小镇畸人中的人物

1、小镇畸人人物分析 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI wish to express my sincere thanks to lots of people who have contributed to this thesis.First, I should thank all the teachers of Foreign Language Department for their excellent and patient guidance during my study in Zaozhuang University. My sincere and deep appreciation

2、also goes to my supervisor Ge Xiaoxia for her constant encouragement and valuable guidance for me. She has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. Without her consistent and patient instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form.Meanwhile, my thanks would go

3、 to my beloved family for their consideration and support all through these years. Without my parents patience and love, I can not endure the hardship and pain in my life.Besides, I am grateful to all my fellow classmates and roommates for their help and care when I have difficulties in writing the

4、thesis. 作者 张燕 第iii页 共iv页 ABSTRACTAnderson Sherwood (1876-1941) is one of the most influential American writers in the early twentieth century. He earns an important place in American literature for his famous short stories. Winesburg, Ohio is Andersons most successful and famous work that consists o

5、f twenty five interrelated but independent stories concerning townspeople termed by Anderson as “grotesques”.This paper consists of five chapters. Chapter one introduces the author and the novel. Chapter two analyzes the images of the grotesque people who are painfully struggling in the plight of lo

6、neliness, frustration and repression. This analysis helps to understand their character and weird behaviors. Chapter three discusses the fundamental reasons of peoples grotesqueness. They are explored mainly from the external and internal aspects. Chapter four introduces the ways to salvation of gro

7、tesques. Although they are unacceptable by the common people, they do not thoroughly feel hopeless and they never give up their pursuit of understanding and love. Chapter five makes a conclusion of the thesis. The analysis of the grotesques helps to fully understand the novel and the social backgrou

8、nd. Through analyzing, the literature and social significance can also be well captured. The early twentieth century sees a transitional period from an agricultural society to an industrial one. As a spokesman of this period, Anderson shows us the fate of the unknown grotesques with his keen observa

9、tion. They long for love and freedom but used to isolate themselves. They have the most intense emotion and feeling but fail to express. The industrialized society and the flaws in their character bring them confusion. They begin to say strange words, do odd things, and finally become grotesques. Ke

10、y Words: Anderson Sherwood, Winesburg, Ohio, Grotesques摘 要舍伍德安德森(1876-1941)是美国二十世纪初期最具影响力的作家之一。安德森卓越的短篇小说作品奠定他在美国文学史上重要地位。小镇畸人是安德森最成功也是最著名的一部作品。这部作品由二十五个互相关联又相对独立的故事组成，作品中的人物则是被安德森称为“畸人”的小镇居民。本文主要有五部分，第一部介绍了作者及所处时代背景。第二部分是分析畸人形象，了解畸人的行为心理特征，他们行为言语怪异，心理扭曲，心情压抑、消沉。第三部分是分析畸人形成的原因，既有外在的社会原因又有内在的个人问题。第四部

11、分是分析畸人的救赎之路。虽然他们不被常人所接纳，但他们始终对自己抱有希望，用实际行动进行对爱与理解的追求。第五部分是对论文做出总结。本论文对畸人进行分析，对于全面理解小说，深入了解作品创作的时代社会背景，以及作品的文学意义和社会意义有一定帮助。二十世纪初的美国正经历从农业社会到工业社会的转变，作为社会转型时期的代言人，安德森以其敏锐的观察力向我们展示了不为所知的畸人的命运，他们渴望爱与自由却往往自我隔离，拥有最强烈的感情而疏于表达。这种自身性格方面的缺陷和对工业文明的无所适从，让他们困惑迷茫、言行怪异，最终成为时代的畸人。关键词：舍伍德安德森，小镇畸人， 畸人小镇畸人人物分析CONTENTSA

12、CKNOWLEDGEMENTSiABSTRACTii摘 要iiiCONTENTSivChapter One Introduction11.1 Introduction of Anderson Sherwood and Winesburg, Ohio11.2 Literature Review of Winesburg, Ohio2Chapter Two The Images of the Grotesques32.1 The Concept of Grotesque32.2 The Lonely, Frustrated and Repressed Grotesques42.2.1 Adolph

13、 Myers in “Hands”42.2.2 Elizabeth Willards in “Mother”42.2.3 Jesse Bentley in “Godliness”52.3 A special Grotesque5Chapter Three The Reasons of the Formation of the Grotesques73.1 External Reasons73.2 Internal Reasons8Chapter Four The Roads to Salvation of the Grotesques104.1 Contacting with George W

14、illard104.2 Running Away of George Willard11Chapter Five Conclusion12REFERENCES13作者 张燕 第iv页 共iv 页 小镇畸人人物分析Chapter One Introduction1.1 Introduction of Anderson Sherwood and Winesburg, OhioAnderson Sherwood is an important figure in modern literature. His writing has deeply influenced many writers suc

15、h as Hart Crane, Erskine Caldwell, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller, William Faulkner and Nathanael West. William Faulkner once said that he could only write simple poems and amateur stuff before he met Anderson. Its Anderson that gave him inspiration and led him to a correct road of creation. In the

16、magazine Paris Review, Faulkner declared Andersons stature, “He is the father of my generation of American writers and the tradition of American writing which our successors will carry on” (Malcolm, 1971).Anderson was born in Clyde, Ohio, a small and poor town that was experiencing a transitional pe

17、riod from the old handicrafts to modern machines. The Increasing wealth and material production made people feel empty and repressive in psychology and the declining agriculture made numerous people feel more miserable. Due to poverty, in his early twenties, Anderson went to Chicago to make a living

18、. Through many years hardworking, Anderson became a member of middle class. But wealth did not bring him true happiness. He determined to abandon his business and began literary creation that he liked. Special experience made him have a deeper understanding and interpretation of humanity. He paid at

19、tention to portraying human emotion, catching the momentary feelings of the figures, to revealing the personality of the characters and the mysteries hidden in their innermost. In 1919, Anderson Sherwood published Winesburg, Ohio, a short story cycle, in which Anderson well applied this writing styl

20、e and this novel made him a great success. Winesburg, Ohio is made up of 25 short stories and depicts 23 grotesques in the town Winesburg. These stories can be linked together. They have the same setting: an American Mid-western town and the same theme: loneliness, alienation and desire for communic

21、ation. Meanwhile, each of the stories can also be seen as an independent biography of a grotesque. The deformed characters have different awkward appearances and odd behaviors. For example, Wing Biddlebaum in the story “Hands” was a fat old man with tangled hair. He always put his trembling hands in

22、 his pocket or behind his back because he could not control them. Almost every evening, he walked anxiously on the half rotten porch waiting for George. He expected George to come and converse with him. In “Paper Pill”, the character Reef was an old doctor with white mustache, big nose and big hands

23、, staying in his empty clinic all day. Alice Hyndman in “Adventure” was an old maid who nakedly ran on the street in a snowy night. Compared with the successful people in Winesburg, these grotesques are gradually forgotten. Although the grotesques are weird and unacceptable by common people, they ne

24、ver stop the pursuit for others understanding and acceptance. No matter what the life is like, they always possess their valuable dreams. Wing Biddlebaum once told George that he should start dreaming. In a way, they are a group of lovely people that deserve to be understood and respected. 1.2 Liter

25、ature Review of Winesburg, OhioWinesburg, Ohio is considered as Andersons most outstanding novel which arouses many critics attention. Some critics tend to regard it as being naturalistic or realistic. They think that Anderson “attempts to expound the theory of a universe of mechanistic forces opera

26、ting on his people. He tries to focus on the constant and careful accumulation of realistic details” (Ferres, 1966). Some critics discuss it from a geographical point of view for Anderson sets the background in a Mid-western town. They put Anderson in the same field with Mark Twain who is the master

27、 in the native American modern literature. And more recently, many critics analyze the work from a more popular sociological point of view. The work tends to be interpreted with reference to such words as loneliness, frustration, repression and so on. They hold that “Winesburg, Ohio is a systematic

28、exploration of Mid-westerners living situation during the transitional period in American history from the pastoral society to the industrial society” (Simolke, 1999). They find that with the coming of the machine age, the old agrarian economy gradually disappears in the town and the townspeople who

29、 are struggling in the industrialized world become deformed physically or spiritually more or less. Through exploring the deformed characters in Winesburg Ohio, the paper can get a deep appreciation of Anderson Sherwood and his grotesque images which are so important in American 1iterature. The rese

30、arch on the grotesque characters in this novel can also enlighten the modern people who are in the same plight in an industrial world. Chapter Two The Images of the Grotesques2.1 The Concept of Grotesque The origin of the word “grotesque” can be traced back to Italian “grotto”. It refers to decorati

31、ve ornaments such as rocks, pebbles and medallions sphinxes. In literary field, it usually “signifies what is ridiculous, bizarre, or unnatural” (Crowley, 1988). It deviates from desirable standard of harmony, balance, and proportion. It is often used for comic and exaggerated sarcastic effects in p

32、hysical and behavioral caricature. In Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary, “grotesque” is defined as something strangely distorted and unnatural so as to give rise to laughter or fear.Grotesque holds a unique position in American literary history. Dieter Mendel remarks in his America

33、n Fiction and the Metaphysics of the Grotesque, “The grotesque presents all important and largely unexplored aspect of the growth and development of American fiction and endows American fiction with a tradition, or continuity of the discontinuous” (Dieter, 1991). This tradition greatly and deeply af

34、fects many famous literary writers. Accordingly, numerous excellent grotesque works appear in American literature. The development of grotesque literature greatly influences and shapes the literature of the United States. There are many masters who are skilled in depicting grotesques in America, and

35、 among them Anderson Sherwood is an eminent one. In Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson evolves the concept of “grotesque” to make clear what has made his people physical strangers and spiritual outsiders. For instance, in “Paper Pill”, Doctor Reef was a strange and lonely man staying in his empty clinic with

36、 the never opened window hung with cobwebs. He rarely stepped out and he always wore the same clothes. His hobby was to put scrapes of paper recording his thought and feeling into his pocket. When the pocket was full, he poured the small paper ball onto the floor or sometimes threw them at his only

37、friend John. Andersons usage of grotesque does not mean disgust or revulsion. Instead, he compares the grotesques to “the twisted little apples” left behind in the orchards for their surface blemishes. However, these imperfect apples are the sweetest ones. As to the townspeople, though their words a

38、nd behaviors are strange, they also have the beautiful and lovely side. Anderson reveals that the physical and spiritual deformities of the so-called grotesques merely intensify their longing for understanding, love and acceptance. The grotesques in the town “were not all horrible. Some were amusing

39、, some almost beautiful” (Anderson, 2004).2.2 The lonely, Frustrated and Repressed GrotesquesWinesburg, Ohio consists of 25 short stories taking place in the small town Winesburg. The novel can be viewed as a whole, because the stories in it are linked together by the newspaper reporter George Willa

40、rd who witnesses the suffering and struggling of the grotesque people in the small town. Meanwhile, each story can also be seen as independent. Every deformed character has his or her unique experience. Their awkward appearances and odd behaviors are different from each other. This paper mainly anal

41、yzes three characters of the novel. They are Wing Biddlebaum in “Hands”, Elizabeth Willards in “Mother” and Jesse Bentley in “Godliness”.2.2.1 Adolph Myers in “Hands”The reader can firstly feel the loneliness, frustration and repression from the first character who is introduced in the story of “Han

42、ds”. It told a pitiful grotesque named Wing Biddlebaum who got the nickname for his hands were always restless like the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird. Wing always strived to conceal his hands in the pockets or behind his back. Adolph Myers in “Hands” was once a teacher often expressing

43、his affection and love for the boys through his warm caresses with his hands. But a foolish boy told the townspeople the teacher did the unspeakable things to him which did not happen in fact. So people in the town were so angry that they beat Adolph Myers and drove him out of the town. Adolph Myers

44、 escaped to the town Winesburg, changed his name and lived alone there. Losing the courage and ability to be a teacher, he became a laborer in the small town. With his flexible hands, he could pick great quantity of strawberries. Everyone knew he was a good berry picker. His hands which were used fo

45、r communication and expression now brought him fame, which sounds ironic. This made an already grotesque more grotesque. Wing always went back and forth on the porch waiting and hoping that George would come and spend the evening with him so that he could get some comfort and be relieved from loneli

46、ness, frustration and repression for a while.2.2.2 Elizabeth Willards in “Mother”In the fourth story “Mother”, the character Elizabeth Willards is described as a woman who embodies the spiritual loneliness and sexual frustration of the women in the town. She has the desire to express herself, but is

47、 too silent to do so. In the story, Elizabeth Willard who was brought up by her careless father had a miserable childhood. Getting no maternal love, she grew up and became a woman with strong desire for love and change. At that time, she was a beautiful girl who once surprised the townspeople by wea

48、ring mens clothes and riding a bike on Main Street. She liked adventures in life and dreamt of becoming an actor. But it failed when people in the theatrical company told her that “its as dull and uninteresting as here” (Anderson, 2004). So she attempted to realize her dreams by dating with men at n

49、ight, which could not be accepted by the conventional rules. Through this way, in fact, Elizabeth seeks for the meaning of her life and what she really pursues is the true love. But she still feels lonely and repressed for these adventures do not change her life. Later she met Tom and her hope was o

50、nce again ignited. But her hasty marriage to Tom brought her nothing but more frustration and repression. Her husband was a big talker, a not so responsible member in the family, instead of a desirable mate which she sought for in her whole life. Her sense of frustration and disillusionment made the

51、 woman hopeless and spiritless. “Everything in the life of the suppressed spirit turns out to be grey and disappointing” (Ren, 2007). Disappointed at love, marriage and her own life, she was unable to love or respect her husband and she focused her love and interest on her son George Willard. When s

52、he found that the conversation between her husband and George had a bad effect on her son, with great hatred, she wanted to kill Tom with the scissors as the dagger. Though she was full of hope and love towards George, she did not know how to express her thoughts and feelings. Every time when she wa

53、nted to talk with her son, she trembled with excitement, never showed her joy and sorrow for its impossible for her. In the story “Death”, Elizabeths hope dashed when she was approaching death because George did not come to see her or receive her financial assistance. Desiring for the meaning of lif

54、e, passion and love during her whole life, Elizabeth Willards finally died lonely at the middle age. The family that should bring her happiness was hostile and indifferent. Elizabeths failed marriage and life was an epitome of the families in Winesburg. 2.2.3 Jesse Bentley in “Godliness”In the story

55、 “Godliness”, the main figure Jesse Bentley longed for success and fantasized that he could become such outstanding figures as the celebrities in the Bible, establish his own kingdom through his own efforts. For this, his wife worked day and night and this damaged her health. After giving birth to t

56、heir first child, the poor woman died. When his grandson David visited him, lots of queer ideas appeared in his mind. He brought David to the forest imagining he was the father of David in Bible. David was scared by his grandfathers terrible expression. Later, he brought David to the depths of the f

57、orest again. Jesse Bentley knelt down and prayed loudly, fantasizing the ancient sacrifice. When he was carrying a knife towards David, the frightened boy shot his head and run away. During all his life, Jesse Bentley lived in his fantasized ancient times. At last, he lost all his relatives and live

58、d lonely. 2.3 A special GrotesqueIn Winesburg Ohio, George Willard is portrayed as a young artist who works for Winesburg Eagle paper as a reporter. He is a special character. He is called “grotesque” because he also has the similar characteristics as other grotesques, such as loneliness, frustration and repression. Especially when he faces his mother, he is at a loss and does not know what to say and how to express his thou