... 4
5. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 5
Works Cited ........................................................................................................................ 6
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Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
Jiang Manna
Abstract: Theodore Dreiser is regarded as an outstanding representative of American
naturalist, while his first novel Sister Carrie is taken as an example to analyze the
features of Dreiser’s naturalism. The thesis starts from the background of the creation of
Sister Carrie, and studies the naturalism showed in it. The text covers three great
historical and cultural background of the novel--Darwinism, Determinism, American
Naturalism and Industrial Revolution. Then there comes an analysis of typical
characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie. At last, this paper will also explore the
human desire and reveal of the dark side of human nature. The purpose of this paper is to
acquire a deeper idea of naturalism.
Key words: naturalism, background, desire, human nature
浅析《嘉莉妹妹》中德莱塞的自然主义
蒋曼娜
摘
要：西奥多·德莱塞被视为美国自然主义的杰出代表，他的第一部小说《嘉丽
妹妹》则被作为分析德莱塞自然主义一些特征的典范。本文从德莱塞创作《嘉莉妹
妹》的历史文化背景出发，研究德莱赛在《嘉莉妹妹》中表现的自然主义思想。论
文涉及该小说的主要三大背景：达尔文主义和宿命论，美国自然主义，以及美国工
业革命。其后，本文会对《嘉莉妹妹》中典型的自然主义特性做一个分析。最后，
本文还将探索人类的欲望和揭示人性的黑暗面。本文的目的是对自然主义有一个更
深的理解。
关键词：自然主义；背景；欲望；人性
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Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
FLC 2009（02）
（English）Jiang Manna
Tutor: Jiang Yujiao
1. Introduction
Theodore Dreiser (August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American
novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters
who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary
situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency.
His first novel, Sister Carrie, published in 1900. It sold poorly and was not widely
promoted largely because of moral objections to the depiction of a country girl who
pursues her dreams of fame and fortune through relationships to men. Now the book
becomes one of the best-sellers of American literature because of the naturalistic features
in it. His first commercial success was An American Tragedy, published in 1925. 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 Dreiser’s story which also characterize Sister
Carrie.
Theodore Dreiser is considered one of America’s greatest naturalists and notables,
because he was part of the early stages of the naturalist movement. Sister Carrie was a
movement away from the emphasis on morals of the Victorian era and focused more on
realism and the base instincts of humans. [1] The book has since acquired a considerable
reputation. It has been called the “greatest of all American urban novels.”
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
Dreiser’s Sister Carrie clears the way for the development of American fiction.
In this paper, the author firstly talked about the historical and cultural background
of Sister Carrie, and then gave brief, typical characteristics of Sister Carrie, and
introduced the rising of naturalism in the American literature. At last, this paper will also
explore the human desire and reveal of the dark side of human nature.
Form the following analysis of the novel, we can find out the naturalism of Dreiser
in Sister Carrie.
2. The historical and cultural background of Sister Carrie
Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie reflects the profound transformations in American
life in the late nineteenth century.
Under the influence of Darwin’s theory of evolution, American literary naturalism
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Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
turned up as a by-product of American realism. In literature, naturalists tried to achieve
extreme truth and frankness by presenting characters of low social and economic classes.
The naturalists believed that the human, whose aim was survival, responded to
environmental forces like any other animals. Because of his strong language and writing
style, Dreiser became a noticeably practiced writer on naturalism.
Theodore Dreiser is a man who, with the passage of time, is bound to loom larger
and larger in the awakening aesthetic consciousness of America. Among all of our prose
writers he is one of the few men of whom it may be said that he has…never been a
trickster. If there is a modern movement in American prose writing, a movement toward
greater courage and fidelity to life in writing, Theodore Dreiser is the pioneer and the
hero of the movement. [2]
Dreiser’s novel, Sister Carrie, brought a striking impact to the society of that period.
That’s also why it is a representative of naturalism.
2.1 Darwinism and Determinism
Before Darwin, human was separated from the animals by its moral. However, in
1859, Darwin’s The Origin of Species appeared. It soon changed man’s recognition. At
this time, American naturalists accepted “brutish nature” and “human beast” as an
explanation of desire.
They tried to achieve extreme truth and frankness presenting characters of low
social and economic classes who are determined by their heredity and environment.
Darwinism is the most important theory, which greatly affects Sister Carrie. In Sister
Carrie, Dreiser made two images—Carrie and Hurstwood. Carrie was a figure driven by
desire and instinct; Hurstwood was a figure of tragedy. From the two images, we could
see that the law “survival of the fittest” was at its full display.
2.2 American Naturalism
Sister Carrie was written and published also at the rise of American Naturalism in
the late 19th century America.
At the end of nineteenth century there came a generation of writers, whose ideas of
the working of the universe and perceptions of the society’s disorder led them to
naturalism. A new realism, naturalism was introduced to the United States.
2.3 Industrial Revolution
The 19th century was the time of industrialization. In that time, the Industrial
Revolution brought a value crisis to American people. Series of changes made people
have a feeling of conquering the world. American values of materialism to the extreme.
Living in such a society with such a value system, the human individual never ends one’s
meaningless search for satisfaction of desire.
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Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
3. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie
Despite its ominous creating, Sister Carrie is a work of pivotal importance in
American literature. It became a guiding light to later American writers who are loyal to
the realistic treatment of any and all subject matter.
Sister Carrie tells the story of a rudderless but pretty small-town girl who comes to
the big city filled with vague ambitions. She is used by men and uses them in return for
becoming a successful Broadway actress. At last, she goes unpunished for her
transgressions against conventional sexual morality. While George Hurstwood, the
married man who has run away with her, loses his domination of life and descends to
beggary and suicide. Sister Carrie was the first masterpiece of the American naturalistic
movement in its factual presentation of the odd, urban life and in its ingenuous heroine.
The book's strengths include a thoughtful but compassionate view of humanity,
memorable characters, and a remarkable narrative line. The emotional disintegration of
Hurstwood is a praised triumph of psychological analysis.
Sister Carrie went against social norms of the time with its supposed immorality, as
Dreiser presented his characters without judging them. The character makes affairs and
other unjustifiable sexual relationships without suffering any consequences. This
despised the norm of the time that a character making such sinful behavior must be
punished in some way. To teach a lesson is throughout the course of the plot.
3.1 The desire
Freud’s theory gives a theoretic basis to Dreiser’s description of man’s desire. Freud
considers man’s natural instinct as determination, and desire is just a genetic instinct in
his opinion. This thesis covers Dreiser’s meaningful ideas—desire. Most of the central
characters in Sister Carrie are controlled by the desire of person, and Carrie Meeber is
the representative. Her view to money is “something everybody else has and I must get.”
(Theodore Dreiser, 1979, P77) From the beginning to the end, Carrie is just like a
machine controlled by the desires. In Sister Carrie, there is no character whose status is
not determined economically.
3.2 The influence of the environment
Environment is a big thing often leads people to a wrong direction.
Drouet tells Carrie that Chicago is a wonder, and she will find a lot. In order to
pursue a happy life, the prosperous parties, lights, dinners, and theatres, she lost herself
again and again after coming Chicago. To be rich is her inner pursuit.
4. The human desire and the dark side of human nature
From the first novel Sister Carrie on, Dreiser set himself to show the American
values for what he had found them to be—materialistic to the core.
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Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
Living in such a society with such a value system, the human individual is
captivated with a never-ending, but meaningless search for satisfaction of desires. One of
the desires is money which was a motivating purpose of life in the United States in the
late 19th century. For example, in Sister Carrie, there is no character whose status is not
determined economically. Another human desire is sex which Dreiser explored to
considerable lengths in his novel. However, Dreiser never forgot to imply that these
human desires in life could hardly be defined. Like all naturalists, he was restrained from
finding a solution to the social problems appeared in his novels which almost have tragic
endings.
5. Conclusion
Such a novel as Sister Carrie stands quite outside the brief traffic of the customary
stage. It leaves behind an inescapable impression of bigness, of epic sweep and dignity. It
is not a mere story, not a novel in the customary American meaning of the word; it is at
once a psalm of life and a criticism of life…[Dreiser's] aim is not merely to tell a tale; his
aim is to show the vast ebb and flow of forces which sway and condition human destiny.
The thing he seeks to do is to stir, to awaken, to move. One does not arise from such a
book as Sister Carrie with a smirk of satisfaction; one leaves it infinitely touched. [3]
Sister Carrie survived over a century and remains to this day an influential example
of naturalism and realism. Certainly this short thesis cannot cover Dreiser’s meaningful
naturalism, and his greatness is beyond word.
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Analysis of Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie
Works Cited
[1] “Theodore Dreiser” Bookmarks Jan.-Feb. 2011: 13+. Literature Resources from
Gale. Web. Apr. 12, 2011.
[2] Sherwood Anderson, A book about Theodore Dreiser and His Work, Boni &
Liveright, 1925: 4.
[3] H. L. Mencken, A Book of Prefaces, Kessinger Publishing, 2005: 75.
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