文之嘉莉妹妹

毕 业 论 文 论文题目： 从女性主义的角度解读嘉莉妹妹 学 生： 指导教师： 专 业： 英 语 班 级： 2011年 6 月 4 日Heilongjiang University Cambridge College Graduation Thesis Title A Feminist Reading of Sister Carrie Student Supervisor Specialty English Class June 4, 2011毕 业 论 文 任 务 书题目名称： A Feminist Reading of Sister Carrie从女性主义的角度解读嘉莉妹妹立题意义 十九世纪末的美国正处在资本主义迅速发展的时期，贫富之间的差异，劳资之间的矛盾，道德观念的败坏，人性的泯灭，正引起人们的日益关注。新兴工商业城市接连出现，大批乡村人口涌入城市。然而，当时的美国文坛却充斥着中世纪式的浪漫传奇、清教徒式的说教和穷孩子靠“勤劳”、“善良”而发迹的美国式奇遇，任何事实反映社会现实的作品都被认为不登大雅之堂而遭到出版商的抵制。德莱塞作为自然主义文学的代表，率先挑战风靡美国文坛的维多利亚“优雅”传统，揭开了美国现实得神秘面纱，不带偏见地描绘了新的美国城市生活。在这时推出的现实主义小说嘉莉妹妹无疑给当代社会仍进了一块巨石；这块巨石在当代引起了巨大的反响，发人深思并具有一定的研究意义。它批评了社会加诸男女的双重道德标准，肯定嘉莉所体现出的女性自主意识。而本文将从女性主义的角度来解读嘉莉妹妹。嘉莉妹妹的成功代表了作者的反传统性，让我们看到了作者对传统女性形象的颠覆，对男权社会的一种颠覆。技术条件与要求技术要求：1 调查语篇。利用多种途径查阅嘉莉妹妹的相关的资料，如互联网、图书馆等。2 分析文献。根据导师的指导，从查阅到的大量资料中筛选精品来重点分析3 在初稿的拟定以及多次修改当中加深理解了女性主义对嘉莉本身的影响。4 通过导师的指导和一系列的分析最后更加了解嘉莉的人物性格以及女性主义的重要性。工作计划： 第一步：查找资料，确定论文选题为从女性主义的角度解读嘉莉妹妹 第二步：完成关于论文资料的收集，取得与嘉莉妹妹的相关资料。 第三步：根据掌握的资料，进行系统地分析、整理，找到切入点。 第四步：阅读与论文相关的书刊，对嘉莉的性格加以分析。 第五步：组织、整理相关资料，准备论文撰写。 第六步：完成论文写作提纲。 第七步：根据论文提纲，开始论文写作，形成初稿。 第八步：根据导师提出的论文修改意见，不断对论文进行修改、完善，并完成论文写作。 第九步：论文定稿、打印、装订、准备答辩。 第十步：毕业论文答辩。任务内容（包括内容、计划、时间安排、完成工作量与水平具体要求）时间安排： 1. 2010.11.28-12.5 与指导教师见面， 教师指导学生如何查阅资料。 2. 2010.12.6-12.12 学生选题阶段。3. 2010.12.13-12.19 搜集资料。4. 2010.12.20-12.26 拟定大纲。5. 2010.12.27-2011.1.2 撰写开题报告初稿。6. 2011.1.3-2011.1.9 开题报告初稿审阅。7. 2011.1.10-2011.1.16 开题报告进行修改。8. 2011.1.17-2011.1.23 开题报告定稿。9. 2011.1.24-2011.1.30 查阅、整理相关资料。10. 1.31-3.13论文初稿。11. 3.14-3.20初稿审阅。12. 3.21-4.3论文进行第一次修改。13. 4.4-4.10论文第一次修改审阅。14. 4.11-4.17论文进行第二次修改。15. 4.18-4.24论文第二次修改审阅。16. 4.25-5.1论文进行第三次修改。17. 5.2-5.8论文定稿、打印、装订。18. 6.4-6.5 论文答辩。专业负责人意见签名：年 月 日毕 业 论 文 审 阅 评 语一、指导教师评语 是否同意答辩： 同意答辩 不同意答辩 指导教师（签名） 职 称 年 月 日 二、评阅人评语 是否同意答辩： 同意答辩 不同意答辩 评阅教师（签名） 职 称 年 月 日 毕 业 论 文 答 辩 评 语 及 成 绩三、答辩委员会评语四、毕业设计成绩 签 字（盖章）：五、答辩委员会主任单位： 答辩委员会主任职称： 答辩委员会主任签字： 年 月 日 黑龙江大学剑桥学院毕业论文 摘 要在美国文学史上,西奥多德莱塞的第一部小说嘉莉妹妹给人留下了深刻的印象。嘉莉妹妹是一个从贫穷的乡下走近大都市的女孩,由一无所有变成家喻户晓的名演员。 她一生的坎坷经历使她完完全全地蜕变了,嘉莉在经历多次的动摇和徘徊之后最终成为一名经济独立的女性。在整篇小说中,作者赋予了嘉莉妹妹坚强的性格和在逆境中乐观的生活态度,当她面对挫折的时候不屈不挠勇往直前。嘉莉从未放弃过而且对生活充满着希望。这样具有传奇色彩的人物形象是值得人们分析和了解的。近年来评论人会从自然主义、消费主义、美国梦等多角度审视嘉莉妹妹这一人物性格,而本文将从女性主义的角度出发,尝试重新解读嘉莉在三个不同阶段的主要人物性格,以及在她身上所体现出哪些女性该有的性格特征。文章还包括从自主选择性、独立性、面对挫折的态度三方面来解读女性主义对嘉莉自身的影响。在文章的最后会从女性地位的提高以及女性与男性的对比这两方面来分析当今社会女性的生存现状。关键词：人物性格；女性主义；影响；生存现状AbstractIn the history of American literature, Sister Carrie is the first novel of Theodore Dreiser, it impresses people deeply. Carrie, a poor country girl, becomes a famous star in a big city. She has totally changed from her hard experiences, and she becomes financially independent as a new woman when she goes through hesitation. In the whole novel, the author has planted some strong points of Carries character. He also has planted an attitude of being confident and optimistic for Carrie under adverse circumstances. She marches forward without hesitation when she faces defeat. Carrie never gives up to her fate and she has a sunny outlook on life. It is worthy of analyzing such a legendary character. In recent years, Carries character has been reviewed from naturalism, consumerism and American dream. However, this paper tries to reinterpret the main character of Carrie in three different stages from feminist. She has characters which belong to women. It also reads the influence of feminism upon Carrie that combines three aspects for the initiative in Carries own hand, Carries independence and the attitude towards frustration. At the end of this paper, it analyzes womens status in modern time from two aspects of the improvement of females social status and the comparison between men and women. Keywords: character; feminist; influence; statusContents 摘要iAbstractii1 Introduction12 The Different Characters of Carrie in Three Stages32.1 A Rough Time32.2 A Better Time42.3 A Lonely Time53 Feminist was Specific Reflected in Carrie73.1 The Definition of Feminist73.2 Womens Status Reflecting from Carrie8 3.2.1 Background8 3.2.2 Cultural Tradition9 3.2.3 Womens Self-consciousness103.3 Carries Character Influenced by Feminist11 3.3.1 The Initiative in Carries Own Hand11 3.3.2 Carries Independence12 3.3.3 The Attitude towards Frustration134 Womens Status in Modern Time154.1 The Improvement of Female Social Status154.2 The Comparison between Men and Women15Conclusion17Bibliography18Acknowledgements20iii 黑龙江大学剑桥学院毕业论文 1 IntroductionIn the 20th century, Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) was one of American greatest writers, and was known as a founding influence on the latter American naturalist school. He was the leader of American Naturalism in a national literary movement, which was the mainstream of Victorian literature. He portrayed characters whose value lay not in their moral code, but in their persistence against all obstacles, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency. His novels investigated the new social problems that had come into being in a rapidly industrialized America and his characters driven by selfish motives and influenced by the privileges and limitations of social class. He was born in a poor and large family. Dreiser left home at age 15 for Chicago. He worked as a journalist, and in 1894 he moved to New York, where he had a successful career as a magazine editor and publisher. In the summer of 1899 when at age of twenty-eight, he began his first novel，Sister Carrie. It was about a young kept woman who went unpunished for her transgressions, was denounced as scandalous. In his works, he paid more attention to details, as a result of its important descriptive technique in literature, the realism literature always created some unexpected effectiveness. His subsequent novels would confirm his reputation as the outstanding American practitioner of naturalism. In his lifetime Dreiser was controversial as a man and as a writer. He was accused, with some justice by conventional standards, of being immoral in his personal behavior, a poor thinker, and a dangerous political radical; his style was said to be ponderous and his narrative sense weak. As time passes, however, Dreiser has been recognized as a profound and prescient critic of debased American values and as a powerful novelist.Sister Carrie told the story of an 18-year-old rural girl who fled her country life for the big city and there lived a life far from a Victorian ideal. She was unwilling to live in a narrow, poor and boring country, left for Chicago. Carrie pursued her dreams of fame and material wealth, and even was eager to enjoy various pleasures in her life. However, she had gone through the hardships of job hunting, her wages were so low and were not protected herself against the cold winter. Then she had also gone through diseases and unemployment. Because of the cruel reality, she became a mistress of a salesman named Drouet, later she also became a mistress of a hotel manager named Hurstwood. An accidental opportunity, she crowded into the upper society when Hurstwood was jobless and turned into a beggar. It seemed that Carrie would lead a happy life but the truth was not. At the end she felt lonely and empty. This novel tells us one theme is to against materialism. But I think the main protagonist of this novel Carrie reflects the typical phenomenon in that society. Those women who desire to pursuit their economic depend themselves without relying on men. Dreiser gives more strong things to the character of Carrie. So Carrie is a smart girl and she never give up whatever difficulties she meets. I think women should have initiative spirit and be independent in their life. Meanwhile they should be brave when they are in trouble. The way of getting rich by hard work is proved totally unfit and impractical for a girl like Carrie “As before, the invisible barrier which is between the imaginary world and the real world, the goods she covets and the goods she actually possesses is still there” (Peng Dankui, 1995:73). 2 The Different Characters of Carrie in Three Stages2.1 A Rough TimeCarrie, the heroine of Carrie, is an innocent, young, native girl when she leaves her home at eighteen and innocently hopes to establish herself in Chicago. She is full of emotions, illusions, passions and confidences. At first, she believes that Chicago is paved with more fortune and chance that everyone gets opportunities to find a good job and become rich in this city. As far as I am concerned, there is no doubt that Carrie wants to make a better life by her hard. And it is her right. But when she arrives and meets her sister, Minnie who will stay with her. Her dream of a better life collapses. On Sister Carrie Dreiser wrote, “She felt the drag of a men and narrow life. The walls of the rooms were discordantly papered. The floors were covered with matting and the hall lay with a thin rag carpet.”(Donald Pizer, 2007:21) She realizes her sister and her brother-in-law live a tough life. But the tough life does not scare Carrie away. She finds a job as soon as possible, walking from company to another, turning here and there all the day and night. Although this process is too hard and her courage gradually minimizes, she is employed in a shoes factory. She is rather happy and four and a half dollars a week could relieve their burden .After some heavy and boring work in the shoe factory, she feels that she is extremely tired and can not endure such a life. She complains about job with no comfort in her family. I think that is one of reasons why she leaves her sisters home later and would rather stay with a stranger met in the train. She decides to lose her only job due to the illness from cold. Her life is in a poor condition is what is used to be. After all, she lives in Chicago not her hometown, she wants to change it. So she struggles to adapt to the tough life. What is worse, she is not ability to pay money for her sister as accommodation expenses. When she suffers the difficulties, she counters with the salesman Drouet again. Drouet helps Carrie without much hesitation. For a living, Carries choice is to leave her sister and she decides to finish the tough life. Then she becomes a mistress of Drouet. Personally, she has a right to choose a better life.2.2 A Better TimeDrouet, a salesman is receptive to a beautiful and attractive woman. It is Drouet who wears elegant clothes. After meeting on the train, when they meet again, Drouet is aware of Carries prettiness and purity, he wants to conquer and charm her. So Drouet gives a hand when Carrie is in trouble. He gives her money to buy winter clothes against the cold, and offers her to have a dinner, and takes her to go to the theater, also and shows her the sights of Chicago. As a result of Carries young, she has not yet got in touch with the men of the world. And she has not been sensible enough to realize what the true attention of Drouet. As Carrie enters that restaurant with Drouet and as she accepts the two ten-dollar bills. That is to say, Drouet has given much money to help Carrie get rid of the trouble. Although she considers that the money should not be accepted, she is eager to the good things in her life. It is so strong that she overlooks her beliefs in what is right and wrong. She only wants to make a better life. “Carrie gets happy when she thinks about a better life” (Xu Ruzhi, 1996:67) Therefore, Carrie would like to make a decision of living with Drouet. It will be better life than before. However, she feels ashamed because of obeying the moralities. This would not in favor of everything society taught. It is fantastic for any respectable woman to live with a man without marriage. But she breaks out of the family convention. Staying with Drouet, Carrie gets security and an escape from work to which she is temperamentally unsuited. But she is still troubled, it is not her own to live with Drouet who is not her husband, she knows it is not accepted by the social morality in that society. Thus she ever asks Drouet to marry her. “Why dont we get married”, she said. But Drouet always answers: “well, we will.” As a novel wrote, “let him meet with a young woman once, he would approach her with an air of kindly familiarity.” (Donald Pizer, 2007:58) He makes a conversation with Carrie at first is a way of being attracted. We can make a conclusion that he dose not plan to marry her and give her a stable life at all. Under this circumstance, she knows that Drouet can not give her steady love, while marriage is important to Carrie. The appearance of Hurstwood makes Carrie new hope. As a woman who really wants to own her thought, communicates with other person in mind. She discovers Hurstwood is better than Drouet and agrees to leave Drouet.2.3 A Lonely TimeDrouet introduces Carrie to his friend Hurstwood, the manager of Fitzgerald and Moys, a saloon in Chicago. When Carrie plays card with Mr. Hurstwood, she finds Hurstwood is far more clever and elegant than Drouet. Then she gets in touch with him when Drouet is out of home. Carrie gradually is attracted by Mr. Hurstwood and even falls in love with him. He tells Carrie that he loves her, but he fails to mention that he is married. Hurstwood has a high social position, the established home and family. However, in reality, he is not satisfied with the surface of performing. He is not own real authority in his family. In another words, the authority belongs to her wife in law. When he meets Carrie, he concerns to the theater with Carrie. He regains his self-esteem. They love and care with each other. Carrie believes she meets a right man and has a real love. She does not know she is cheated. But she feels so disappointed when she knows the truth through Drouet. After Hurstwoods wife discovered the affair with Carrie, he made a decision. He gives up his good reputation and his family, managed to leave for New York with Carrie. Because of lacking money, he steals much money from Fitzgerald. Carrie is told that they would have a new life in New York. And Hurstwood would like to marry her. Carrie thinks she gets Hurstwoods love and he owns wealth. They would be happy in another city. So she pursues her real love bravely. She begins her new life with Hurstwood. Nevertheless, the new life is not good. She has realized Hurstwood lost many things such as money, good social position, and good reputation by that time. Although Hurstwood struggles to find a job, and tries his best to regain his lost things, the life is not good either. When Hurstwood has almost not enough money, Carrie decides that she has to find a job to support their life. Soon she gets a job as an actor in a theatre with her effort. As her career rises and her social status gets higher. She realizes Hurstwood is no longer the man she admires. Therefore, she comes to the conclusion that she should leave him. She believes her ability would be supported herself without Hurstwood. Meanwhile, Hurstwood is accepted Carries choice and he would not like to be Carries burden. At the end, Carrie pursues her career and successfully established her status, when Hurstwood becomes poor. Although she becomes a success, her life is alone. As far as I am concerned, as a woman, Carrie is more brave and confident even independent.3 Feminist Reflected in Carrie3.1 The Definition of FeministFeminism is a relatively recent term for the politics of equal rights for women. The terms feminism or feminist firstly appeared in France and Netherlands in 1872 (as les fministes), Great Britain in the 1890s, and The United States in 1910, and many languages do not have this noun at all. It is also a system of critique and has as its central focus the concept of patriarchy, which can be described as a system of male authority, which oppresses women through its social, political, and economic institutions. Therefore Feminism can be challenging, but a broad understanding of it includes the acting, speaking, writing, and advocating on behalf of womens issues and rights and identifying injustice to females in the social status.Historian and activist Cheris Kramarae once famously remarked that “feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” (Xi Huiling, 2003:21) Feminism, as a movement, is about women living on equal terms with men-and not pushed down, by law or by culture, into a subservient role. It is generally broken down into several historical “waves”. First-wave feminism , which lasts from the 18th century until World War II and is centered on securing basic civil rights, such as the right to vote and to own property ; Second-wave feminism , which lasts from the end of World War II until the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1980s and centered on achieving equality in the workplace, protecting reproductive choice, and attempting to pass the ERA ; and third-wave feminism , which incorporates racial justice, LGBT rights, and class oppression into the feminist worldview and seeks real, practical equality for all women. Feminism, however, is not only a critique or an extension of, traditional ideologies but has also made a significant contribution of its own in the field of theory and praxis. Feminist methodology, which arises from a tradition of consciousness raising in the womens movement and by drawing upon womens subject experience to extend the boundaries of theory has, for example, finds an important place in the field of methodological analysis.3.2 Womens Status Reflected by Carrie3.2.1 BackgroundDreisers Sister Carrie，published in 1900. United States was in a transition from traditional industry to modern industry. It had created an opportunity for the development of modern industrial city, and also provided a number of opportunities for employment. Great changes had also taken place in peoples minds, and even confused and bewildered. The early of nineteenth century, the law of the United States was not considered married on the legal equality between women and their husban