Sister Carrie In China: Under The Analysis Of Reception Theor

It is a wonder that Sister Carrie has appealed to so many readers of various levels atdifferent social stages since it was introduced to China. Plenty of researches about SisterCarrie have been done by the Chinese literary critics. However, most of the studies centeron the text and the author, while the reader who plays an important role in making thenovel meaningful is always neglected. This thesis will take the approach of the receptionaesthetics theory, which was advocated by Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser, toexplore the current reception of Sister Carrie in China, and the problems in the readingprocess of general readers. In addition to the foreign scholars’ opinions on the reader andreading activity, the Chinese traditional literary criticism on the reader, the pragmatictheory, is briefly mentioned, for the readers analyzed in this paper are Chinese.The whole thesis studies about the reader and the reading activity, mainly discussingthe reasons for Sister Carrie’s popularity in China from the reader’s perspective.Meanwhile, talks about the reader’s second creation of Sister Carrie during the readingprocess of the Chinese readers, involving two parts: the text and the reader. Then the topicswitches naturally from the reader’s secondary creation to the misreading of the novel. Inthis part, the problems in the current researches have been pointed out. When it comes tothe correct reading, the repetitive reading is quite necessary. It also makes a comprehensiveanalysis of the realization of the literary value in China. The reader-oriented theoryattaches great importance to the influence of the literary works on the reader. Sister Carrieis a true reflection of the flourishing material world and the confused modern people. Thenovel proves to be very useful for the Chinese young generation to gain a deepunderstanding of the modern society. Corresponding to the Chinese critics and authors’cultural backgrounds, who has the pragmatic tendency, one of the main readingexpectations of the Chinese readers is to seek guidance from the books. The Chinesereinterpretations of the moral problems about Sister Carrie will bring the young readersvaluable reading experience.Sister Carrie is a classic that is worth constant explorations.