Chapter 4 American Naturalism
' J! O% Q# q2 I: T I. Background
( k y& F: F u- y1 v2 m 1. Darwin’s theory: “natural selection”
& f# t: _9 n4 c; P. S 2. Spenser’s idea: “social Darwinism”5 X* K1 f/ r' {, [+ z' C
3. French Naturalism: Zora
8 ~% w; m `% k+ E/ l0 U: K7 O II. Features
* n: z, E) p4 T/ p8 i 1. environment and heredity
1 e3 A- I2 v/ e) Q* F 2. scientific accuracy and a lot of details0 H7 H p7 R2 W! P) f
3. general tone: hopelessness, despair, gloom, ugly side of the society1 d( b4 c2 J4 c! D
III. significance
/ h, F' E: @2 e" |% H- ?, z6 f It prepares the way for the writing of 1920s’ “lost generation” and T. S. Eliot.
3 q) ]9 V* Y, c+ j6 Q) y% y: e IV. Theodore Dreiser( D7 ?* R" Q; e, T
1. life
4 Y9 a* m8 V5 Z1 e 2. works! C- v! e+ m. I8 l1 N" I8 _ Q7 u
(1) Sister Carrie5 z/ v0 {8 `9 E8 P
(2) The trilogy: Financier, The Titan, The Stoic5 S" j6 D% Z! ^) |, D% @! ]
(3) Jennie Gerhardt
' L/ w7 Y. }0 g (4) American Tragedy
& z H+ X, F. \% w (5) The Genius
$ M+ _; ]4 ^) g: b7 [$ w6 L* b 3. point of view
4 B4 D5 m9 n8 r! q" F3 @ (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.4 t) J' p, [! k" q4 o2 W7 I+ y
(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.
' q7 Z& }2 m3 v: y (3) No one is ethically free; everything is determined by a complex of internal chemisms and by the forces of social pressure.
+ V$ S- _; C* w1 ~) ] 4. Sister Carrie
) y, l: F0 P2 I (1) Plot
! b# G& r+ u& N/ W; R. S/ ` (2) Analysis' B0 Q/ T% P0 L9 N" M4 o7 z
5. Style0 J( c# E$ f/ j8 }3 m7 C
(1) Without good structure( c7 @- b. Y: ~$ ?; f
(2) Deficient characterization! x8 L/ C/ l& |+ r, U0 ~5 s
(3) Lack in imagination
% v2 x; u; N+ ^2 T! W (4) Journalistic method
" k+ `- N9 B/ V2 M* Z- y (5) Techniques in painting |