小鎮(zhèn)畸人中的人物分析

1、ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIwishtoexpressmysincerethankstolotsofpeoplewhohavecontributedtothisthesis.First,IshouldthankalltheteachersofForeignLanguageDepartmentfortheirexcellentandpatientguidanceduringmystudyinZaozhuangUniversity.MysincereanddeepappreciationalsogoestomysupervisorGeXiaoxiaforherconstantencourag

2、ementandvaluableguidanceforme.Shehaswalkedmethroughallthestagesofthewritingofthisthesis.Withoutherconsistentandpatientinstruction,thisthesiscouldnothavereacheditspresentform.Meanwhile,mythankswouldgotomybelovedfamilyfortheirconsiderationandsupportallthroughtheseyears.Withoutmyparentspatienceandlove,

3、Icannotendurethehardshipandpaininmylife.Besides,IamgratefultoallmyfellowclassmatesandroommatesfortheirhelpandcarewhenIhavedifficultiesinwritingthethesis.ABSTRACTAndersonSherwood(1876-1941)isoneofthemostinfluentialAmericanwritersintheearlytwentiethcentury.HeearnsanimportantplaceinAmericanliteraturefo

4、rhisfamousshortstories.Winesburg,OhioisAnderson'smostsuccessfularndiousworkthatconsistsoftwentyfiveinterrelatedbutindependentstoriesconcerningtownspeopletermedbyAndersonas“grotesques”Thispaperconsistsoffivechapters.Chapteroneintroducestheauthorandthenovel.Chaptertwoanalyzestheimagesofthegrotesqu

5、epeoplewhoarepainfullystrugglingintheplightofloneliness,frustrationandrepression.Thisanalysishelpstounderstandtheircharacterandweirdbehaviors.Chapterthreediscussesthefundamentalreasonspfople'grotesqueness.Theyareexploredmainlyfromtheexternalandinternalaspects.Chapterfourintroducesthewaystosalvat

6、ionofgrotesques.Althoughtheyareunacceptablebythecommonpeople,theydonotthoroughlyfeelhopelessandtheynevergiveuptheirpursuitofunderstandingandlove.Chapterfivemakesaconclusionofthethesis.Theanalysisofthegrotesqueshelpstofullyunderstandthenovelandthesocialbackground.Throughanalyzing,theliteratureandsoci

7、alsignificancecanalsobewellcaptured.Theearlytwentiethcenturyseesatransitionalperiodfromanagriculturalsocietytoanindustrialone.Asaspokesmanofthisperiod,Andersonshowsusthefateoftheunknowngrotesqueswithhiskeenobservation.Theylongforloveandfreedombutusedtoisolatethemselves.Theyhavethemostintenseemotiona

8、ndfeelingbutfailtoexpress.Theindustrializedsocietyandtheflawsintheircharacterbringthemconfusion.Theybegintosaystrangewords,dooddthings,andfinallybecomegrotesques.KeyWords:AndersonSherwood,Winesburg,Ohio,Grotesques舍伍德安德森(1876-1941)是美國二十世紀初期最具影響力的作家之一。安德森卓越的短篇小說作品奠定他在美國文學史上重要地位。小鎮(zhèn)畸人是安德森最成功也是最著名的一部作品。這

9、部作品由二十五個互相關(guān)聯(lián)乂相對獨立的故事組成，作品中的人物則是被安德森稱為“畸人”的小鎮(zhèn)居民。本文主要有五部分，第一部介紹了作者及所處時代背景。第二部分是分析畸人形象，了解畸人的行為心理特征，他們行為言語怪異，心理扭曲，心情壓抑、消沉。第三部分是分析畸人形成的原因，既有外在的社會原因乂有內(nèi)在的個人問題。第四部分是分析畸人的救贖之路。雖然他們不被常人所接納，但他們始終對自己抱有希望，用實際行動進行對愛與理解的追求。第五部分是對論文做出總結(jié)。本論文對畸人進行分析，對于全面理解小說，深入了解作品創(chuàng)作的時代社會背景，以及作品的文學意義和社會意義有一定幫助。二十世紀初的美國正經(jīng)歷從農(nóng)業(yè)社會到工業(yè)社會的轉(zhuǎn)

10、變，作為社會轉(zhuǎn)型時期的代言人，安德森以其敏銳的觀察力向我們展示了不為所知的畸人的命運，他們渴望愛與自由卻往往自我隔離，擁有最強烈的感情而疏于表達。這種自身性格方面的缺陷和對工業(yè)文明的無所適從，讓他們困惑迷茫、言行怪異，最終成為時代的畸人。關(guān)鍵詞：舍伍德安德森，小鎮(zhèn)畸人，畸人CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTSi.ABSTRACTi.i.摘要Lii.CONTENTSi.v.ChapterOneIntroduction1.1.1 IntroductionofAndersonSherwoodandWinesburg,Ohio1LiteratureReviewofWinesburg,Ohi

11、o2ChapterTwoTheImagesoftheGrotesques31.1 TheConceptofGrotesque TheLonely,FrustratedandRepressedGrotesques3AdolphMyersin“Hands： ElizabethWillardsin.：.Mother：4JesseBentleyin“Godliness.'i.5.1.2 AspecialGrotesque.5.ChapterThreeTheReasonsoftheFormationoftheGrotesques6.ExternalReasons.7.

12、InternalReasons8.ChapterFourTheRoadstoSalvationoftheGrotesques9ContactingwithGeorgeWillard9.RunningAwayofGeorgeWillard1.0ChapterFiveConclusion1.1REFERENCES1.3ChapterOneIntroduction1.1 IntroductionofAndersonSherwoodandWinesburg,OhioAndersonSherwoodisanimportantfigureinmodernliterature.Hiswritinghasde

13、eplyinfluencedmanywriterssuchasHartCrane,ErskineCaldwell,ErnestHemingway,HenryMiller,WilliamFaulknerandNathanaelWest.WilliamFaulkneroncesaidthathecouldonlywritesimplepoemsandamateurstuffbeforehemetAnderson.sAndersonthatgavehiminspirationandledhimtoacorrectroadofcreation.InthemagazineParisReview,Faul

14、knerdeclaredAnderson'sstature,“HdsthefatherofmygenerationofAmericanwritersandthetraditionofAmericanwritingwhichoursuccessorswillcarryon"(Malcolm,1971).AndersonwasborninClyde,Ohio,asmallandpoortownthatwasexperiencingatransitionalperiodfromtheoldhandicraftstomodernmachines.TheIncreasingwealth

15、andmaterialproductionmadepeoplefeelemptyandrepressiveinpsychologyandthedecliningagriculturemadenumerouspeoplefeelmoremiserable.Duetopoverty,inhisearlytwenties,AndersonwenttoChicagotomakealiving.Throughmanyyears'hardworking,Andersonbecameamemberofmiddleclass.Butwealthdidnotbringhimtruehappiness.H

16、edeterminedtoabandonhisbusinessandbeganliterarycreationthatheliked.Specialexperiencemadehimhaveadeeperunderstandingandinterpretationofhumanity.Hepaidattentiontoportrayinghumanemotion,catchingthemomentaryfeelingsofthefigures,torevealingthepersonalityofthecharactersandthemysterieshiddenintheirinnermos

17、t.In1919,AndersonSherwoodpublishedWinesburg,Ohio,ashortstorycycle,inwhichAndersonwellappliedthiswritingstyleandthisnovelmadehimagreatsuccess.Winesburg,Ohioismadeupof25shortstoriesanddepicts23grotesquesinthetownWinesburg.Thesestoriescanbelinkedtogether.Theyhavethesamesetting:anAmericanMidwesterntowna

18、ndthesametheme:loneliness,alienationanddesireforcommunication.Meanwhile,eachofthestoriescanalsobeseenasanindependentbiographyofagrotesque.Thedeformedcharactershavedifferentawkwardappearancesandoddbehaviors.Forexample,WingBiddlebauminthestoryHands"wasafatoldmanwithtangledhair.Healwaysputhistremb

19、linghandsinhispocketorbehindhisbackbecausehecouldnotcontrolthem.Almosteveryevening,hewalkedanxiouslyonthehalfrottenporchwaitingforGeorge.HeexpectedGeorgetocomeandconversewithhim.In“Paperill/'thecharacterReefwasanolddoctorwithwhitemustache,bignoseandbighands,stayinginhisemptyclinicallday.AliceHyn

20、dmaninAdventure”wasanoldmaidwhonakedlyranonthestreetinasnowynight.ComparedwiththesuccessfulpeopleinWinesburg,thesegrotesquesaregraduallyforgotten.Althoughthegrotesquesareweirdandunacceptablebycommonpeople,theyneverstopthepursuitforothersunderstandingandacceptance.Nomatterwhatthelifeislike,theyalways

21、possesstheirvaluabledreams.WingBiddlebaumoncetoldGeorgethatheshouldstartdreaming.Inaway,theyareagroupoflovelypeoplethatdeservetobeunderstoodandrespected.1.2 LiteratureReviewofWinesburg,OhioWinesburg,OhioisconsideredasAnderson'mostoutstandingnovelwhicharousesmanycriticsattention.Somecriticstendto

22、regarditasbeingnaturalisticorrealistic.TheythinkthatAndersonattemptstoexpoundthetheoryofauniverseofmechanisticforcesoperatingonhispeople.Hetriestofocusontheconstantandcarefulaccumulationofrealisticdetails”(Ferres,1966).SomecriticsdiscussitfromageographicalpointofviewforAndersonsetsthebackgroundinaMi

23、d-westerntown.TheyputAndersoninthesamefieldwithMarkTwainwhoisthemasterinthenativeAmericanmodernliterature.Andmorerecently,manycriticsanalyzetheworkfromamorepopularsociologicalpointofview.Theworktendstobeinterpretedwithreferencetosuchwordsasloneliness,frustration,repressionandsoon.TheyholdthatWinesbu

24、rg,OhioisasystematicexplorationofMidwesternerlivingsituationduringthetransitionalperiodinAmericanhistoryfromthepastoralsocietytotheindustrialsociety”(Simolke,1999).Theyfindthatwiththecomingofthemachineage,theoldagrarianeconomygraduallydisappearsinthetownandthetownspeoplewhoarestrugglingintheindustri

25、alizedworldbecomedeformedphysicallyorspirituallymoreorless.ThroughexploringthedeformedcharactersinWinesburgOhio,thepapercangetadeepappreciationofAndersonSherwoodandhisgrotesqueimageswhicharesoimportantinAmerican1iterature.Theresearchonthegrotesquecharactersinthisnovelcanalsoenlightenthemodernpeoplew

26、hoareinthesameplightinanindustrialworld.2.1 ChapterTwoTheImagesoftheGrotesquesTheConceptofGrotesqueTheoriginoftheword"grotesquecanbetracedbacktoItaliangrotto".Itreferstodecorativeornamentssuchasrocks,pebblesandmedallionssphinxes.Inliteraryfield,itusually“signifiewhatisridiculous,bizarre,or

27、unnatural(Crowley,1988).Itdeviatesfromdesirablestandardofharmony,balance,andproportion.Itisoftenusedforcomicandexaggeratedsarcasticeffectsinphysicalandbehavioralcaricature.InOxfordAdvancedLearner'sgBeh-ChineseDictionary,grotesque'isdefinedassomethingstrangelydistortedandunnaturalsoastogiveri

28、setolaughterorfear.GrotesqueholdsauniquepositioninAmericanliteraryhistory.DieterMendelremarksinhisAmericanFictionandtheMetaphysicsoftheGrotesque,“ThegrotesquepresentsallimportantandlargelyunexploredaspectofthegrowthanddevelopmentofAmericanfictionandendowsAmericanfictionwithatradition,orcontinuityoft

29、hediscontinuous(Dieter,1991).Thistraditiongreatlyanddeeplyaffectsmanyfamousliterarywriters.Accordingly,numerousexcellentgrotesqueworksappearinAmericanliterature.ThedevelopmentofgrotesqueliteraturegreatlyinfluencesandshapestheliteratureoftheUnitedStates.Therearemanymasterswhoareskilledindepictinggrot

30、esquesinAmerica,andamongthemAndersonSherwoodisaneminentone.InWinesburg,Ohio,Andersonevolvestheconceptof“grotesqueto”makeclearwhathasmadehispeoplephysicalstrangersandspiritualoutsiders.Forinstance,n“Paperill,"DoctorReefwasastrangeandlonelymanstayinginhisemptyclinicwiththeneveropenedwindowhungwit

31、hcobwebs.Herarelysteppedoutandhealwaysworethesameclothes.Hishobbywastoputscrapesofpaperrecordinghisthoughtandfeelingintohispocket.Whenthepocketwasfull,hepouredthesmallpaperballontothefloororsometimesthrewthemathisonlyfriendJohn.Anderson'susageofgrotesquedoesnotmeandisgustorrevulsion.Instead,heco

32、mparesthegrotesquesto“thetwistedttieapples”leftbehindinthorchardsfortheirsurfaceblemishes.However,theseimperfectapplesarethesweetestones.Astothetownspeople,thoughtheirwordsandbehaviorsarestrange,theyalsohavethebeautifulandlovelyside.Andersonrevealsthatthephysicalandspiritualdeformitiesoftheso-called

33、grotesquesmerelyintensifytheirlongingforunderstanding,loveandacceptance.Thegrotesquesinthetownwerenotallhorrible.Somewereamusing,somealmostbeautifyl(Anderson,2004).2.2 Thelonely,FrustratedandRepressedGrotesquesWinesburg,Ohioconsistsof25shortstoriestakingplaceinthesmalltownWinesburg.Thenovelcanbeview

34、edasawhole,becausethestoriesinitarelinkedtogetherbythenewspaperreporterGeorgeWillardwhowitnessesthesufferingandstrugglingofthegrotesquepeopleinthesmalltown.Meanwhile,eachstorycanalsobeseenasindependent.Everydeformedcharacterhashisorheruniqueexperience.Theirawkwardappearancesandoddbehaviorsarediffere

35、ntfromeachother.Thispapermainlyanalyzesthreecharactersofthenovel.TheyareWingBiddlebauminHands”，ElizabethWillardsinMother”andJesseBentleyinGodliness”.2.2.1 AdolphMyersinHands”Thereadercanfirstlyfeeltheloneliness,frustrationandrepressionfromthefirstcharacterwhoisintroducedinthestoryofHands".Ittol

36、dapitifulgrotesquenamedWingBiddlebaumwhogotthenicknameforhishandswerealwaysrestlesslikethebeatingofthewingsofanimprisonedbird.Wingalwaysstrivedtoconcealhishandsinthepocketsorbehindhisback.AdolphMyersinHands”wasonceateacheroftenexpressinghisaffectionandlovefortheboysthroughhiswarmcaresseswithhishands

37、.Butafoolishboytoldthetownspeopletheteacherdidtheunspeakablethingstohimwhichdidnothappeninfact.SopeopleinthetownweresoangrythattheybeatAdolphMyersanddrovehimoutofthetown.AdolphMyersescapedtothetownWinesburg,changedhisnameandlivedalonethere.Losingthecourageandabilitytobeateacher,hebecamealaborerinthe

38、smalltown.Withhisflexiblehands,hecouldpickgreatquantityofstrawberries.Everyoneknewhewasagoodberrypicker.Hishandswhichwereusedforcommunicationandexpressionnowbroughthimfame,whichsoundsironic.Thismadeanalreadygrotesquemoregrotesque.WingalwayswentbackandforthontheporchwaitingandhopingthatGeorgewouldcom

39、eandspendtheeveningwithhimsothathecouldgetsomecomfortandberelievedfromloneliness,frustrationandrepressionforawhile.ElizabethWillardsinMother”InthefourthstoryMother”,thecharacterElizabethWillardsisdescribedasawomanwhoembodiesthespirituallonelinessandsexualfrustrationofthewomeninthetown.Shehasthedesir

40、etoexpressherself,butistoosilenttodoso.Inthestory,ElizabethWillardwhowasbroughtupbyhercarelessfatherhadamiserablechildhood.Gettingnomaternallove,shegrewupandbecameawomanwithstrongdesireforloveandchange.Atthattime,shewasabeautifulgirlwhooncesurprisedthetownspeoplebywearingmen'sclothesandridingabi

41、keonMainStreet.Shelikedadventuresinlifeanddreamtofbecominganactor.Butitfailedwhenpeopleinthetheatricalcompanytoldherthatit'sasdullanduninterestingashere(Anderson,2004).Sosheattemptedtorealizeherdreamsbydatingwithmenatnight,whichcouldnotbeacceptedbytheconventionalrules.Throughthisway,infact,Eliza

42、bethseeksforthemeaningofherlifeandwhatshereallypursuesisthetruelove.Butshestillfeelslonelyandrepressedfortheseadventuresdonotchangeherlife.LatershemetTomandherhopewasonceagainignited.ButherhastymarriagetoTombroughthernothingbutmorefrustrationandrepression.Herhusbandwasabigtalker,anotsoresponsiblemem

43、berinthefamily,insteadofadesirablematewhichshesoughtforinherwholelife.Hersenseoffrustrationanddisillusionmentmadethewomanhopelessandspiritless.“EverythinQnthelifeofthesuppressedspiritturnsouttobegreyanddisappointing”(Ren,2007).Disappointedatlove,marriageandherownlife,shewasunabletoloveorrespectherhu

44、sbandandshefocusedherloveandinterestonhersonGeorgeWillard.WhenshefoundthattheconversationbetweenherhusbandandGeorgehadabadeffectonherson,withgreathatred,shewantedtokillTomwiththescissorsasthedagger.ThoughshewasfullofhopeandlovetowardsGeorge,shedidnotknowhowtoexpressherthoughtsandfeelings.Everytimewh

45、enshewantedtotalkwithherson,shetrembledwithexcitement,nevershowedherjoyandsorrowforit'simpossibleforher.InthestoryDeath",Elizabeths'hopedashedwhenshewasapproachingdeathbecauseGeorgedidnotcometoseeherorreceiveherfinancialassistance.Desiringforthemeaningoflife,passionandloveduringherwhole

46、life,ElizabethWillardsfinallydiedlonelyatthemiddleage.Thefamilythatshouldbringherhappinesswashostileandindifferent.Elizabeth'sfailedmarriageandlifewasanepitomeofthefamiliesinWinesburg.JesseBentleyinGodliness”Inthestory“GodlinessthemainfigureJesseBentleylongedforsuccessandfantasizedthathecouldbec

47、omesuchoutstandingfiguresasthecelebritiesintheBible,establishhisownkingdomthroughhisownefforts.Forthis,hiswifeworkeddayandnightandthisdamagedherhealth.Aftergivingbirthtotheirfirstchild,thepoorwomandied.WhenhisgrandsonDavidvisitedhim,lotsofqueerideasappearedinhismind.HebroughtDavidtotheforestimaginin

48、ghewasthefatherofDavidinBible.Davidwasscaredbyhisgrandfather"sterribleexpression.Later,hebroughtDavidtothedepthsoftheforestagain.JesseBentleykneltdownandprayedloudly,fantasizingtheancientsacrifice.WhenhewascarryingaknifetowardsDavid,thefrightenedboyshothisheadandrunaway.Duringallhislife,JesseBe

49、ntleylivedinhisfantasizedancienttimes.Atlast,helostallhisrelativesandlivedlonely.2.3 AspecialGrotesqueInWinesburgOhio,GeorgeWillardisportrayedasayoungartistwhoworksforWinesburgEaglepaperasareporter.Heisaspecialcharacter.Heiscalleegrotesque'becausehealsohasthesimilarcharacteristicsasothergrotesqu

50、es,suchasloneliness,frustrationandrepression.Especiallywhenhefaceshismother,heisatalossanddoesnotknowwhattosayandhowtoexpresshisthoughtsandfeelings.InthestoryMother",heansweredhismother'squestionabouthisdeparture,IsupposeIcannotmakeyouunderstand,butoh,IwishIcould(Anderson,2004).Georgeshowsh

51、isloveandsympathytothegrotesquesinthetown,whileheseemspowerlessinfrontofhismother.InDeath",facinghismother"death,George'sinnermostemotionwhichwasnevershowntohismotherburstout.HemutteredThedear,thedear,ohthelovelydear”(Anderson,2004).Thesewordsareutteredtoolateforhismother,awomanlacking

52、inlove,willneverhearthem.However,tosomedegree,heisungrotesque.Heisnotlikeothergrotesques.Ononehand,theotherdeformedcharactersseldomcontactlotsofpeopleintown.Theyareusedtoconfiningthemselvestotheirsmallpersonalworld.DoctorReefisaveryobviousexample.Formanyyears,heshutshimselfinhissmallclinic;evendonot

53、opensthewindowthatiscoveredwithspiderwebs,whileGeorgeisdifferent.Hedealswithdifferenttownspeople.Asareporter,hegatherseverypieceofinformationabouttheeventsthatishappeninginthetown.Itisaccessibleforhimtogetintouchwithalotofpeople.Georgeisthethreadthatlinksalltheinhabitants'life.Ontheotherhand,Geo

54、rgeWillardisdifferentfromotheroutcastsbecausehehasthepossibilityandabilitytochange.HisjobprovideshimwiththechancetocomeintocontactwithotherpeopleandthetownspeoplearewillingtotellhimtheirconcernfortheythinkGeorgeisapassionateyoungpersonandhecanunderstandthem.Throughgettingalongwithothers,Georgegradua

55、llyrefresheshisvisionofknowledge.Hisdeterminationtoescapefromthegloomysmalltownsignifieshehassteppedouttheconfinementwhichimpedesthedevelopmentofthetownspeople.SohecanberegardedastheonlyonewhochangesthoroughlyinWinesburg.ChapterThreeTheReasonsoftheFormationoftheGrotesquesItisknownthateverythinghasit

56、scauses.InWinesburg,Ohio,manyfactorsfostertheformationoftheso-calledgrotesques.Thispapermainlyanalyzestworeasons:externalreasonsandinternalreasons,orsocialandpersonalreasons.ExternalReasonsInWinesburg,Ohio,thestoriestookplaceinthetransitionalperiodintheUnitedStates,fromtheendoftheCivilWartothebeginn

57、ingof20thcentury.Atthattime,AmericawasundergoinggreatchangefromanagriculturalsocietytoanindustrialoneandindustrializationgreatlypromotedtherapiddevelopmentoftheAmericaneconomy.However,thisprocessalsobroughtaboutthesideeffects,suchastheincreasinglyseriousenvironmentalpollution,ecologicaldamageandther

58、apidgrowthofpopulation.Aseatoffactories,minesandcitieswerebuilt,whichgraduallydestroyedthelifeoftheidyllicandbeautifulcountryside.Manandnaturewereisolatedfromeachother.Theindustrializationbroughtmodernization,whilethecompetitionbecamemorefiercely.Thishadmadecommerceholdanirreplaceableplaceintheecono

59、myinAmericaandmademenbecomethetoolofmoneyandprofit.Allthesimplegoodnessofvirtuewaslostinthe19thcentury,thenoisyera.Theestablishmentofthefactorysystemmadetheexploitationmoreconvenient.Underthebadconditionsoftheworkplaceandtheunbearablelaborintensityforalongtime,largenumbersofworkersprematurelygetoldanddeformed.Selfishness,cruelty,luxury,hypocrisyhadbecomethedistinctcharacteristicsofWesternsocialmoralityinthe19thcentury.Manypeoplesvaluereducedtoatransactionalbasis.InAnderson'sautobiographyAStoryTeller'Story,hedeclares,theirfingersthebeginningofthatloveofsurfaces,ofthese