Acknowledgments Through several months’ hard work, my writing of this thesis has smoothly come to an end, and I hereby would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the following people for their selfless dedication and contribution to my thesis.
My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Ms. Lin Xiaojun, my supervisor, for her constant help, guidance, support and encouragement in the process of my thesis. Once I think of the time when I started writing the paper, my chaotic thought come back to me. It is Ms. Lin Xiaojun’s instructions that make me set up a clear framework of the paper, and help me out. She furnished me with considerable constructive advice, inspiring suggestions, and incisive criticism. I do appreciate that she has devoted much of her time and energy to reading my draft and making suggestions for further revisions. Without her encouragement and help, the completion of the present thesis is impossible.
Next, I am greatly indebted to my advanced-English course teacher. It is her who guided me to the world of literature. And her profound knowledge of English inspired me to make efforts in English study. I am also truly grateful to all other teachers and professors of the School of Foreign Languages who gave me direct or indirect help and advice during my study in the college.
I also owe my profound appreciation to my friends and my fellow classmates, who have given me many instructive suggestions and ideas throughout my writing.
Last, my warmest thanks would go to my beloved parents, who have been raising, encouraging and supporting me in the last twenty years. And during the process of writing my thesis, they supported and encouraged me, which I sincerely appreciate.
Abstrat
Now naturalism is one of the most influential literary schools in the world, and it exerts an immense influence on American literature. Naturalism is a special creative thought which burst out in 1890s, and came to a dominant position in 1900s in Europe and America. Theodore Dreiser is one of the most outstanding pioneers in early period of American naturalism. In 1909, Theodore Dreiser published his famous novel Jennie Gerhardt. Since then critics around the world have been studying Jennie Gerhardt from different perspectives. This thesis will analyze and summarize the naturalistic features in Jennie Gerhardt so that we can have a better understanding and deeper comprehension of the characteristics, development and influence of naturalism.
The thesis is pided into four parts. The first part serves as an introduction. It is an introduction about Theodore Dreiser, Jennie Gerhardt and a book review. The second part aims at introducing naturalism, Darwinism and American nturalism. This chapter focuses on definition to naturalism, the importance of Darwinism and his Evolutionary Theory, and an overview of American nturalism. The third part attempts to analyze Jennie Gerhardt from naturalistic point of view and explain how social,environmental and instinctive factors influence Jennie’s fate. First, it analyzes the characteristics of naturalism in Dreiser’s works. Second, it analyzes typical naturalistic embodiment in Jennie Gerhardt. The last part functions as a conclusion.
Key Words: Theodore Dreiser, naturalism, Darwinism, Jennie Gerhardt
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摘要
现在自然主义是世界上最具影响力的文学流派之一,它对美国文学有巨大的影响。自然主义是指19世纪90年代兴起,20世纪盛行于欧洲和美国的一种特殊的创作思潮。西奥多.德莱赛是美国早期自然主义最杰出的先驱之一。 西奥多.德莱赛在1909年出版了他的著名小说《珍妮姑娘》。 此后世界各地的评论家从不同的角度来研究《珍妮姑娘》。在这篇论文中,将分析和总结《珍妮姑娘》中的自然主义特色,让大家对自然主义的特色,发展和影响有更好、更深刻的理解。5255