A Study Of Carol’s Pilgrimage Of Main Street From Initiation

As the first American Nobel Prize winner, Sinclair Lewis（1885～1951）publishessatiric novels and realistic novels of rather significance. Meanwhile, as an observer and criticof the multiple faceted life of his contemporary, Lewis shows his witty and humorouslanguage ability by a large amount of vivid and vigorous descriptions, thus, his style attachesequal importance to realism and irony so that the problems existed in various aspects ofAmerican society unmasked. Hence, Lewis and his works have seen as the mirror ofAmerican social life in the1920s.Main Street, published in1920, is his most successful work and of great literary valuewhich brought him an eminent fame, and has been generally accepted as one of his magnumopus. This work mainly develops around the marriage between the village doctor Kennicottand his wife Carol. It discloses the blocking of conservative boring life in American Midwestsmall town through the eyes of the intellectual woman—Carol from the city. At the same time,it pierces through the hypocritical phantom of realistic life masked with tender veil, throughthe process of the protagonist Carol’s self-recognition towards the realistic life. Recently,there arise abundant and various research perspectives on Main Street at home and abroad.However, there is still large space to study this novel from the perspective of initiation storytheory; therefore, this thesis develops systematic explanation from this perspective.This thesis takes the psychological developing pilgrimage of the protagonist Carol astarget by adopting the theory of initiation story. Mainly, it lays emphasis first upon Carol’soriginal romantic naivete with ideal reforming consciousness; then upon her further confusionin confronting the conflicts in all forms when she steps into the reality; and upon her innerhelpless loneliness after she suffers from the pain of disillusion; and finally upon her epiphanyobtained when she is seeking life of freedom and independence in Washington. Consequently,Carol faces more firmly with the reality and future in terms of a mature manner.It contains five parts as follows: firstly, it gives a brief introduction to the author Lewis,the major content of his Main Street and its modern situation of the literary research; and then it introduces the research theory of this thesis.The first chapter mainly illustrates the first phase in Carol’s growing process—naiveteand phantasy. It is the innocent period of the initiation story theory as well. In this phase,Carol embraces full fantasy towards the vocation, and her view towards the life and world isrelatively naive. At the same time, Carol’s self consciousness is in a kind of innocentcondition.The second chapter deals with the analysis about the second phase in Carol’s growingprocess—confusion and conflict. That is the period in the initiation story theory experiencedby the protagonist. The confusion after confronting the life of reality leads to her selfconsciousness in face of spiritual crisis; and the disillusion that reforming ideal suffers fromthe internal and external conflicts gives rise to her heart simmering with helplessness andloneliness. Finally, she resolutely chose to escape.The third chapter puts forwards the explanation concerning with the third phase inCarol’s growing process—epiphany and development. Namely, it is the mature period in theinitiation story theory. This phase expounds her epiphany and development inside: she holdsmature recognition towards reality and self gets afresh, which marks her growth of inner self.For future, she still held resolute faith.And in the conclusion: in some sense, through the combination of initiation story theoryand taking the novel as target, this thesis throws deep explanation upon the psychologicalgrowing process of the protagonist Carol reflected in the novel, therefore, it reaches to theconclusion that Main Street is a novel concerning with Carol’s self developing from itsanalysis on modeling the character of the protagonist, on depicting the theme, on arrangingthe structure and on narrating the content.During one’s growing process, inevitably, he or she would confront the conflicts andfrustration in various forms coming from the reality. However, only gaining a more deepunderstanding and recognition towards reality and self, coping with the inward and outwardchallenge in a more mature and flexible manner, can one make a sincere choice from heartand realize self growing. Ultimately, it is Lewis’s vivid description about American socialsituation and character development that marks inspiring significance for the research onCarol’s psychological pilgrimage in terms of individual’s psychological maturity in reality; also it is of profound social significance for the social progress and development.