从生态批评的角度分析《愤怒的葡萄》.docx

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1、摘要约翰斯坦贝克是美国最伟大的作家之一。他创作的愤怒的葡萄出版于1939年，是斯坦贝克的巅峰之作，曾荣获普利策文学奖，是部描写20世纪30年代大萧条时期美国现状的史诗。该书呈现了美国农民背井离乡，颠沛流离的悲惨生活，表达了作者对生态危机的担忧和对人类破坏生态行为的严厉谴责，体现了作者超前的生态思想，寄寓着作者对生态危机和人类生存状态的深刻领悟。本文主要从生态批评的角度解析他的作品愤怒的葡萄，探究作家在小说中体现的对全球生态危机的关注，并帮助读者理解斯坦贝克生态思想的理论意义和现实意义。本文由引言，正文和结论三个部分组成。主要内容如下：论文首先介绍了约翰斯坦贝克和他的文学生涯，继而综述了国内外学

2、界对愤怒的葡萄的评论。本文的研究重点是斯坦贝克生态思想的内容与发展，并从三个方面分析了他的生态思想在愤怒的葡萄的运用：生态危机的根源是人类中心主义，人与自然的关系和人与人的关系。论文最后总结了研究的内容和意义并提出了研究的局限和研究过程中出现的困难。通过对以上方面的具体研究，论文旨在更好地理解斯坦贝克先进的生态意识和其小说深刻的主题。 关键词：愤怒的葡萄，斯坦贝克，生态批评，生态思想AbstractJohn Steinbeck is one of the greatest American writers. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes

3、 of Wrath created by him is regarded as his best work, and also one of the 20 books that have changed the USA. Published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath is an epic novel about the situation of America during the Great Depression in the 1930s. It shows the drift and wandering life of the migrated poor p

4、easants, expresses the authors concern of the ecological crisis and bitter accusation of human destructive behaviors to the ecological environment, and articulates the advanced ecological thoughts of Steinbeck. This thesis focuses on the ecocriticism perspective analysis of his novel The Grape of Wr

5、ath with the attempt to explore the novelists concern for the global ecological crisis and help understand the theoretical and realistic meaning of Steinbecks ecological thoughts. This dissertation consists of three parts: introduction, the main body and conclusion. The main contents are as follows:

6、 The beginning of this thesis is an introduction of John Steinbeck and his literary career, followed by a list of critical reviews on The Grapes of Wrath at home and abroad. Then the focus of the study is put on the contents and development of Steinbecks ecological thoughts and the application of hi

7、s ecological thoughts in The Grapes of Wrath: the root of the ecological crisisanthropocentrism, the relationship between man and nature, and relationship between man and man. At last, the author draws a conclusion about the entire thesis and points out the limitations of the research. Through the a

8、nalysis of the above aspects in details, the thesis aims at a better understanding of Steinbecks advanced ecological awareness and the deep themes of this novel. Key words: The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck, eco-criticism, ecological thoughtsTable of Contents摘要IAbstractIIChapter one Introduction11.1A B

9、rief Introduction to the Author11.2 A Brief Introduction to the Grapes of Wrath2Chapter two Eco-criticism32.1 The Definition of Eco-criticism32.2 The Features of Eco-criticism3Chapter three The Eco-criticism in The Grapes of Wrath43.1 The Ecological Crises43.1.1 Natural Ecology Crises43.1.2 Social E

10、cology Crises53.1.3 Spiritual Ecology Crises63.2 Causes of the Crises73.2.1 Mans Evil to the Land73.2.2 Mans Abuse to the Land83.2.2 Mans Alienation from Land93.3 The Solution to the Ecological Crises103.3.1 Rebuilding Harmony103.3.2 Mutual Help and Cooperation103.3.3 The Spirit of Universal Love11C

11、hapter Four Conclusion12Acknowledgments1514从生态批评的角度分析愤怒的葡萄 An Analysis of The Grape of Warth from the Perspective of Eco-criticismChapter one Introduction1.1A Brief Introduction to the AuthorJohn Ernest Steinbeck (1902-1968) is considered to be one of the best-known American novelists of the 20th Ce

12、ntury and a storywriter, playwright, an essayist and an amateur marine biologist at the same time. He was born in Saunas, California and lived most of his first forty years in the Saunas Valley, where was later the setting for most of his fiction and moved him deeply just like in the opening of East

13、 of Eden, The Salinas Valley, is in Northern California. It is a long narrow swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Saunas River winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into Monterey Bay. 1 So perhaps his western origins more than anything else gave him his “transcendent sense

14、of places. 2 His father was a government official, and his mother a school teacher. Through the influence of his schoolteacher mother, Steinbeck read widely, especially in English classical literature. He supported himself from his youth, working as a farm laborer, a seaman on a cattle-boat, a newsp

15、aper reporter, a bricklayer, a chemists assistant, a surveyor, and a migratory fruit-picker. These experiences of working-class life were very educational for him because it set the basis of his works, established the characteristic tone of his fiction, and provided firsthand observation of the atti

16、tudes, manners and language of the workingman, especially in The Grapes of Wrath.Between 1920 and 1925 he went to Stanford University, but those various jobs kept him from following the regular curriculum and led to his departure without taking a degree in five years. He was always a good student, e

17、ager to learn both in and out of school. By 1925 he had read widely in English, American, and European literature; he enjoyed Milton, Browning, Thackeray, George Eliot, Handy, D.H. Lawrence, Jeffers, Flaubert, and Dostoevsky and so on. Meanwhile, he had begun to send manuscripts to magazines. Later,

18、 with his fathers support, Steinbeck decided to be a professional writer.、In 1929, his first novel Cup of Gold, a historical romance, was published which brought him little money. Although The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown were published in 1932 and 1933, none of these made any stir on the

19、 literary scene until he produced his fourth novel. In 1935 Tortilla Flat, a humorous, picaresque tale of romance and adventure of the California paisanos, was published, pleased the reading public, and immediately established Steinbeck as an important American writer. From that year he became incre

20、asingly affluent as each successive novel became a bestseller. It was followed by In Dubious Battle (1936), a very articulate proletarian story; Of Mice and Men (1937), a story about two migrant workers and their pure daydream for the helpless; and a volume of short stories, The Long Valley (1938).1

21、.2 A Brief Introduction to the Grapes of WrathHis most famous work is The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which tells the specific story of the survival of Joad family desperately searching for work during the Great Depression. During the early 1930s, a severe drought led to massive agricultural failure in

22、parts of the southern Great Plains, particularly throughout western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. In the absence of rain, crops withered and died; the topsoil, no longer anchored by growing roots, was picked up by the winds and carried in billowing clouds across the region. Huge dust storms blew

23、 across the area, at times blocking out the sun and even suffocating those unlucky enough to be caught unprepared. The afflicted region became known as the Dust Bowl”. By the mid-1930s, the drought had crippled countless farm families, and America had fallen into the Great Depression. Unable to pay

24、their mortgages or invest in the kinds of industrial equipment now necessitated by commercial competition, many Dust Bowl farmers were forced to leave their land. Without any real employment prospects, thousands of families nonetheless traveled to California in hopes of finding new means of survival

25、. Joad family was one of thousands of families, impoverished victims of the Dust Bowl drought in Oklahoma, set out in an old automobile they bought for all their family property for California, in which believe they could seek their promised land. Grampa Joad, a feisty old man who complains bitterly

26、 that he does not want to leave his land, dies on the road shortly after the familys departure. Later, Granma cannot stand bumping during the hard journey and died. The remaining family members move from one squalid camp to the next, looking in vain for work, struggling to find food, and trying desp

27、erately to hold their family together. Noah, the oldest of the Joad children, soon abandons the family, as does Connie, a young dreamer who is married to Toms pregnant sister, Rose of Sharon. The Joads meet with much hostility in California. The locals are fearful and angry at the flood of newcomers

28、, whom they derisively label Okies. Work is almost impossible to find or pays such a meager wage that a familys full day work cannot buy a decent meal. In one conflict, Jim Casy, an ex-preacher and a determined organizer of migrant workers, knocked the sheriff unconscious and is arrested. After bein

29、g released from jail, Casy has begun organizing workers and has effect on Tom Joad, who becomes a fierce protector of family. When the police kill Casy in Toms presence, Tom retaliates and kills a police officer. Tom goes into hiding, while the family moves into a boxcar on a cotton farm. Fearing fo

30、r his safety, Ma Joad finds Tom and sends him away. Tom heads off to fulfill Jims task of organizing the migrant workers. Rose of Sharon, Toms sister, gives birth to a stillborn child, and Ma, desperate to get her family to safety from the floods, leads them to a dry barn not far away. Here, they fi

31、nd a man who is slowly starving to death. Realizing that Rose of Sharon is now producing milk, Ma sends the others outside, so that her daughter can nurse the dying man.Chapter two Eco-criticism 2.1 The Definition of Eco-criticism As a means of literary and cultural criticism, ecocriticism is one of

32、 the latest literary critical approaches in western literary circles. The concept of ecological literature was proposed in the 1970s. In 1972, Joseph W. Meeke studied ecocriticism on biological topics in literature. He proposed ecological concept in his literary work The Comedy of Survival: Studies

33、in Literary Ecology. In 1978, the term ecocriticism was first used in William Rueckerts Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism, and then some critics proposed eco-poetics, environmental literarycriticism, green studies and other terms. Ecocriticism drew a little attention and was stud

34、ied by only a few scholars during the 1980s. As one of the main American advocates and initiators of ecocriticism, Chery ll Glotfelty remarks, Simply defined, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment. Ecocriticism takes the earth-centered approach

35、 to literary studies. American scholars Lauren Staub and Lawrence Buell deem that ecocriticism is usually carried out under the spirit of practice in an environment. These ecological critics were not only engaged in academic activities, but also deeply concerned about the present and potential envir

36、onmental crisis and involved in a variety of environmental reforming movements. They desperately needed a theory to support their literary creation for reflecting ecological environment problems. Therefore, the theory of ecocriticism came into being.2.2 The Features of Eco-criticism Ecocriticism was

37、 generated by two powers: the pressure of reality from the ecological crisis and the pressure from human inner needs. As a theory of literary criticism, it originated in America in the 20th century and was developed mainly by western scholars in the study of literature and environment in Europe and

38、America particularly in the mid 1990s. American ecocriticism went through three stages. In the first stage, it is the study of nature and environment in literature. Ecological critics regarded the works describing nature as an old model. In these works the nature was portrayed as idyllic Eden like a

39、 paradise or a virginal place. It was also described as a swamp or ruthless wilderness. The second stage focused on promoting the awareness by the long-neglected nature literature. It also paid attention to the studies and researches of the history, development, achievement, style, and genre of Amer

40、ican literature. The nature-oriented works were all kinds of non-fiction writings describing nature. From the late 18th to early 19th century, more than 20literary works were published in the United States about the depiction of nature. As a literary genre, nature writing originated from England wri

41、ter Gilbert Wrights The Sale of Natural History Boner. The theoretical system of ecocriticism was created and has already achieved a lot of success like putting forward environmental ethics or environmental philosophy on morality which is still advanced today. Ecocriticism explores the relationship

42、between man and natural environment. It criticizes not only human-centered society but also various kinds of environmental oppression. The primary cause for the contemporary ecological disaster is anthropocentrism. Ecocriticism is considered as a kind of means of fighting against anthropocentrism, d

43、econstructing the values and lifestyles of anthropocentrism, while constructing natural ecological values and green sustainable lifestyles. When rationality loses its dominated place, diversified cognition and emotion show themselves quickly. Nature should return to its original state with the help

44、of human beings restoration of their recognition from the consideration of the whole ecological interest.Chapter three The Eco-criticism in The Grapes of Wrath 3.1 The Ecological Crises3.1.1 Natural Ecology CrisesIn the novel The Grapes of Wrath, the author John Steinbeck conveys the connection peop

45、le have with their land, without which they feel they can neither survive mentally nor physically. Initially, back in Oklahoma, each family feels a strong attachment to the land because the ancestors of these farmers fought and cleared the Indians out of the land, made it suitable for farming, and w

46、orked year after year in the fields so that each generation would be able to live on these farms. Passing down the land to successive generations, human beings can become proprietary about their land. They believe that the land belongs to them, and they belong to it. During the Dust Bowl, hundreds o

47、f thousands of southerners faced many hardships. It was an ecological and human. Disaster in the Southwestern Great Plains regions of the United States happened in the 1930s. The areas affected included Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. Misuse of land and years of sustained drought caused t

48、his catastrophe. Millions of acres of farmland became useless.The heavy rain in California at the end of this novel lasted for three days, which deepened the farmers misery that the Great Depression had brought. The migrant families wondered how long the rain would lust. The rain damaged cars and pe

49、netrated tents. During the rain storms some peoplewent to relief offices, but there were rules: one had to live in California for a year before he could receive any relief. The greatest terror arrived when no work was available for three months. Hungry men crowded the alleys to beg for bread; a number of people died. Anger festered, causing sheriffs to swear in new de