英语硕士论文辛克莱·刘易斯现实而又浪漫的乐观主义者.doc

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1、 广 西 师 范 大 学 硕 士 研 究 生 学 位 论 文Sinclair Lewis-a Realistic and Romantic Optimist辛克莱刘易斯现实而又浪漫的乐观主义者院 系： 外 国 语 学 院年 级： 二 二 级专 业： 英 语 语 言 文 学方 向： 英 美 文 学导 师： 研 究 生： 完 成 时 间： 2005年4月AcknowledgementsI should like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all those persons whose suggestions and encouragem

2、ent made this thesis possible. First and foremost, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor Professor Lu Xiaohong for her unselfish help, insightful instructions and constant encouragement in the course of my thesis writing. Without her inspiring instructions and suggestions, I would not have fulfille

3、d my thesis. I also express my sincere thanks to all the teachers who taught me or helped me during my three years study here. Finally, I should like to express my thanks to all my friends and family. Without their encouragement and support I could not have finished my postgraduate study.辛克莱刘易斯现实而又浪

4、漫的乐观主义者 2002级英语语言文学硕士生： 导师： 摘 要19世纪20年代，辛克莱刘易斯相继发表了好几部著名的小说如大街，巴比特，阿罗史密斯，埃尔默甘特利，陶兹华斯，由此达到了他创作事业的顶峰。20年代是一个充斥着实用主义、物质主义、商业主义、拜金主义、享乐主义的喧嚣的时期。一战后，美国逐渐变成了一个强大的工业化、都市化的资本主义大国。经济上的高速发展带来了物质的富足的同时也造成了人们精神上的空虚。这个矛盾在他的三部小说里（大街，巴比特，阿罗史密斯）则表现在个人和社会的矛盾上，即个人追求自由的愿望和社会及其文化对个人的束缚之间的矛盾。这个矛盾既存在于美国的城市之中，也存在于宁静的小乡镇里。

5、三部小说里的三个主人公都反抗社会的束缚以期找到一种适合在美国资本主义文明中生存的方式。虽然它们各有侧重点，但这三部小说都向读者展示了三个在妥协成风的美国社会里却仍有梦想有追求的主人公。与此同时，在这三个人物的身上我们也看到了刘易斯本人的的价值观和生活态度。巴比特和阿罗史密斯可以看作是在同一个社会背景下发生在不同的两个人物身上的不同的故事及不同结局。小说中的两个主人公巴比特和阿罗史密斯都被一种要求一致性、崇拜成功的文化氛围所困住。大街则是关于一个从城市来到乡村的姑娘的故事。正如巴比特和阿罗史密斯一样，卡罗尔对周围的事物及现状很不满意。她进行了一系列无效的反抗后，最终妥协了。这三部小说都属于现实主

6、义作品，表现三方面：一是细节的真实性，这源于作者对现实生活的细致观察；二是人物和环境的典型性；三是对事实所持的客观态度。大街中真实而生动的细节来自于作者童年和青年时期在他的家乡明苏达尼洲索克镇的经历。从写巴比特开始，他就开始了一种新的写作方法，即让自己融入到他的小说所描写的生活当中。在创作阿罗史密斯时，他本人进行了大量的调查，同时，他还与实验医学界的权威人物达成协议以得到专业上的第一手材料。对于刘易斯而言，戈弗草原及其居民就是美国乡镇的代表。中产阶级的生活细节就是巴比特所处的典型环境。在这三部小说中刘易斯刻画了几个典型的人物，他们是自足而又现实的丈夫威尔肯尼科特，不满足但怀有浪漫梦想的妻子卡罗

7、尔，典型的中产阶级小商人巴比特。对于美国生活中的缺点和不足，刘易斯都毫不犹豫地给予了抨击。在大街中，他抨击了19世纪20年代美国中西部小城镇的丑陋和一致性及其自满的居民。在巴比特中，他抨击了美国的商人几中产阶级整个的商业活动。受到商业主义侵蚀的美国医学界也呈现在读者面前。通过这三部小说中的真实描述，读者可以清晰地看到美国社会中真实的一面。巴比特，大街，阿罗史密斯同时也是三部充满着乌托邦浪漫主义的小说。乌托邦的历史源于莫尔1516年发表的著名小说。在欧洲和美国都展开了乌托邦式社会的实验，以期建立一个建立在公正和公平上的理想社会。19世纪中期以后，乌托邦文学逐渐盛行。这些小说在描写新工业化的恐怖前

8、景及社会变化的同时向人们展示了一个美好的未来社会。19世纪晚期的美国正发生着翻天覆地的变化，这些因素带来了乌托邦文学的蓬勃发展。刘易斯本人一生中从未在一个地方长住过，相反他周游世界各地，以期找到一个理想的去处。他的这三部小说也都或多或少地受到乌托邦理想主义的影响，表现在三个怀有梦想和不断追求的主人公身上及他对大自然的热爱和歌颂当中。刘易斯对大自然的热爱可以追朔到超验主义者爱默生和梭罗的超验主义思想中。巴比特和阿罗史密斯都逃到了大自然当中寻求精神慰藉，而后者还成功地完全脱离了社会，遁入森林，成为一个科学隐士。大街中除了卡罗尔之外，还有好几个人逃离了戈弗草原。然而，除了阿罗史密斯能极不现实地成功逃

9、离，巴比特和卡罗尔最后都妥协了。似乎乌托邦无处可寻。然而，刘易斯还是把希望寄托在了浪漫和信仰当中。他极其崇拜先进的现代化文明。总之，他所创造的三个有梦想的人物，他对大自然的热爱，及他对美国美好未来社会的坚定信念都表明了他是一个浪漫的乐观主义者。对人类价值的漠视或敌对导致了泽尼斯和戈弗草原非人化的生活。美国生活和美国文化的失败源于它的资本主义社会制度及其剥削本质，由此导致了人们对物质的过度追求和精神上的极大空虚。在发展社会主义经济的同时不能忽略了精神文明的建设，否则，社会主义社会中也会出现数不清的泽尼斯和巴比特。关键词：现实主义 理想主义 乐观主义 Sinclair Lewis-a Realis

10、tic and Romantic Optimist AbstractSinclair Lewis reached the peak of his writing career in the second decade of the twentieth century by finishing and getting published his major novels Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, and Dostworth. The 1920s is a roaring period prevailed conspicuous

11、ly by pragmatism, materialism, commercialism, mammonism, hedonism, etc. After World War I, America became a powerful industrialized and urbanized capitalist nation, which at the same time brought about great material abundance and spiritual emptiness for its people. The conflict is shown in Lewiss t

12、hree novels Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith in the contradiction between the demands of the self and society and its culture. In the three novels, Lewis presents this contradiction existing in both cities and small towns, and the three characters who struggle against the society in order to find a

13、more meaningful existential state in the American capitalist civilization. Except for their respective emphasis, the three novels reveal to the readers three questing individuals in the American society of conformity, and at turn show the values and attitudes of the author-Sinclair Lewis, a realisti

14、c and romantic optimist. Babbitt and Arrowsmith can be regarded as two stories of two different protagonists-a businessman and a medical research scientist-at the same social background with two different endings. Both Babbitt and Arrowsmith are trapped in a culture demanding conformity and cultivat

15、ing success. Main Street is about a relatively sophisticated girl Carol who comes from big city to a village. Like Babbitt and Arrowsmith, Carol is unhappy, restless, rebellious ineffectually, and adjusted finally. The conflict between the self and society exists in both cities and small towns in Am

16、erica. The three novels are all works of social realism, as is shown in the verisimilitude of detail derived from observation, the representative in setting and character, and an objective rather than an idealized view of human nature and experience. The truthful and vivid details in Main Street is

17、brought by Lewis out of the hoard of experience as a boy and young man in Sauk Center, Minnesota. With Babbitt he began a new writing method of immersing himself into the life of his books. In writing Arrowsmith, Lewis presents us the world of American medicine and biological research corrupted by c

18、ommercialism. In the realistic descriptions, the real side of American life presents itself clearly before us. The three novels are also works of idealism. The history of utopias began with Thomas Mores famous work of 1516. Actual experiments in Utopian social living were held in Europe and the Unit

19、ed States with the hope of building an ideal society of equality and justice. After the middle of the 19th century, the utopian romance became an extremely popular literary form. These novels depicted the frightening prospects of the new industrialism and social changes while at the same time presen

20、ted a vision of a glorious future society. The late 19th century in the United States was a turbulent transition period during which Utopian literature thriveds. In his wide travels, Lewis tried to find his own utopia for living. The three novels are all infected more or less by utopian romance, whi

21、ch is shown in the questing individuals and the celebration of nature. Carol, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith have their own respective dreams of finding a meaningful existential state for the fellowmen. All of them rebel against the demanding society. Lewis lavishes exquisite praise on nature, which can be

22、 traced to Emerson and Thoreau. Both Babbitt and Arrowsmith escape to nature for spiritual comfort. Arrowsmith withdraws successfully from the society. There is a list of escapists in Main Street. However, except Arrowsmith who impractically isolates himself from the society, both Carol and Babbitt

23、conform to the surroundings. It seems that there is nowhere to find utopia. Nevertheless, Lewis still holds hopes in romance and mystery. In the three characters he creates, the potentialities of American life can still be sensed keenly. Like Babbitt, Lewis himself admires the advanced civilization

24、of America. On the whole, in his creation of the questing individuals, his celebration of nature, and his belief in a visionary future of America, Sinclair Lewis is a romantic optimist in very sense who always believes that something better must be ahead. The life in both Zenith and Gopher Prairie i

25、s dehumanized by indifference or enmity to all human values. The failure in American life and civilization can be traced to the social system: capitalism. The excessive pursuit of material enjoyment makes people empty in spirit. Spiritual construction should also be taken into importance besides dev

26、eloping socialist economy.Keywords: realism utopian romance optimist ContentsAcknowledgements.iAbstract in Chinese.iiAbstract in English.ivPart I Introduction1Part II Works of Realism.22.1 Realism in Western Literature.22.2 Conflict between the Self and Society in Cities32.2.1 Conflict in Babbitt an

27、d Arrowsmith32.2.2 Social Background.52.3 Conflict between the Self and Society in Main Street.72.4 Social Realism in the Three Novels.9Part III Works of Idealism.143.1 Utopian Idealism.143.2 The Questing Individuals163.2.1 Dreams and Rebellion.163.2.2. Escape to Nature.18Part IV Optimism.224.1 Reso

28、lve the Conflict224.1.1 Conformity.224.1.2 Withdrawal.244.2 Hopes in Romance and Mystery.264.3 Potentialities274.4 Admiration of the Advanced Civilization.27Part V Conclusion.29Bibliography31Part I Introduction Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) enjoyed great popularity in American literature especially in

29、the 1920s for his famous novels Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Dostworth, etc. which respectively captured the archetypes and pointed at the typical problems in various fields in society. He was the first American novelist who won the Nobel Prize for literature mainly for his great novel Babbitt

30、which was a mirror both to the whole life of the middle class in the 1920s even nowadays and to the prevailing culture at that time. Mark Schorer, the famous biologist of Sinclair Lewis, concluded in his monumental biography of Lewis Sinclair Lewis: An American Life that “without his writing one can

31、 not imagine modern American literature”(Schorer, 1961:813). Glen A. Love added in Babbitt: An American Life that “no one can claim to understand American life in the twentieth century without having read Babbitt”(Love, 1993:90). The judgments of the critic showed the great importance of Sinclair Le

32、wis especially his masterpiece Babbitt. Before talking about Babbitt, we need to glance at the 1920s, the decade of Sinclair Lewiss Babbitt as well as his other best-known novels. The 1920s, clearly marked with World War I at one end and the Great Depression of the 1930s at the other, was commonly d

33、escribed as a materialistic period in American history. In the popular descriptions, “Roaring Twenties”, “Jazz Age”, “flappers”, “speakeasies”, etc. were often found which could reflect the life attitudes of the people-self-indulgence and material pursuits. Followed World War I was a rush of rapid a

34、nd undeniable changes in American life, among which the most notable was the material abundance of the country. After World War I, with mindless economic expansion, America was becoming a more and more powerful industrialized capitalist nation. President Calvin Coolidge declared to the American peop

35、le that “Americas business is business.” With the inspiration and the scientific progress that stimulated industry, commercial activities boomed with unprecedented speed. Many new commercialized middle and small-sized cities, especially those in the West such as Zenith, mushroomed. A new social clas

36、s-the middle class appeared and increased rapidly in number to whom Babbitt, the protagonist of Lewiss Babbitt, belonged. Besides the changes in social structure, the traditional puritan life style characterized by thrift and hardworking was replaced by a new one of conspicuous consumption and hedon

37、ism. Pragmatism prevailed. Every one becomes mammonist who only cared for making or showing off his own fortune. The developed industry brought about a mint of wealth, while at the same time, the dark sides of the capitalist commercial civilization unveiled itself more clearly. The contradiction bet

38、ween material abundance and spiritual emptiness intensified. That was the puzzlement the urbanite faced in such a capitalist modern civilization. Equipped with a sharp eye and a keen ear, Sinclair Lewis noticed this social phenomenon and showed them in his novels which at turn showed to us his own v

39、alues and attitudes. Part II Works of Social Realism2.1 Realism in Western LiteratureThe American realist William Dean Howells (1837-1920) gave the most straightforward definition: that is “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material.”(Hu, 1995:235). Realism came as a liter

40、ary movement in the later half of the nineteenth century. By 1875, American writers were moving toward realism in literature, and the political and social events at that time exerted great influence on its forming. Between the Civil War (1861-1865) and the First World War (1914-1918), America went t

41、hrough a whole transformation. Before the end of the Civil War, America was essentially a rural agrarian republic whose inhabitants firmly believed in God. By the end of the war, the industrialized North triumphed over the agrarian South. The factory defeated the farm, and the United States headed t

42、oward capitalism, a society based on mass labour and mass consumption, and became the most heavily industrialized, urbanized nation in the world by the time it entered World War I. With the explosive industrial expansion, machines replaced skilled handicraftsmen, and the traditional relationships be

43、tween employers and craftsman became more impersonal. America was no longer a country of farms, villages and small towns. Instead, its cities grew rapidly with the rapid growth in population as a result of the flowing into cities of thousands of men, women, and children native and foreign. Commerce

44、took the lead in the national economy with the coming of the railroads which greatly changed the life of the Americans. At the turn of the century came a time of steel and steam, electricity and oil. The American petroleum industry brought the age of automobile. Soon the increasing industrialization

45、 and mechanization produced extremes of wealth and poverty. Great riches and economic power became more and more concentrated in the hands of the few bankers and industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, etc. These business and financial tycoons were widely celebrated as national her

46、oes and models for young men who with a lust for money and power hoped to rise in the world. In the meantime, the gulf between the rich and the poor was widened. For the millions life was becoming a struggle for survival. They were forced to come to terms with Darwins theory of evolution that only the strongest, the most ruthless, and the luckiest survived. Adde