TheodoreDreiser西奥多德莱塞.pptx
NaturalismNaturalism is evolved from realism.It is the outgrowth of realism.It appeared at the end of the 19th century.第1页/共31页Theoretical BasisInfluencedbyCharlesDarwinstheoryofevolution:The origin of Species(1859)Descent of Man(1871)“Manhadevolvedfromlowerformsoflife,notcreatedbyGod”.“Thesurvivalofthefittest”Naturalistsbelievedthatonesheredityandsocialenvironmentlargelydetermineonesfate.第2页/共31页Naturalistic writingSo,naturalisticwritersattemptedtoachieveextremeobjectivityandfrankness,presentingcharactersoflowsocialandeconomicclasseswhoweredominatedbytheirenvironment and heredity.第3页/共31页Major features of Naturalism The core of naturalism is determinism（决定论决定论）Mansfateiswhollydeterminedbysomecombinationofanimalinstinct,heredity,andenvironment.Humanslackfreedomoftheirownwill.Alloftheiractionsarecontrolled,determined.The universe is cold,godless,indifferent and hostile to human desires.Life becomes a struggle for survival.Twoofthenaturalistsrecurrentconcernsare:socialsystemsthatdestroyanddehumanize,andindividualexperienceoflossandfailure.第4页/共31页 l Naturalismisaharsherandextremeformofrealism.lThenaturalistshaveamajordifferencefromtherealists.Theyfeelrealistsasfartoo“genteel”.Naturalistsdonotlookattheaverage,butattheviolent,sensational,sordid,unpleasantanduglyaspectsoflife.Theywouldgototheslumsandwriteaboutthelifeofpovertyandcrime.Theywriteaboutwar,prostitution,criminals,andalloftheseotheraspectsoflifethatarenottoopleasanttoconsider.Major features of Naturalism第5页/共31页Characteristics of Naturalistic Writing:Subjects:thelivesofthedowntroddenandoftheabnormal,franktreatmentofhumanpassionandsaxualityTheme:manslifeisdominatedbytheirheredityandenvironment.Language:unpolished,lackinginacademicskillsandunwieldyinstucture.Theauthorstoneismoreironicandpessimistic.第6页/共31页Representative writers:StephenCrane(18711900)FrankNorris(18701902)JackLondon(1876-1916)TheodoreDreiser(1871-1945)第7页/共31页Representative works:第8页/共31页Representative works:The Red Badge of Courage 红色英勇勋章Sister Carrier 嘉莉妹妹第9页/共31页Theodore Dreiser(1871-1945)第10页/共31页CatalogueLife of DreiserWorks of DreiserWork Analysis of Sister CarrieWriting styles of Dreiser第11页/共31页Dreisers lifeAmerican novelist and journalist 1871-born in Indiana At 16 years old-forced to leave home in search of work.1889-1890-study at Indiana University.In 1892-started to write for the Chicago Globe In 1898-Dreiser married,a Missouri schoolteacher in 1909-separated permanently with his wife Sara White.In 1900-his first novel Sister Carrie was published.In 1911-Jennie Gerhardt was published.in 1912-Sister Carrie was republished.on December 28,1945 in Hollywood,he died,aged 74.第12页/共31页Main Literary WorksSister Carrie(1900)嘉莉妹妹嘉莉妹妹Jennie Gerhardt(1911)珍妮姑娘珍妮姑娘Trilogy of Desire(欲望三部曲):The Financier(1912)金融家金融家The Titan(1914)巨人巨人The Stoic (posthumously)斯多葛斯多葛The Genius(1915)天才天才An American Tragedy(1925)美国的悲剧美国的悲剧Dreiser Looks at Russia1928 德莱赛对俄罗斯的观感德莱赛对俄罗斯的观感 第13页/共31页Sister CarriePlotCharactersThemes第14页/共31页Major characters and their relations Drouet carrieHurstwoodfriendsloverslovers第15页/共31页The plotCarrie 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.第16页/共31页The plotMeager 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.They live together for three years.第17页/共31页The plot 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.第18页/共31页Characters AnalysisCarrie Meeber Charlie Drouet George Hurstwood第19页/共31页Carrie MeeberCarrieMeebergivesherlovefirsttoDrouet,thentoHurstwoodinordertosurvive.Fortunateenough,shefollowstherightdirectiontoapursuitoftheAmericanDream.Circumstancesandherdesiresforabetterlifedirecthertothesuccessfulgoal.Butsheisnotcontent.Withwealthandfame,shestillfindsherselflonely.Sheknowsthatherconceptofwhatconstituteshappinesshasbeeninadequate.Thisfindingisamanifestationofherdistinctivedifferencefromotherwealthypeople:Carrieis,bynature,notabadgirl.Sheisaproductofthesociety,arealizationofthetheorythatthefittestsurvive.第20页/共31页Charlie DrouetCharlie Drouet is a charming,flashy(浮华的)salesman with a strong appetite for romance.Although he is warm-hearted,he never takes any of his romantic affairs seriously.He provides Carrie with a place to stay after she is forced to stop living with her sister;he also promises to marry her,but he never really intends to.He loses Carrie to Hurstwood and then,years later,after she has become a famous actress,tries unsuccessfully to win her back.第21页/共31页George HurstwoodGeorgeHurstwoodisthemanagerofasalooninChicago.Atthebeginningofthenovel,heisawealthy,importantman.HefallsinlovewithCarrieaftermeetingherthroughDrouet.HetellsCarriethathelovesher,buthefailstomentionthatheismarried.AfterhiswifediscovershisaffairwithCarrieandfilesfordivorce,hestealstenthousanddollarsfromthesaloonandfleeswithCarrietoMontreal.第22页/共31页George HurstwoodThere,hemarriesherbeforehisdivorcewithJuliaiscomplete.AlthoughhekeepshistheftasecretfromCarrie,heisdiscoveredbyaninvestigatorandrequiredtoreturnmostofthemoneyinordertoprotecthisreputation.InNewYork,Hurstwoodslowlydescendsintopoverty.AfterCarrieleaveshim,hebecomesahomelessbeggarandeventuallycommitssuicide.第23页/共31页George HurstwoodIf Carrie is the positive example of the theory that the fittest survive,then Hurstwood is negative evidence.He is driven by his instinctive drives and elopes with Carrie to a new environment.He is still conventional and cannot throw abruptly away the long-held social morals.Therefore he is not fitted to live in New York.He has failed because he leaves his original place.His tragedy is the triumphs of the natural desires and of the theory that the fittest survive.第24页/共31页Themeslife is predeterminedthe fittest surviveAmerican Dream materialismChange and Transformation Choices and Consequences Wealth and Poverty第25页/共31页Dreisers Writing StyleWithoutgoodconstructionDeficientcharacterizationLackinimaginationSimplewordsJournalisticmethodofreiteration重复新闻手法Techniquesinpainting(word-picture,sharpcontrast,truthincolor,movementinoutline)第26页/共31页Evaluation on Theodore Dreiser1)Dreiser has been a controversial figure in American literary history.His works are powerful in their portrayal of the changing American life,but his style is considered crude.He showed a new way of presenting reality and inspired the writers of the 1920s with courage and insight.It is in Dreisers works that American naturalism is said to have come of age.2)He embraced social Darwinism.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.Human tragedy comes as a result of the collision between mans biological needs and societys ruthless manipulation.第27页/共31页3)It is Dreisers announced intention to report the coarse and the vulgar and the cruel and the terrible in life in defiance of the genteel and evasive current literature with which he had absolutely no patience and sympathy.4)Dreisers writings reveal a tremendous vital lust for life with a conviction that man is the end and measure of all things in a world which is devoid of purpose and standards.第28页/共31页Although Dreisers novels are formless at times and awkwardly written and his characterization is found deficient and his prose pedestrian and dull,yet his very energy proves to be more than a compensation.6)He is good at employing the journalistic method of reiteration to burn a central impression into the readers mind.His interest in painting is reflected in his taste for word-pictures,sharp contrast,truth in color,and movement in outline.第29页/共31页Thanks!第30页/共31页感谢您的观看！第31页/共31页
