完TheodoreDreiser.ppt

1、Theodore Dreiser,Major Works,Sister Carrie Jennie Gerhardt An American Tragedy The Genius (autobiographical) The Trilogy of Desire: Financier, The Titan, The Stoic 金融家 巨人 斯多葛,Life (1871-1945),son of a German immigrant the ninth of 10 children in poverty spending one year at Indiana University a news

2、paper reporter in 1892 Sister Carrie in 1900: a depiction of unpunished characters and a frank treatment of sexual issues Jenny Gerhardt in 1911: influential supporters, Being able to devote himself entirely to literature. The Genius in 1915 An American Tragedy in1925: great popular success,Fort and

3、 Theodore Dreiser at Dreisers home in Mt Kisco,Theodore Dreiser Lane- Streets of Illinois Springfield,Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1871. The ninth child of German immigrants, he experienced considerable poverty while a child and at the age of fifteen was forced to leave home

4、in search of work. After briefly attending Indiana University for one year (1889-90), he found work as a reporter on several newspapers. Later he moved to New York where he attempted to establish himself as a novelist.,After his first novel Sister Carrie was published in 1900 with the help of Frank

5、Norris, Dreiser continued to work as a journalist and as well as writing for mainstream newspapers. His second novel Jennie Gerhardt was not published until 1911. This was followed by two novels The Financier (1912) and The Titan (1914). The Genius was published in 1915 but it was another ten years

6、before Dreiser greatest novel, An American Tragedy (1925) appeared, which brought him a degree of critical and commercial success he had never before attained.,As a socialist, Dreiser was invited to be present at the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution in Moscow in 1927. A

7、fter returning to America in early 1928, he wrote several non-fiction books on political issues. This included Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928), Tragic America (1931) and America is Worth Saving (1941). Theodore Dreiser joined the American Communist Party just before he died in 1945.,5) Though his vis

8、it to the Soviet Union had left him skeptical about communism, the Great Depression (from 1929)caused him to reconsider his opposition. His autobiographical Dawn (1931) is one of the most candid self-revelations by any major writer.,6). By the time Dreisers second novel, Jenny Gerhardt, was publishe

9、d in 1911, his work had found influential supporters, including the British novelists H. G. Wells and Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, and he was able to devote himself entirely to literature. Dreisers writings continued to excite controversy. In The Financier (1912) and The Titan (1914), he drew harsh por

10、traits of a type of ruthless businessman. In The “Genius” (1915), he presented a study of the artistic temperament in a mercenary唯利是图的society. This novel increased his influence among young American writers, who acclaimed him leader of a new school of social realism .,7) Real fame, however, did not

11、come to Dreiser until 1925, when his An American Tragedy had great popular success. The novel, based on an actual murder case and concerned with the efforts of a weak young man to rise from pious poverty into glamorous society, was dramatized and made into a motion picture. The novels of Theodore Dr

12、eiser were deeply imbued灌输with an understanding of the brutal injustices of social class, and they rank as magnificent examples of 20th-century American naturalism. Sister Carrie (1900) depicts the downfall of a young woman who moves from small-town America to Chicago and then to New York City. An A

13、merican Tragedy (1925) shows the downfall of a weak young man who tries to rise from poverty into glamorous society,An American Tragedy,The novel relates, in great detail, the life of Clyde Griffiths, a boy of weak will and little self-awareness. He grows up in great poverty in a family of wandering

14、 evangelists福音传道者, but dreams of wealth and the love of beautiful women. A rich uncle employs him in his factory. When his girlfriend Roberta becomes pregnant, she demands that he marry her. Mean while, Clyde has fallen in love with a wealthy society girl who represents success, money, and social ac

15、ceptance. Clyde carefully plans to drown Roberta on a boat trip, but at the last minute he begins to change his mind; however, she accidentally falls out of the boat. Clyde, a good swimmer, does not save her, and she drowns. As Clyde is brought to justice, Dreiser replays his story in reverse, maste

16、rfully using the vantage points of prosecuting and defense attorneys to analyze each step and motive that led the mild mannered Clyde, with a highly religious background and good family connections, to commit murder.,The relevant evaluation: This novel explores the dangers of the American dream and

17、displays crushing authority. Its precise details build up an overwhelming sense of tragic inevitability. It is a scathing损伤的portrait of the American success myth gone sour, but it is also a universal story about the stresses of urbanization, modernization, and alienation. Within it roam the romantic

18、 and dangerous fantasies of the dispossessed. An American Tragedy is a reflection of the dissatisfaction, envy, and despair that afflicted折磨many poor and working people in Americas competitive, success-driven society. As American industrial power soared, the glittering lives of the wealthy sharply c

19、ontrasted with the drab无生气lives of ordinary farmers and city workers. The media fanned rising expectations and unreasonable desires.,Sister Carrie: “the first book free of English literary influence.” - Sinclair Lewis,The 1900 publication of the novel Sister Carrie by American author Theodore Dreise

20、r met with a poor reception due to its perceived vulgarity and loose morals. The novel tells the story of a small-town girl who moves to Chicago and eventually becomes a Broadway star in New York City. It also traces the decline and eventual suicide of her lover. As a result of public outcry强烈抗议agai

21、nst the novel for its depiction of unrepentant顽固不化的and unpunished characters and for its frank treatment of sexual issues, the publisher withdrew the book from public sale. The story of the rise to fame and fortune of a showgirl and her subsequent disillusionment runs counter to the popular “rags-to

22、-riches” stories that idealize the American dream of material success. While living with one man, Drouet, she begins an affair (with the promise of marriage) with another, Hurstwood. Carrie and Hurstwood move to New York City, where Hurstwood fails in business and commits suicide while Carrie rises

23、to the heights of fame as a stage performer.,Point of View,Social Darwinism: man as merely an animal driven by greed and sexual desire in a struggle for existence in which only the “fittest” survive Pessimistic view of human helplessness in the face of instinct and social forces. Determinism: No one

24、 is ethically free. Everything is determined by a complex of internal chemisms and by the forces of social pressure. (P300,P303),Writing Style (Why?),Without good structure Deficient characterization (P303) Lack in imagination Journalistic method,Sister Carrie,the story of a kept woman, themes (P303

25、) Caroline Meeber, Drouet, Hurstwood,Themes,Naturalistic pursuit by explaining the purposelessness of life and impotence (无能为力) of men. Materialism, including the desire for money, is an important theme in Sister Carrie.,Evaluation on him,Dreiser has been a controversial figure in American literary

26、history. His works are powerful in their portrayal of the changing American life, but his style is considered crude. He showed a new way of presenting reality and inspired the writers of the 1920s with courage and insight. It is in Dreisers works that American naturalism is said to have come of age.

27、 Dreiser believed in representing life honestly in his fiction. He accomplished this through accurate detail, especially in his descriptions of the urban settings in which many of his stories take place. In his naturalistic portrayals Dreiser saw his characters as victims of social and economic forces, and of fate, all of which conspire against them.,3) He embraced social Darwinism. 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. Human tragedy comes as a result of the collision b