On Eugene’s Confusion And Reconstruction Of The Ethical Identity In The "Genius"

Theodore Dreiser is one of the most outstanding writers in America at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th century.His works have vividly reflected the American society and recorded the social conduct and context.He portrays the characters and social context in a realistic way instead of beautifying them,so that each of his works is a panoramic picture of the early 20 th century of America.The “Genius” is Theodore Dreiser’s autobiographical novel,modeling on his own life and career experience,and recording the ups and downs of his artistic career as well as his meditation on moral ethics.However,since the publication of The “Genius”,it has received the most criticism,as some critics consider that the novel has depicted too much of the erotic world with depravity.Although The “Genius” is the most controversial of all his works,Dreiser set great store on it.As a self-portrait of the artist,the novel vividly presents the bewilderment of the artistic creation among the artists during the process of the American industrialization from the 19 th to the 20 th century.Therefore,the study of The “Genius” is of great importance in understanding the alteration with regard to artistic aesthetics,value concept,moral consciousness and social development of the cross-century American.In this thesis,ethical literary criticism and the research method of close reading are used to analyze The “Genius”,Theodore Dreiser’s autobiographical novel,based on an incisive textual analysis.Ethical literary criticism is a method of criticism to analyze,interpret and evaluate literature from the perspective of ethics.It takes the literary text as the object,explaining the life phenomenon in the literature and exploring the value of moral instruction involved in it from the perspective of ethics.It analyzes the ethical elements that lead to the social event and affect the character’s fate,employing the prospective of ethics to explain and evaluate the way,process and result of the character’s ethical choice.It also analyzes the practical significance of it,and get moral education and warning from it,providing guidance for people’s real life.The thesis aims to analyze the acceptance,confusion and reconstruction of the ethical identity of the protagonist Eugene and explore the positive effect of the recognition of the ethical identity.The whole thesis is divided into three parts which areintroduction,main body and conclusion.As the first section of the thesis,the introduction concisely introduces Theodore Dreiser and his autobiographical novel The“Genius”,the literature review and theoretical basis.The first chapter studies the formation of Eugene’s early ethical identity and the manifestation of Eugene’s acceptance of his ethical identity.When Eugene was young,he lived in a traditional family in the town of Alexandria,Illinois.Under the influence of traditional ethics,he behaved according to the traditional ethic norms and appreciated the excellent qualities of people.He was innocent and had a deep love for nature and the simple beauty of nature.He also had a preference for simple and innocent girls.All of these were manifestations of Eugene’s acceptance of his ethical identity.At that time,Eugene affirmed his ethical identity without any confusion and all of his behaviors conformed to the ethical norms.The second chapter mainly discusses Eugene’s confusion of his ethical identity as the artist and husband after he went to the prosperous cities and was affected by the fame,money and status in urban life.After Eugene was under the influence of materialism in the city,his artistic creation was also affected.He began to cater to the public’s interest to earn more money,but at the same time his creative inspiration also disappeared gradually,and he eventually gave up the pursuit of art.Then he took up business,frantically chasing money,status,and beautiful girls.He lost himself gradually and was tired of his ethical identity as a husband.He abandoned the husband’s responsibility as well as family happiness.The third chapter explores the reconstruction of Eugene’s ethical identity,narrating the process of the transformation from his confusion to the acceptance of the ethical identity.After having his own child,Eugene reconsidered his life and realized the importance of family,so he decided to return to his family and regained the family happiness.At the same time,Eugene made a choice between material enjoyment and artistic pursuit.He picked up the brush to continue his art creation,and gave up material comforts.During this process,Eugene reconstructed his ethical identity.The affirmation of the ethical identity also had a positive effect on his life.For example,Eugene gained moral enlightenment,enjoyed the family happiness,and stabilized the artistic pursuit.The third part of the thesis makes a conclusion that ethical problems alwayshappen when people feel perplexed about their ethical identity,while the acceptance of one’s ethical identity and the conformance with the ethical norms could make people find their accurate location in life and realize the value of life.Having experienced the confusion of his ethical identity as an artist and husband,and lived a chaotic life,Eugene realized the importance of responsibility and reconstructed his ethical identity,behaving conforming to the traditional moral ethics.At last,he regained the family happiness and artistic success.In a word,the analysis of Eugene’s acceptance,confusion and reconstruction of the ethical identity could help readers have a better understanding of Theodore Dreiser and his autobiographical novel The “Genius” from the perspective of ethical literary criticism,and of the significance of accepting one’s ethical identity and behaving according to the ethical norms.