专八人文知识：美国文学简史(六)

会计考友

　　Chapter 4 American Naturalism
+ {9 C  R* Y! n; G　　I.Background
　　1.Darwin's theory: "natural selection"
　　2.Spenser's idea: "social Darwinism"
* B  j2 }" X1 o! C4 m' l　　3.French Naturalism: Zora
　　II.Features
　　1.environment and heredity
) i, V2 l0 u8 d; c# W　　2.scientific accuracy and a lot of details
　　3.general tone: hopelessness, despair, gloom, ugly side of the society
2 w( m& U% ]2 V* c3 ^8 n　　III.significance
; z! C( Z. M6 K& J! c) Y　　It prepares the way for the writing of 1920s’
4 `) d3 i* |/ w0 K% a# I　　“lost generation” and T. S. Eliot.
　　IV.Theodore Dreiser
　　1.life
　　2.works
; X( U& R! e  W6 X: P! F7 N' `2 E　　(1)Sister Carrie
2 N9 ~2 t: a3 ^! l　　(2)The trilogy: Financier, The Titan, The Stoic
$ J" P$ `& W) A" N7 }0 P& p# m　　(3)Jennie Gerhardt
　　(4)American Tragedy
7 f: h/ A& q" o( J( b　　(5)The Genius
& |) n: P3 ?% M3 f4 `, H- v9 ^　　3.point of view
8 Y7 u# N# Y; I) Y7 j　　(1)He embraced social Darwinism – survival of the fittest. He learned to regard man as merely an animal driven by greed and lust in a struggle for existence in which only the "fittest", the most ruthless, survive.
　　(2)Life is predatory, a "game" of the lecherous and heartless, a jungle struggle in which man, being "a waif and an interloper in Nature", a "wisp in the wind of social forces", is a mere pawn in the general scheme of things, with no power whatever to assert his will.
　　(3)No one is ethically free; everything is determined by a complex of internal chemisms and by the forces of social pressure.
　　4.Sister Carrie
5 r- m% A# l' N2 ~1 d0 _) ?　　(1)Plot
　　(2)Analysis
8 L6 _  ^& _5 T! d9 B　　5.Style
& \* L! a  L0 l% Y: p　　(1)Without good structure
　　(2)Deficient characterization
# D7 u8 r7 R% S$ z: D+ `　　(3)Lack in imagination
　　(4)Journalistic method
. O0 A# X$ [7 f3 A9 O: s　　(5)Techniques in painting