论文部分内容阅读
Abstract："A woman should some day write the complete philosophy of clothes. No matter how young，it is one of the things she wholly comprehends. There is an indescribably faint line in the matter of man's apparel which somehow divides for her those who are worth glancing at and those who are not. Once an individual has passed this faint line on the way downward he will get no glance from her. There is another line at which the dress of a man will cause her to study her own." -from Sister Carrie (900 - film 1952，dir. by William Wyler，starring Laurence Olivier，Jennifer Jones. "A famous satirical novel is softened into an unwieldy narrative with scarcely enough dramatic power to sustain interest despite splendid production values. Heavy pre-release cuts remain obvious，and the general effect is depressing；but it it very good to look at." (Halliwell's Film Guide，1987)
Keywords：Sister Carrie ；modern American
中图分类号：G633 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-8283(2009)03-0158-02
I. Introduction of Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser was born Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute，Indiana，the ninth of ten children. His parents were poor. In the 1860s his father，a devout Catholic German immigrant，had attempted to establish his own woolen mill，but after it was destroyed in a fire，the family lived in poverty. Dreiser's schooling was erratic，as the family moved from town to town. He left home when he was 16 and worked at whatever jobs he could find. With the help of his former teacher，he was able to spend the year 1889-1890 at Indiana University. Dreiser left after only a year. He was，however，a voracious reader，and the impact of such writers as Hawthorne，Poe，Balzac，Herbert Spencer，and Freud influenced his thought and his reaction against organized religion.
Dreiser was an American author，outstanding representative of naturalism，whose novels depict real-life subjects in a harsh light. Dreiser's novels were held to be amoral，and he battled throughout his career against censorship and popular taste. This started with SISTER CARRIE (1900). It was not until 1981 that the work was published in its original form. Dreiser's principal concern was with the conflict between human needs and the demands of society for material success.
II. American naturalism
American Naturalism is a more advanced stage of realism toward the close of the 19th century. The American naturalists accepted the more negative implications of Darwin's theory and used it to account for the behavior of those characters in literary works who were conceived as more or less complex combinations of inherited attributes，their habits conditioned by social and economic forces. And consciously or unconsciously the American naturalists followed the French novelist and theorist Emile Zola's call that the 1iterary artist "must operate with characters，passions，human and social data as the chemist and the physicist work on inert bodies，as the physiologist works on living bodies." They chose their subjects from the lower ranks of society and portrayed the people who were demonstrably victims of society and nature. And one of the most familiar themes in American Naturalism is the theme of human "bestiality"，especially as an explanation of sexual desire.
Artistically，naturalistic writings are usually unpo1ished in language，lacking in academic skills and unwieldly in structure. Philosophically，the naturalists believe that the real and true is always partially hidden from the eyes of the individual，or beyond his control. Devoid of rationality and caught in a process in which he is but a part，man cannot fully understand，let alone contro1，the world he lives in；hence，he is left with no freedom of choice.
It seems that many can answer the question what a naturalist is，but few can give the term a precise definition acceptable to all. Webster's Dictionary gives a concise definition：" A made of thought (religious，moral or philosophical) glorifying nature and excluding supernatural and spiritual elements close adherence to nature in art or literature，esp. (in literature) the technique，chiefly associated with Zola，used to present a naturalistic philosophy，esp. by emphasizing the effect of heredity and environment on human nature and action" (The Webster's Dictionary of the English Language，1989：p667). Naturalism differed from Realism in its assumption of scientific determinism，which led naturalistic authors to emphasize man's accidental，physiological nature rather than his moral or rational equalities. Individual characters were seen as helpless products of heredity and environment，motivated by strong instinctual drives from within，and harassed by social and economic pressures from without. As such，they had little will or responsibility for their fates，and the prognosis for their "cases" was pessimistic at the outset (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica，1993：p559).
In 1859，Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published and his theory of evolution was on everyone's lips. The scientific discoveries gave people of that age a new way of viewing and understanding themselves. Darwin's evolutionary theory gave naturalism its theoretical basis. Donald Pizer points out that Darwin's evolutionary theory is the comparatively most important theory to naturalism. "Darwin's On the Origin of Species would prove more important for naturalism，though it came out as early as 1859" (Pizer，2000：27).
III. Naturalism in Sister Carrie
3.1 The novel of Sister Carrie
Sister Carrie，published in 1900，is one of the best-known story of American Dream，tracing the material rise of Carrie Meeber and the tragic decline of G.W. Hurstwood. Carrie Meeber，penniless and full of the illusion of ignorance and youth，leaves her rural home to seek work in Chicago. On the train，she becomes acquainted with Charles Drouet，a salesman. In Chicago，she lives with her sister，and work for a time in a shoe factory. Meager income and terrible working condition oppress her imaginative spirit. After a period of unemployment andloneliness，she accepts Drouet and becomes his mistress. During his absence，she falls in love with Drouet's friend Hurstwood，a middle aged，married，comparatively intelligent culture saloon manager. They finally elope. They live together for three years more. Carrie becomes mature in intellect and emotion，while Hurstwood steadily declines. At last，she thinks him too great a burden and leaves him. Hurstwood sinks lower and lower. After becoming a beggar，he commits suicide，while Carrie becomes a star of musical comedy. In spite of her success，she is lonely and dissatisfied.
3.2 The controlling power of environment in Sister Carrie
By analyzing this novel we can see how environment controls Carrie's life.If physiological heredity is the inner environment of body，then the nature and society form the outer environment. For Naturalism，inner environment is as important as the outer one. Zola said："I still hold my view that the environment plays a very important part"，"When we research a family or a group of people，I think the environment has a chief importance"(Zola，1988：476).
Sister Carrie Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of 1ife and attacking the conventional moral standards. After a series of incidents and coincidents，Carrie obtains fame and comfort while Hurstwood loses his wealth，social position，pride and eventually his life. Carrie，as one of such，senses that she is merely a cipher in an uncaring world yet seeks to grasp the mysteries of life and thereby satisfies her desires for social status and material comfort. In Sister Carrie，Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of life and impotence of men.
Sister Carrie tells the story of two characters：，an ordinary girl who rises from a low-paid wage earner to a high-paid actress，and，a member of the upper middle class who falls from his comfortable lifestyle to a life on the streets. Neither Carrie nor Hurstwood earn their fates through virtue or vice，but rather through random circumstance. Their successes and failures have no moral value；this stance marks Sister Carrie as a departure from the conventional literature of the period.
In his novels he wrote about the never-ending，yet meaningless search for satisfaction of his desires in an extremely materialistic world. Desires for money and sex are fully used to reveal the dark side of human nature. In Sister Carrie，there is not one character whose status is not determined economically.
IV. Conclusion
American naturalism is an important literary trend and it is influential to realism and also modernism. As a famous writer，Theodore Dreiser plays an important part in the naturalistic trend，and he made great contribution to the world's literary history.
Dreiser touches upon a wide range of themes and experiences in Sister Carrie，from grinding poverty to upper-middle class comfort. The novel dwells on the moment as it is experienced；the characters are plunged into the narrative without the reader being told much，if any，of their histories. Their identities are constantly subject to change，reflecting the modern American experience that had been ushered in by the developing capitalist economy. In the process of this development，thousands of rural Americans rushed to the cities to find jobs and to build themselves new lives and identities. Sister Carrie captures the excitement of that experience.
Bibliography：
[1]The Webster's Dictionary of the English Language，1989 Lexicon Publications.
[2]The New Encyclopaedia Britannica，1993 Volume 8. Chicago，Illinois：Encyclopaedia Britannica，Inc
[3]Pizer，Donald. 2000 American Realism and Naturalism [M]. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
[4]蒋承勇等，2002 《欧美自然主义文学的现代阐释》 [M]，上海：复旦大学出版社。
[5]常耀信.《美国文学简史》.天津：南开大学出版社，2004.
[6]SISTER CARRIE嘉莉妹妹(诺顿美国文学评论版) 西奥多 德莱赛
[7]嘉利妹妹(英汉对照)《非常英语学生课外阅读丛书》编写组
Keywords：Sister Carrie ；modern American
中图分类号：G633 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-8283(2009)03-0158-02
I. Introduction of Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser was born Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute，Indiana，the ninth of ten children. His parents were poor. In the 1860s his father，a devout Catholic German immigrant，had attempted to establish his own woolen mill，but after it was destroyed in a fire，the family lived in poverty. Dreiser's schooling was erratic，as the family moved from town to town. He left home when he was 16 and worked at whatever jobs he could find. With the help of his former teacher，he was able to spend the year 1889-1890 at Indiana University. Dreiser left after only a year. He was，however，a voracious reader，and the impact of such writers as Hawthorne，Poe，Balzac，Herbert Spencer，and Freud influenced his thought and his reaction against organized religion.
Dreiser was an American author，outstanding representative of naturalism，whose novels depict real-life subjects in a harsh light. Dreiser's novels were held to be amoral，and he battled throughout his career against censorship and popular taste. This started with SISTER CARRIE (1900). It was not until 1981 that the work was published in its original form. Dreiser's principal concern was with the conflict between human needs and the demands of society for material success.
II. American naturalism
American Naturalism is a more advanced stage of realism toward the close of the 19th century. The American naturalists accepted the more negative implications of Darwin's theory and used it to account for the behavior of those characters in literary works who were conceived as more or less complex combinations of inherited attributes，their habits conditioned by social and economic forces. And consciously or unconsciously the American naturalists followed the French novelist and theorist Emile Zola's call that the 1iterary artist "must operate with characters，passions，human and social data as the chemist and the physicist work on inert bodies，as the physiologist works on living bodies." They chose their subjects from the lower ranks of society and portrayed the people who were demonstrably victims of society and nature. And one of the most familiar themes in American Naturalism is the theme of human "bestiality"，especially as an explanation of sexual desire.
Artistically，naturalistic writings are usually unpo1ished in language，lacking in academic skills and unwieldly in structure. Philosophically，the naturalists believe that the real and true is always partially hidden from the eyes of the individual，or beyond his control. Devoid of rationality and caught in a process in which he is but a part，man cannot fully understand，let alone contro1，the world he lives in；hence，he is left with no freedom of choice.
It seems that many can answer the question what a naturalist is，but few can give the term a precise definition acceptable to all. Webster's Dictionary gives a concise definition：" A made of thought (religious，moral or philosophical) glorifying nature and excluding supernatural and spiritual elements close adherence to nature in art or literature，esp. (in literature) the technique，chiefly associated with Zola，used to present a naturalistic philosophy，esp. by emphasizing the effect of heredity and environment on human nature and action" (The Webster's Dictionary of the English Language，1989：p667). Naturalism differed from Realism in its assumption of scientific determinism，which led naturalistic authors to emphasize man's accidental，physiological nature rather than his moral or rational equalities. Individual characters were seen as helpless products of heredity and environment，motivated by strong instinctual drives from within，and harassed by social and economic pressures from without. As such，they had little will or responsibility for their fates，and the prognosis for their "cases" was pessimistic at the outset (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica，1993：p559).
In 1859，Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published and his theory of evolution was on everyone's lips. The scientific discoveries gave people of that age a new way of viewing and understanding themselves. Darwin's evolutionary theory gave naturalism its theoretical basis. Donald Pizer points out that Darwin's evolutionary theory is the comparatively most important theory to naturalism. "Darwin's On the Origin of Species would prove more important for naturalism，though it came out as early as 1859" (Pizer，2000：27).
III. Naturalism in Sister Carrie
3.1 The novel of Sister Carrie
Sister Carrie，published in 1900，is one of the best-known story of American Dream，tracing the material rise of Carrie Meeber and the tragic decline of G.W. Hurstwood. Carrie Meeber，penniless and full of the illusion of ignorance and youth，leaves her rural home to seek work in Chicago. On the train，she becomes acquainted with Charles Drouet，a salesman. In Chicago，she lives with her sister，and work for a time in a shoe factory. Meager income and terrible working condition oppress her imaginative spirit. After a period of unemployment andloneliness，she accepts Drouet and becomes his mistress. During his absence，she falls in love with Drouet's friend Hurstwood，a middle aged，married，comparatively intelligent culture saloon manager. They finally elope. They live together for three years more. Carrie becomes mature in intellect and emotion，while Hurstwood steadily declines. At last，she thinks him too great a burden and leaves him. Hurstwood sinks lower and lower. After becoming a beggar，he commits suicide，while Carrie becomes a star of musical comedy. In spite of her success，she is lonely and dissatisfied.
3.2 The controlling power of environment in Sister Carrie
By analyzing this novel we can see how environment controls Carrie's life.If physiological heredity is the inner environment of body，then the nature and society form the outer environment. For Naturalism，inner environment is as important as the outer one. Zola said："I still hold my view that the environment plays a very important part"，"When we research a family or a group of people，I think the environment has a chief importance"(Zola，1988：476).
Sister Carrie Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of 1ife and attacking the conventional moral standards. After a series of incidents and coincidents，Carrie obtains fame and comfort while Hurstwood loses his wealth，social position，pride and eventually his life. Carrie，as one of such，senses that she is merely a cipher in an uncaring world yet seeks to grasp the mysteries of life and thereby satisfies her desires for social status and material comfort. In Sister Carrie，Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of life and impotence of men.
Sister Carrie tells the story of two characters：，an ordinary girl who rises from a low-paid wage earner to a high-paid actress，and，a member of the upper middle class who falls from his comfortable lifestyle to a life on the streets. Neither Carrie nor Hurstwood earn their fates through virtue or vice，but rather through random circumstance. Their successes and failures have no moral value；this stance marks Sister Carrie as a departure from the conventional literature of the period.
In his novels he wrote about the never-ending，yet meaningless search for satisfaction of his desires in an extremely materialistic world. Desires for money and sex are fully used to reveal the dark side of human nature. In Sister Carrie，there is not one character whose status is not determined economically.
IV. Conclusion
American naturalism is an important literary trend and it is influential to realism and also modernism. As a famous writer，Theodore Dreiser plays an important part in the naturalistic trend，and he made great contribution to the world's literary history.
Dreiser touches upon a wide range of themes and experiences in Sister Carrie，from grinding poverty to upper-middle class comfort. The novel dwells on the moment as it is experienced；the characters are plunged into the narrative without the reader being told much，if any，of their histories. Their identities are constantly subject to change，reflecting the modern American experience that had been ushered in by the developing capitalist economy. In the process of this development，thousands of rural Americans rushed to the cities to find jobs and to build themselves new lives and identities. Sister Carrie captures the excitement of that experience.
Bibliography：
[1]The Webster's Dictionary of the English Language，1989 Lexicon Publications.
[2]The New Encyclopaedia Britannica，1993 Volume 8. Chicago，Illinois：Encyclopaedia Britannica，Inc
[3]Pizer，Donald. 2000 American Realism and Naturalism [M]. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
[4]蒋承勇等，2002 《欧美自然主义文学的现代阐释》 [M]，上海：复旦大学出版社。
[5]常耀信.《美国文学简史》.天津：南开大学出版社，2004.
[6]SISTER CARRIE嘉莉妹妹(诺顿美国文学评论版) 西奥多 德莱赛
[7]嘉利妹妹(英汉对照)《非常英语学生课外阅读丛书》编写组