Sister Carrie
1.What is Naturalism?
Dreiser constantly challenged the traditional American literature and faith, and thus
formed unique naturalistic style in Sister Carrie-reason, free will and the
relationship between the instinct and the evolution of Theodore Dreiser's morality.
In Sister Carrie, "Theodore dreiser detailed descriptions of the reason, free will and
the relationship between the instinct .When the instinct and rational conflict, instinct
is always prevail; And free will always in vain, subject to instinct .By Darwinian
influence, Dreiser display of the animal instinct in Sister Carrie .
In the novel, dreiser think Carrie behavior should use a "facultative standard" to judge,
this means you can freely judgment of her behavior, and not a fixed moral standards.
According to the Darwinian evolution, humans are animals developed from a lower
Dreiser’s Naturalism in Sister Carrie Contents Introduction ......................................................................................... 2 1. The historical and cultural background for Sister Carrie ..................... 3 1.1 Darwinism and Determinism ........................................................ 3 1.2 American naturalism .................................................................... 3 2. The typical characteristics of naturalism in Sister Carrie .................... 3 2.1 The relationship among reason, free will and instinct .................... 3 2.2 The influence of the environment ................................................. 3 3. Dreiser’s naturalistic attitude of truthful reflection of life ................... 4 3.1 Dreiser's “Sister”一Carrie ........................................................... 4 3.2 Hurstwood's decline一Dreiser's fear of failure............................. 4 Conclusion........................................................................................... 4 Notes ................................................................................................... 4 Bibliography ........................................................................................ 5
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945)
1) Biographical Introduction
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, the twelfth of thirteen children. German immigrant
parents.
His early years were full of poverty, emotional instability, religious bigotry in
home, frequent moves dictated by financial necessity.
At teen, in Chicago, he had a succession of minor jobs. After a year at Indiana
University, he returned to Chicago, a reporter on the Chicago Globe.
He worked for newspapers in St. Louis & Pittsburg before he arrived in New York
in 1894.
2) point of view
(1) He embraced social Darwinism – survival of the fittest. He regarded Man
as merely an animal driven by greed & lust in a struggle for existence in which
only the ―fittest‖, the most ruthless, survive.
(2) Life is predatory, a ―game‖ of the lecherous & heartless, a jungle struggle
Appreciation of An American Tragedy
Abstract: An American Tragedy is one of Theodore Dreiser 's important
representative works, the longest novel among his works and an important literary
work in American literature. An American Tragedy was written during the peak of
Theodore Dreiser 's art creation and its publication made Dreiser gain great popularity
at his age.
Key Words: Theodore Dreiser; An American Tragedy; Naturalism; American
Dream
Theodore Dreiser (1871—1945) was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, the twelfth of
thirteen children of German immigrants. His family was extremely poor but very
religious. He has limited school education and left home to work at the age of 15. He
had a variety of working experiences. He ever worked as a reporter for many
newspapers and magazines. His works are The Genius(1915), Dreiser Looks at
