An Analysis of the Reflection of “the Survival of the Fittest” in Sister Carrie.doc

An Analysis of the Reflection of “the Survival of the Fittest” in Sister Carrie I. Introduction In 1859, Darwin’s The Origin of Specie appeared. It soon changed man’s recognition. Before Darwin, human was differented from the animals because of its moral. However, at this time evolutionist considered human as a part of natural things and a member of the animal kingdom. American naturalists accepted “bestiality” and “human beast” as an explanation of desire. They attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness presenting characters of low social and economic classes who are determined by their environment and heredity. American writer Theodore Dreiser, as a naturalist, learns to regard man as merely an animal driven by greed and lust in a struggle for existence. Only the fittest, the richest, the most ruthless person can survive. Under the influence of Darwinism and naturalism, in 1900, Dreiser published his first novel Sister Carrie, then committed his literary force to opening the new ground of American naturalism. His heroes and heroines of his settings, his frank discussion, celebration, and humanization of set, his clear dissection of the mechanistic brutality of American genteel romances and adventure narratives. Dreiser’s genius was recognized and applauded by H.L.Mencken, has always a values editorial confidant, but the general reaction to Dreiser has always been negative. He has been called a “Crag of basalt”, “solemn and ponderous” and “the world’s worst greatest writer”, but his influence is evident in some famous writers such as Hemingway, James T. Farrell, among others. This paper aims to analyze how the Darwinism – the survival of the fittest – reflected in Sister Carrie. In the capitalist society, Carrie Meeber, making good use of this principle rose from a low-paid wage earner to a high-paid actress. However, Hurstwood failed to follow it and dies at last. Their fates fully proved the survival of the fittest. The writer Dreiser was raises in