Desire, Jungle, Hope

With the rebuilding of the city after the Chicago fire,in the late 19 th century,Chicago became one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.The works of describing the urban landscape and scenes of life in Chicago appear constantly.However,the image of Chicago is different in each writer’s works.This article mainly selected four representative novels as the object,and studied the American novel of Chicago at the turn of 20 th century.The introduction summarizes the special position of the city in the history of the development of civilization,and shows the relationship between the literary symbol system of the city and the real city.The development of rheological process of Chicago at the turn of 20 th century.The development of Chicago’s city literature and American urbanization provide the theoretical and practical basis for the study.The main body of this article is divided into three chapters.The first chapter is based on Sister Carrie and The Pit,describing how the American dream went to burst and grew in the illusion of public space.Thus it shows people ’s values and the potential power of the city.The second part of the articel,takes the industrial production environment in The Jungle and the business exchange in The Pit as an example to discuss the cruel human jungle characteristics of Chicago.Jurgis’ s family as the bottom of the Chicago people,they long for freedom and leave native land and embark on the road of Americanization.But there is always a gap between ideal and real,Their fear is a true reflection of the society.The third chapter is different from the previous chapters,showing the hopeful side of Chicago.For Thea Kronborg in The song of lark,Chicago is an artistic paradise for her dreams.It can be said that Chicago is a springboard that keeps her growing up.Although Chicago has its ugly and cruel side,it is not a hell,there is still hope.For Laura in The Pit,Chicago’s rich artistic atmosphere gave her courage and opportunity.For Jurgis in The Jungle,the union organization made him find a new direction for life.The article argues that the four novels show difference about Chicago’s city literature in writing aesthetic features,but there is a close connection between city space and the emotional characteristics of city subjects.