The Study On The Sense Of Anxiety In John Updike's "Rabbit Series"

John Updike is a very famous writer in American history.In his half-century creating career,he has published more than fifty works.Of all his novels the most famous ones are the “Rabbit Series”(Rabbit,Run,1960;Rabbit Redux,1971;Rabbit Is Rich,1981;Rabbit at Rest,1990).The novels vividly and amply reflect the American society which witnessed the changes of American society in 40 years.During this period,America was in a relatively stable state that the whole society seemed to run very well.But Updike was not intoxicated with the easeful situation,with keen insight he discovered many hidden social problems that were covered beneath peaceful surface.In this series,the sense of anxiety runs through the works,by which Updike intended to ring the alarm to people.The author analyzes the sense of anxiety in “Rabbit Series”,and elaborates its realistic meanings for modern society.The paper is divided into four chapters with the introduction and conclusion,focusing on the problems in such aspects as belief,core family,ecology and war respectively.Chapter One starts with the change of American people's spiritual world after the World War II.During this period,“American Dream” gradually lost its credibility,while social belief widely declined.The author tries to find the deep reasons behind the problem.Chapter Two mainly discusses the relationship between the main characters in the novels to observe the weakening of post-war family values and find the worry about American core family.In the third chapter,the author lays emphasis on the worries about the ecology.The industrialized society sacrifices natural environment,and people's spiritual habitat is invaded by materialism and the notion of interest first,for which Updike shows great anxiety.The last chapter revolves around the war threatens to America on the post-war stage.Starting with the influence that the existing war troubles brought,the author analyzes the realistic meaning of Updike's worries about the war problem.In “Rabbit Series”,the analysis of the sense of anxiety not only provides early warnings to people's developmental behaviors,but also offers the guidance to the sustainable development for human society.