Contextualizing Naturalism In Sister Carrie

Under the influence of European naturalism, with the scientific, economic and social transformations, American naturalistic literature emerged at the end of the 19th century, taking up a considerably important position in the history of American literature. Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) is considered as an outstanding representative of the 20th century American realism and also the pioneer of American naturalistic literature. His first novel Sister Carrie (1900) is a great work of naturalist style and the publication of the novel secures his status in the history of American literature.Up till 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. Critics mainly analyze it from the perspectives of symbolism, structuralism, feminism and psychoanalysis, but few study it by contextualizing naturalism in Sister Carrie. In view of the uniqueness of Dreiser's creation and current research, the thesis analyzes the social, economic and cultural sources which reflect the American society at the turn of the century and lead to the birth of American naturalism from the contextual perspective. In addition, the thesis also argues the theoretical base and reveals its practical significance.This thesis argues that the rise and development of American naturalist literature have special factors:Zola's naturalist thoughts, Spencer's social Darwinism, the economic, social and cultural status quo of America in the late 19th century. During the historical transformation of American society featured by industrialization, urbanization and the transition from Laissez-faire capitalism to monopoly capitalism, Sister Carrie, as an epoch-making novel, vividly shows the American social changes in an authentic way and successfully presents to the readers the image of a complicated and surging history.The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter one begins with the introduction to Dreiser and Sister Carrie and literature review. This part centers on the previous research on the author and his novel Sister Carrie based on which I put forward the purpose and significance of choosing this topic. Chapter two explores the social, economic and cultural sources of American naturalism and their embodiment in Sister Carrie. After the American Civil War, Laissez-faire capitalism developed rapidly to monopoly capitalism. By analyzing Carrie and Hurstwood's life in Chicago and New York, the thesis exposes that in capitalist society in which consumer culture was prevalent, the wide gap between the poor and the rich, increasing bankruptcy and employment became the common social phenomena. The whole society became suspicious of democracy and disillusioned of liberal ideals. This kind of thought accelerated the rise of naturalist literature. Chapter three is the analysis of the theoretical base of American naturalism and their application in Sister Carrie. Zola's naturalist thoughts, Darwinism and Spencer's social Darwinism laid a solid foundation for the rise of American naturalist literature which is deeply under the influence of European naturalism. In Sister Carrie, driven by desires, Carrie and Hurstwood have no freewill and lack the ability to control their fate. This proves Zola's naturalist thoughts that man is a product of his heredity and environment. By studying the underlying reasons of Carrie's success and Hurstwood's death, the author tends to show that Dreiser successfully applied the "survival of the fittest" thought into the work.Based on the above analysis, the author comes to the conclusion in Chapter four that the naturalist thoughts in Sister Carrie have profound cultural, economic, social sources, as well as solid theoretical base. By doing so, the author of this thesis endeavors to put the work in the light of contextual study and perceive it from a dynamic, rather than static perspective, and to reveal the practical significance which lies in warning that with the increasing material supplies in the modern society, people should not blindly pursue materialism but realize the sense of happiness and satisfaction that spirit brings us. It is also necessary to ponder the meaning and value of life.