On Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie from the Perspective of Naturalism
ON THEODORE DREISER’S SISTER CARRIE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NATURALISM
by Qiu Yanhong
June, 2007 Xiaogan University
Abstract
Theodore Dreiser is an outstanding writer in American literary history .Writing in naturalist style; he created a new era of American literature and influenced a good many contemporary writers as well as his followers. Sister Carrie is regarded as the masterpiece of Theodore Dreiser’s writing skills in naturalist style. And this thesis from the perspective of Naturalism in American literature, taking Sister Carrie as an example, attempts to study it from naturalistic point of view and explain how environmental factors and heredity factors influence the hero and heroine’s fate. Besides that, since it's well understood that naturalism has several limitations, the paper aims to discuss naturalism in Sister Carrie with critical eyes, criticizing pessimistic determinism and the concept of human beast as reflected in the novel. By studying naturalism in Sister Carrie, one can criticize its limitations and find solution to those universal social problems so as to provide some valuable experience for our socialistic constructions: the youth should be self-respected, self- confident and self-dependent and try to overcome the disadvantageous environmental factors and hereditary factors being the master of one’s own fate. This is the realistic significance of my paper and explains why Sister Carrie which was written over a century ago is still popularly read by contemporary people and constantly appreciated by critics in other new perspectives and endowed with new connotations.
Key Words：environmental factors; hereditary factors; naturalism
从自然主义角度论德莱塞的小说《嘉莉妹妹》
摘要
by Qiu Yanhong
June, 2007 Xiaogan University
Abstract
Theodore Dreiser is an outstanding writer in American literary history .Writing in naturalist style; he created a new era of American literature and influenced a good many contemporary writers as well as his followers. Sister Carrie is regarded as the masterpiece of Theodore Dreiser’s writing skills in naturalist style. And this thesis from the perspective of Naturalism in American literature, taking Sister Carrie as an example, attempts to study it from naturalistic point of view and explain how environmental factors and heredity factors influence the hero and heroine’s fate. Besides that, since it's well understood that naturalism has several limitations, the paper aims to discuss naturalism in Sister Carrie with critical eyes, criticizing pessimistic determinism and the concept of human beast as reflected in the novel. By studying naturalism in Sister Carrie, one can criticize its limitations and find solution to those universal social problems so as to provide some valuable experience for our socialistic constructions: the youth should be self-respected, self- confident and self-dependent and try to overcome the disadvantageous environmental factors and hereditary factors being the master of one’s own fate. This is the realistic significance of my paper and explains why Sister Carrie which was written over a century ago is still popularly read by contemporary people and constantly appreciated by critics in other new perspectives and endowed with new connotations.
Key Words：environmental factors; hereditary factors; naturalism
从自然主义角度论德莱塞的小说《嘉莉妹妹》
摘要
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