A Naturalistic Reading of Sister Carrie.docVIP

A Naturalistic Reading of Sister Carrie 　　L【Abstract】Sister Carrie is well known as the works in which naturalism attained maturity in America. Up until now， the relevant research on Dreiser and his Sister Carrie abroad and at home is primarily concerned with the frustration of American dream， the naturalistic thoughts and pessimism. The paper attempts to study it from naturalistic point of view and explain how environmental， hereditary factors and the idea of “survival of the fittest” influence Carrie’s fate. 　　【Key words】Naturalism； Sister Carrie； environmental factors； hereditary factors 　　Ⅰ. Introduction 　　Naturalism is a term of literary movement created by the French novelist Emile Zola and flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Naturalism is based on a basic assumption： the existence in nature is real. In naturalism man is a kind of animal， who is dominated by the forces of environment and desire， and he himself can neither understand nor control all this. In Sister Carrie， Dreiser exposes and criticizes the darkness of the society and money oriented lifestyle. 　　Ⅱ. A Naturalistic Reading of Sister Carrie 　　Sister Carrie was written and published at the rise of American naturalism. 　　1. Environmental Factors 　　Naturalism attaches great emphasis on the description of one’s living environment， particularly believing that one’s living environment influences one’s fate in the works enormously. According to naturalism， man is a helpless pawn， at the mercy of the surrounding. However， in Sister Carrie， the environment， instead of crushing Carrie down， even contributes to her rise. 　　In the novel， immediate pleasure provides Carrie with the strongest impulse to act. What’s more， the showy theater， as the most irresistible attraction for her in the city， not only symbolizes her dreamland and serves as a source of her happiness but also provides her with an excellent place to display her talent and makes her rise to material well b