Analysis Of The Paradox Of Modernity In The Works Of Richard Yates

American naturalism novelist Richard Yates, describe the life of American middle andlower people in50s-60s of the twentieth century in his novels,which is hailed as “Thegreat writer of the age of anxiety”. This paper tries to restore the works of RichardYates to the context of modern to post-modern society of the United States in the1950s and1960s; explores the paradox between human subject and modernity whichis reflected in the works of Richard Yates, as well as the the modern spiritual crisiscaused by the further development of modernity,excavates the interaction between theinternal tension of the text and the internal tension of American society.This paper discussed the paradox of modernity of Richard Yates works through threechapters. The first chapter starts from the works of the text, analyzing the same imagefeatures of anxiety and confusion characteristics described by Yates;The secondChapter describes the social and cultural causes of Yates’ people who with the spirit oflonely and lost in modern American society; Chapter Three contacts the novel textwith the backdrop of modern American culture, investigating the of the paradoxrelationship between the text and modernity.