对马丁伊登对生命本质探求失败的思考.docVIP

【标题】对马丁伊登对生命本质探求失败的思考 【作者】赵洪尹 【关键词】美国梦孤立感理想生活目标资本主义社会的丑陋 【指导老师】 【专业】英语 【正文】I. IntroductionAt the close of the 19th century, American fiction underwent a transition from its romantic tradition to a critical examination of the grim realities of American capitalism. The Gilded Age was then followed by a rapid development of capitalistic industrialization. There were few literary writings dealing with the underprivileged people in the pit. Some American writers piped a rather feeble note, but Jack London played a very different tone in the national symphony. He introduced fresh themes and vigorous characters into the writing of that day.The early 1900s saw the radical adventure of Modernism which awarded itself abstract and aggressive names such as Cubism and postimpressionism, expressionism and futurism. Yet the radical reportage of this era represents the hopes of an American that saw a Utopian political future which the century has not confirmed, its critical vision should not be forgotten. The classic case is Jack London, a Nietzschean socialist who represents the restless side of the modern American mind and whose writing style speaks well of naturalism in the American sense.1 Life is a lamp by which not only one’s thoughts are guided but also his writing style. Life itself led Jack London in his creative work.Born in San Francisco, California on January12,1876, Jack London came into the world in the midst of the crisis which began in 1873.The depression did not leave the London family untouched. He grew up in extreme poverty: To support the family, from earliest youth he supported himself with menial and dangerous jobs. By the time he was eighteen he had worked in a cannery and as an oyster pirate, seaman, jute-mill worker, and coal shoveler. Then he determined to educate himself in order to improve his own condition and that of others.2Martin Eden, London’s most autobiographical novel, is considered by many critics to be his most mature work. In po