1、<p>　　本科畢業(yè)論文(設(shè)計)</p><p>　題 目：On the Conflicts between Ideal and Reality in Dreiser’s An American Tragedy</p><p>　學(xué) 院：</p><p>　學(xué)生姓名：</p><p>　專 業(yè)：英語</p&g

2、t;<p>　班 級：</p><p>　指導(dǎo)教師：</p><p>　起止日期：</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　Abstract1</p><p>　　Introduction3</p><p>　　1.

3、The Evolution of American Dream4</p><p>　　1.1 The Definition and Origin of American Dream4</p><p>　　1.2The Development of American Dream5</p><p>　　1.3 The Dissimilation of Amer

4、ican Dream6</p><p>　　2 The Conflicts between Ideal and Reality in An American Tragedy7</p><p>　　2.1 Clyde’s American Dream7</p><p>　　2.2 The Reality That Leads Clyde Astray8<

5、/p><p>　　2.3 Contradictions Intensified: The Unrealized Dream vs. Harsh Reality9</p><p>　　2.4 Clyde, a Victim of American Dream10</p><p>　　3 American Dream Dissimilated by the Consum

6、er Culture11</p><p>　　3.1 A Brief Introduction to the Consumer Culture11</p><p>　　3.2 Conspicuous Consumption11</p><p>　　3.3 The Reflections of Conspicuous Consumption in An Amer

7、ican Tragedy12</p><p>　　Conclusion14</p><p>　　References15</p><p><b>　　摘要</b></p><p>　　西奧多·德萊塞是20世紀(jì)美國文學(xué)史上一位杰出的自然主義作家，同海明威、?？思{一道被譽(yù)為美國現(xiàn)代小說三巨頭。德萊塞在作品中用

8、自然主義的手法描述了美國的各個方面，無情的揭露了資本主義社會黑暗與腐敗。</p><p>　　《美國悲劇》是其代表作，也是一部批判美國夢的力作。小說描繪了主人公克萊德·格里菲斯受到美國夢的誘惑，深信人人都能成功，不管家世和背景，逐漸道德淪喪，墮落成殺人犯的故事。《美國悲劇》展現(xiàn)了美國的現(xiàn)實是一種”殘酷的、不公道的現(xiàn)實”，是一個”毀滅的過程，而幸福只不過是幻想而已”。國內(nèi)外學(xué)者對于德萊塞作品的研究很多，大

9、多集中于其現(xiàn)實主義和自然主義的問題、反映資本主義和社會矛盾的問題及小說人物分析等等，評論者大多持肯定態(tài)度。本課題擬探索理想與現(xiàn)實的沖突，揭示當(dāng)代的一些社會問題。本文分為三章，從美國夢的起源、發(fā)展、演化對美國夢進(jìn)行簡要的回顧；對主人公克萊德的成長，墮落的人生軌跡進(jìn)行分析；從消費文化的角度探討出拜金主義對主人公的消極影響，揭示美國夢的虛妄。</p><p>　　本論文通過對以上三個問題的具體闡述，揭露資本主義虛偽的民

10、主制度和驕奢淫逸的生活方式，并呼吁人們正確認(rèn)識美國夢，認(rèn)清理想與現(xiàn)實中的嚴(yán)重沖突。</p><p>　　[關(guān)鍵詞] 美國夢；理想；現(xiàn)實；消費文化</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　Theodore Dreiser is an outstanding American naturalistic writer

11、, acclaimed to be one of the three giants of American novelists in the 20th century together with E. Hemingway and W. Faulkner. Dreiser starts a new era of the American literature by excelling in naturalist style and exp

12、osing the darkness and corruption of the capitalist society.</p><p>　　Dreiser has exposed the negative side of American Dream in An American Tragedy, his masterpiece. It’s a story about Clyde, a young man wh

13、o commits a ruthless murder, which leads to his arrest. The hero is a victim of American Dream, convinced that everyone can succeed regardless of family background. An American Tragedy exposes the dark side of society of

14、 the United States, embodying the severe conflicts between ideal and reality. Ever since its publication, An American Tragedy has been a contro</p><p>　　[Key Words] American Dream；ideal；reality；consumer cult

15、ure</p><p>　　On the Conflicts between Ideal and Reality in Dreiser’s An American Tragedy</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　Theodore Dreiser is acclaimed to be one of the greatest novel

16、ists in American literature history in the twentieth century. He plays an active role in describing people’s authentic lives without prejudice in his novels. He criticizes the so-called “American Dream” and considers it

17、to be false and cruel. Dreiser’s works have a very powerful influence on many famous writers of his generation. Sinclair Lewis firmly acknowledges Dreiser’s great contribution to American literature in his speech accept&

18、lt;/p><p>　　Theodore Dreiser is regarded as one of the representatives of American naturalism in the 20th century. He was a reporter when he was young. In 1892, Dreiser took employment in Global Newspaper in Ch

19、icago, so he had a deep and specific understanding of social phenomena. And then he cultivated the ability to discovery and analysis problems. As a journalist, Dreiser had his own views on specific social issues and he h

20、ad his own standards for the news whether to be reported. However, he often felt t</p><p>　　Dreiser has always been a disputable writer. And the disputes have last for more than a century in American literat

21、ure history. Until now, studies on Dreiser’s works can be divided into several parts. First of all, a lot of studies have been done on the naturalism reflected in his novel. H.L. Mencken stated that Theodore Dreiser had

22、absorbed the theories of Hawthorn and Spencer which were useful to his creation so that he could bring the great sense of surprise to literature in his book A book o</p><p>　　An American Tragedy is Dreiser’s

23、 masterpiece. The hero is a victim of American Dream who is convinced that everyone can succeed regardless of family background. The American Dream is hastened into a nightmare. This paper intends to study the conflicts

24、between the ideal and reality in Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. By analyzing the consumer culture of the first two decades in the 20th century, the reason why American Dream disillusioned today can be rarely explained. T

25、he American Dream is the typ</p><p>　　1.The Evolution of American Dream</p><p>　　1.1The Definition and Origin of American Dream</p><p>　　The American Dream is a national ethos of

26、the United States that all the people can achieve wealth and success through their hard work. James Adams defined this literary term as: “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for eac

27、h according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are cre

28、ated equal” and th</p><p>　　The origin of American Dream can be traced back to the 1600s. With the discovery of America, many Europeans began to come up with all sorts of aspirations for the new and largely

29、unexplored continent. And most of these dreams focused on owning land and establishing prosperous businesses. At the same time, England’s Puritans encounter the persecution. They wanted to find a place where they could w

30、orship God. And more than 100 British Puritans came to the North American continent by taking a boat </p><p>　　“In the name of God, Amen, We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sove

31、reign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king

32、and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and c</p><p>　　This is an im

33、portant political document in American history. It not only provides for equality and fairness, but also implied the Puritans of the spirit of arduous struggle. In according with the Mayflower Compact, Puritans started t

34、heir New World life. Their dream was to build “a city upon the hill” - an Eden garden of material and spiritual perfection. As a result, their heroic efforts strongly moved the progress of the social material and spiritu

35、al civilization. That’s the origin of American </p><p>　　1.2The Development of American Dream</p><p>　　The American Dream has different meanings in different times. 300 years ago, the Puritans

36、encountered persecution in England and then came to North American for a new life. They were eager to get rid of oppression, and they hoped everyone had equal power. In their eyes, the United States was the right place t

37、o nurture their dreams. So from the very start, “Equal rights” had become a connotation of American Dream. Besides, American Dream also includes the connotation of “Everyone can succeed.” La</p><p>　　In 1776

38、, the American War of Independence broke out and the American people gained their victory. The Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson said, “…It held certain truths to be self-evident, that all men are c

39、reated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Jefferson, 1776) For Americans, freedom and equality is not only

40、an ideal, a belief, but also a system and way of life</p><p>　　In the late 18th and early 19th century, plenty of gold was discovered in the west of the United States. This started a gold rush unlike any oth

41、er in American history in Golden States. Some people became rich overnight. The gold rush pushes new wave of westward expansion and contributed to development of American Dream. In this period of history, the Americans’

42、American dreams are colorful and bright. </p><p>　　Before the Civil War, the United States began to industrialize. Lots of European immigrants came to New York, Chicago and other emerging industrial cities.

43、Since then, America’s economy had been at its high prosperity. Countless people in America started off with little more than their ability to work and made great achievements. Such as the founder of the General Electric

44、Company, Edison; the inventor of the automobile production line, Ford; the founder of Mobil Oil, John Rockefeller and so on.</p><p>　　1.3 The Dissimilation of American Dream </p><p>　　During the

45、 middle of the 19th century, the United States ended the civil war. The North won the final victory for the capitalist development of the capitalist development of the United States cleared the way complete. A handful of

46、 financial magnates manipulated the American’s economic lifeline and political power. It leads to the polarization, to a situation where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. The society was full of hypocrisy, d

47、ishonesty, robbery, fraud, selfish and evil. At th</p><p>　　In the 20th century, The United State endured two world wars and the Great Depression. The societal value system appeared to be at risk. There was

48、the lost generation after the First World War, and then the beat generation after the Second World War. People were disillusioned at American Dream. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said: “Here was a new generation, shouting the o

49、ld cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil </p><p>　　Many Americans today, have lost their faith in the concept of th

50、e American Dream. Even so, the American Dream still exists. It has become ingrained in American culture. Everybody has a unique interpretation of what the American Dream might be. Fundamentally, the American Dream is abo

51、ut life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone. It’s a good thing, and no good thing ever dies. </p><p>　　2 The Conflicts between Ideal and Reality in An American Tragedy</p><p>　　2

52、.1 Clyde’s American Dream </p><p>　　As the hero of Dreiser’s masterpiece An American Tragedy, at the very beginning of the novel, Clyde was a twelve years old boy who born in a poor priest’s family. Just lik

53、e the other children in the lower class, he had a pure heart and a bright future full of fantasy. But Clyde had to preach from street to street everyday with his family since 6 years old. As a matter of fact, he didn’t e

54、njoy this at all and wanted to fly away from the preach life. Just like Dreiser said in the novel, “To-night,</p><p>　　At the same time, Clyde witnessed many rich men embraced the ruthless pursuit of wealth

55、and power by fair means or foul. But he had to live a quite unremarkable life as a missionary as matter stand. Therefore, decides to sprout an idea. He had to be a man of wealth. “His life should not be like this. Other

56、boys did not have to do as he did. He meditated now more determinedly than ever a rebellion by which he would rid himself of the need of going out in this way…It served to make him rebellious </p><p>　　2.2 T

57、he Reality That Leads Clyde Astray </p><p>　　When he was 16, Clyde came to an imposing hotel called Green-Davidson. It’s a kingdom of Heaven of the bourgeoisie. In short, it was compact, of all that gauche

58、luxury of appointment which, as someone once sarcastically remarked, was intended to supply “exclusiveness to the masses.” And Clyde realized the charm of money there again. He witnessed some young girls betrayed their o

59、wn body in front of the money. He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendors of the change rapidly world. Since then, his </p><p>　　Clyde devoted his life to the pursuit of pleasure. Even he knew his sister nee

60、ded money badly. He would spend money on please his girlfriend rather than meet his sister’s urgent needs. Egoism was the only criterion for his life. </p><p>　　“He choked and swallowed a little, for lying t

61、o his mother in this way was not easy. In fact, he had never had occasion to lie in connection with anything so trying--and so despicably. For here was fifty dollars in his pocket at the moment, with Hortense on the one

62、hand and his mother and sister on the other, and the money would solve his mother’s problem as fully as it would Hortense’s, and more respectably. How terrible it was not to help her…” (Dreiser, 1925: 128-129) </p>

63、<p>　　And later, unfortunately, Clyde and his friends’ carelessness accounted for an 11-year-old kid’s death in a car accident. In order to evade responsibility, Clyde fled from Kansas. This accident planted the s

64、eeds of evil in his heart. To Clyde, the experience in the Green-Davison was an important life stage. And it was also the process of degeneration of his initial American Dream. And later, during Clyde’s three rambling ye

65、ars, Clyde has seen the completely fickleness of human relationship and t</p><p>　　2.3 Contradictions Intensified: The Unrealized Dream vs. Harsh Reality</p><p>　　Three year later, Clyde met his

66、 uncle Samuel Griffiths. And his uncle said he would do Clyde a favor to work in his collar manufactory. After Clyde became a ganger of printing and dyeing workshop, people around him showed great respect for him and eve

67、n several girls tried to attract his attention. He really enjoyed this sense of superiority. And this sense of superiority continued for a long time and deeply rooted in his heart. Took the advantage of work, Clyde knew

68、a girl called Roberta and fal</p><p>　　But life was harsh, realistic. Clyde faced plenty of obstacles on the way to his insatiable American Dream. On the one hand, Clyde found Roberta pregnant. As a traditio

69、nal girl, Roberta had no choice but to keep pressing Clyde to marry her. But Clyde was more concerned than ever lest his relationship to Roberta should in any way prove inimical to all this. On the other hand, Sondra was

70、 born in a big bourgeoisie. Her parents would never allow her daughter married a man who of inferior status in a</p><p>　　2.4 Clyde, a Victim of American Dream</p><p>　　To conclude, Clyde was th

71、e victim of American Dream. And he was the typical of the lower part of American society in that period. He was born in poverty, and influenced by money worship. He devoted his life to the pursuit of pleasure. With his h

72、andsome appearance and petty trick, Clyde was favored by someone. So he could have a decent life. However, he could not resist the temptation of money and beauty. Step by step, Clyde was consumed by his unchecked desire

73、and finally ruined life for it. “He</p><p>　　3 American Dream Dissimilated by the Consumer Culture</p><p>　　3.1 A Brief Introduction to the Consumer Culture</p><p>　　The concept of

74、consumer culture is originated in the early 20th century, during the period of knows as Modernism. With end of the industrial revolution, capitalism economy develops rapidly. The industrial revolution creates a heretofor

75、e unseen economic situation where the products were available in good quality and low price. So it’s possible for almost anyone to purchase. Besides, owing to the high cost of industrial factories, products could not be

76、stopped even after enough productions have be</p><p>　　3.2 Conspicuous Consumption </p><p>　　The term conspicuous consumption was introduced by the famous American economist and sociologist Thor

77、stein Veble in his book The Theory of the Leisure Class in 1899. It could be considered the physical manifestation of the alienation of consumption. Veblen referred to the nouveau riche, who went out of their way to make

78、 large expenditures in order to purchase their way into a social position that would be respected by upper class families. To them, status was determined by birth, family backgrou</p><p>　　3.3 The Reflection

79、s of Conspicuous Consumption in An American Tragedy </p><p>　　An American Tragedy, mirrors his tortuous life and tragically fate through the image of Clyde, and exposed deeply the social evil of conspic

80、uous consumption. By the above analysis, we can draw a conclusion that Clyde Griffith’s tragedy result from his insatiable desire and resorts to unscrupulous way in pursuing his American Dream. This is an American traged

81、y in which the whole society has played a part. Because the social discussion about ideology was dismissed and new space for mundane desires</p><p>　　“Clyde Griffiths lives in a consumer society. The fetishi

82、sm flourishing at that time, the materialization of the relationships between people and the discrepancy in wealth between classes are among the factors which cause him to commit the crime. He is a victim of American con

83、sumer society.” (Li, 2007:7)</p><p>　　In the novel, Green-Davidson Hotel was depicted an epitome of American society. It was full of the trend of that money was powerful, and honesty was awful. There were ma

84、ny tenants of every description lived in it. But most of them had some thing in common. It was that they were keen to seek the fame and want to establish their reputation in order to show that they were upper class or mi

85、llionaires. “Also, like most hotels of its kind, it was frequented by a certain type of eager and ambitious mal</p><p>　　Additionally, most the characters in An American Tragedy were young people. They embod

86、ied the distortion of consumer culture in the novel. To the young master, gold is God. They all grew up under this cultural atmosphere. Frequently they hold parties to invite lots of friends so that their wealth can be s

87、hown off clearly. When Clyde was invited to the party, he realized that it was what he really pursuing. Such as horse riding, car races, rowing boats and so on. The luxurious life had a direct i</p><p>　　Cly

88、de has never realized the massive conflict between ideal and reality. Whenever he met obstacles on his way to happiness, he would only choose the escape. And when he cannot escape, he chooses to go to the extremes. The c

89、onstantly pursue unchecked dream inevitable when things reach their extreme they turn back. Clyde’s tragedy is not the tragedy of himself, but the tragedy of American society. The alienation of consumption does not bring

90、 happiness. The grand essentials of happiness are somethi</p><p>　　Conclusion</p><p>　　An American Tragedy is of great social significance. Dreiser has an insight into the American society. He i

91、s the first outstanding writer in American literature in the twentieth century. And all his lifetime has been spent on fighting with the capitalist class. Although he has never won the Noble Prize, Theodore Dreiser is un

92、disputed one of the most important American writers in American literary history. An American Tragedy exposes the luxury and voluptuous lifestyle in upper class. It transfor</p><p>　　Clyde doesn’t have an op

93、portunity to stop and think clearly, repent, and start over after the tragedy. On the way of pursuing American dream, he has no correct understanding of the conflict between ideal and reality. “The line of demarcation an

94、d stratification between the rich and the poor in Lycurgus was as sharp as though cut by a knife or divided by a high wall,” (Dreiser, 1964:249) True to Dreiser’s words, the chaste American dream has been ruined in the s

95、ociety which desires nothing but ma</p><p>　　References</p><p>　　Adams. American Dream. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream. 2012.3.4. </p><p>　　Dreiser, Theodore. A

96、n American Tragedy[M]. T.Y. Crowell Company. 1996.</p><p>　　Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ United_States_Declaration_of_Independence. 2012.3.12</p>&

97、lt;p>　　Mencken, H. L. A Book of Preface[M]. New York: A.A. Knopf. 1917.</p><p>　　Sherman, Stuart. The Barbaric Naturalism of Theodore Dreiser[J]. The Nation 1915(2):85-101.</p><p>　　Separatis

98、ts. Mayflower Compact. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact. 2012.3.15.</p><p>　　Veres, B. The Fall of the American Dream: In Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy[M]. VDM Verlag