美国文学选读--Lecture8.ppt

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Dreiser（1871-1945）Dreiser was born in Terre Haute,Indiana in 1871.As the ninth child of German immigrants,he experienced considerable poverty while a child and at the age of fifteen was forced to leave home in search of work.With the help from a sympathetic high school teacher,he spent the year 1889-1890 at the University of Indiana.He acquired his real education from direct personal experience and from independent reading and thinking.Social Darwinism had a determining effect on his outlook and personal experiences led him to a pessimistic view of human helplessness in the face of instinct and social forces.Later in 1892,he began his career as a reporter,first with the Chicago Globe,and then with several other newspapers.Since 1893,he began to write,first wrote short stories,and then long novels.His first novel,Sister Carrie,was rejected many times because of his relentless honesty in presenting the true nature of American life.In his later life,he turned to Communism.In 1945,he joined the Communist Party of America.WorksSister Carrie (1900)嘉莉妹妹嘉莉妹妹Jennie Gerhardt (1911)珍妮姑娘珍妮姑娘The Financier (1912)金融家金融家The Titan (1914)巨人巨人The Stoic (posthumously 1947)斯多葛斯多葛The Genius (1915)天才天才An American Tragedy (1925)美国悲剧美国悲剧Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928)德莱赛看俄国德莱赛看俄国Point of viewHe embraced social Darwinism survival of the fittest.He learned to regard man as merely an animal driven by greed and lust in a struggle for existence in which only the“fittest”,the most ruthless,survive.Life is predatory,a“game”of the lecherous and heartless,a jungle struggle in which man,is a mere pawn in the general scheme of things,with no power whatever to assert his will.No one is ethically free;everything is determined by a complex of internal chemisms and by the forces of social pressure.Writing Features1.As a naturalistic writer,Dreiser stressed determinism in his novels.His characters cant assert their will against natural and economic forces.2.He developed the capacity for photographic and relentless observation,thereby truthfully reflecting the society and people of his time and making his novels very believable and convincing.Almost all of his main characters are based on the real people.Vivid description of environment settings and social background.3.His novels are full of tragedies,serious subjects and miserable side of the society.Dreiser broke through the genteel tradition,revealed the life of the lower class people and dared to expose the vulgar and ugly side of the society.(subject matter)4.His powerful frankness widens the social and sexual range possible for literature in America.Style1.simple in outline2.serious in tone:never satirical or comic3.natural narrative methodHis narrative is based on quantities of materials and detailed description.4.tight in structureSister CarrieSister CarrieDreisers own experience in Chicago and New York were the perfect materials for the story of a poor country protagonist who comes to the city to seek whatever she can find.On Sister Carrie,Dreiser wrote,“It is not intended as a piece of literary craftsmanship,but as a picture of conditions done as simply and effectively as the English language will permit.”PlotCarrie Meeber,penniless and full of 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 works for a time in a shoe factory.Meager income and terrible working condition oppress her imaginative spirit.After a period of unemployment and loneliness,she accepts Drouet and becomes his mistress.During his absence,she falls in love with Drouets friend Hurstwood,a middle aged,married,comparatively intelligent culture saloon manager.They finally elope and 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.ThemesIn Sister Carrie,Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of life and impotence of men.1.Materialismthe desire for moneyThe theme is primarily personified through Carrie with her desire for a fine home,clothes and everything else money can buy2.IdentityExperiences contribute greatly to shaping peoples identities.Carries transformation from the beginning of the novel to the end occurs as a result of her responses to her experiences.She never really has an identity but adjusts her“act”to fit the situation.3.Class conflictThroughout Sister Carrie,the distinction between social classes is obvious.The clothes people wear,the homes in which they live,and the activities in which they are involved distinguish the rich from the poor.4.Change and transformationCarrie and Hurstwood undergo dramatic changes from the beginning of the novel to the end.Carries transition takes her from country bumpkin to glamorous actress.Hurstwoods transition moves him from prominent and trusted businessman,husband,and father to homeless street beggar.EvaluationDreiser has been a controversial figure in American literature history.His works are powerful in their description of the changing American life,but his style is considered crude.It is in Dreisers woks that American naturalism is said to have come of age.American Modernism（1914-1945）Historical Background1.two world warsWorld War I in particular deepened doubt and disillusionment.2.the works of Marx and Freud 3.modern European arts4.expatriate movementThemesidentityalienation(class,gender,race)challenging:traditional moral and valuedoubting:conventionSkillspsychological realismfrom whats the story is told how is the story is toldwhats the reality itself like whats the reality in ones mind likeperpectivismhighly subjectiveThe Schools of American Modernism1.Modern poetry:experiments in form(Imagism)2.Fiction writing:modern realism(the Lost Generation)3.Harlem Renaissance(African Americans)4.The 20th century American drama(Modern Drama)5.Southern writers(Southern Renaissance)