The Naturalism in Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Sister Carrie

Nowadays， literature study is almost perfectly and profoundly cultivated by scholars and educators all around the world， thus， the exploration in this field is progressing much slower， and comparison literature is raising its head steadily in modern literature circles. Accordingly， the comparison between Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Sister Carrie is rarely done， although the naturalism in the two novels has been colossally studied and nearly reached the peak of its maxim， the author still feel obliged to connect them through the clue-\"naturalism\" to attain a unique but unanimous effect of literature study.

1A Brief Introduction to the Two Novels and Naturalism

The following part is about the introduction of the writers， the novels and the relative background information as well as the definition of naturalism and its influence.

1.1 About the novels

1.1.1 Thomas Hardy and Theodore Dreiser

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2， 1840， in a rural region of southwestern England that was to become the focus of his fiction. After his greatest masterpiece， Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)， was published， its popularity assured Hardy's financial future.

Herman Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute， Ind.， on Aug. 27， 1871. With the publication of \"Sister Carrie\" in 1900， Dreiser became the first American author to step into the 20th century， rejecting the cumbersome Victorian morality for what was considered to be a shocking new form of descriptive realism.

1.1.2 The main contents of the two novels

Focusing on the tragic experience of its heroine Tess， the plot of story begins. The heroine Tess is a poor dairymaid who has been seduced by Alec D'Urbervilles，a wealthy villain ，and gives birth to a child. Later she falls in love with a man called Angel Clare. On their wedding night ，the honest girl confesses to her husband that she has been seduced and given birth to a child. Her husband cannot accept the fact and goes abrord. Some years later， her husband returns and wants her to come back to him. Tess murders her seducer and is thus arrested and hanged.

The novel of Sister Carrie is about the story of a poor country girl Carrie who comes to the city to seek whatever she can find. Her goals are clothes，money and fame and the means by which she achieves them is relatively unimportant. More important is that she is a seeker and lover. In the end of the story， Carrie's succeeded while her lover killed himself.

1.2 About naturalism

1.2.1 The definition of naturalism

Naturalism is a literary trend prevailing in the second half of the 19th century in Europe， especially France and Germany. Naturalism is an attempt to achieve fidelity to nature by rejecting idealized portrayals of lices. In literature， it can be further defined as a technique of objective view of man or a mood with frankness and accuracy. According to naturalists writes， man is shaped by heredity and environment， over which they cannot control. They tend to show \"true-to-life' description without selection. They show man' struggling for survival.

1.2.2 The influence of naturalism

The naturalism in literature started in 1960s， became prevailing in the 1980s France， and had reached its peak， which also had a profound influence on literature style of the other European countries， like England， Germany， Belgium， Italy， Norway. Moreover， naturalistic writers in Sweden， Greece， Italy， Poland and Denmark were popping up and had obtained success to some extend. Then， the naturalism was transferring its impact on the other continents besides Europe， especially Asian writers， for instance， in Japan， though it is an Asian country， it accepted Western culture and literature so early that Japanese writers were almost at the same pace with the world's literary trend， at that time， the oppression of the feudal system and the obstacle of the literary pace lead to the combination of the Western and Eastern thoughts due to the openness and the objectiveness of the naturalism， until now， Japanese literary style has remained the deep trace of the naturalism， especially in sex description.

Undoubtedly， Tess of the U' and Sister Carrie were the typical representatives of the naturalism， after all that， naturalism flocked into the Latin American areas， some naturalism-colored works come out one by one.

2The naturalism in the two novels

This chapter is about the introduction of the figures in terms of the fate， the background， the characterization and the literature contribution.

2.1 The analysis of the two main characters

Both of them are country girls at their innocent age， coming to their relatives in seeking for a better life.

Both of them meet a gentleman that seems rich， elegant and attractive， then they are seduced and their pure soul is being bit by bit contaminated.

Both of them are seduced by the two gentlemen， Tess is suffering from pregnancy without marriage while Sister Carrie has to be the lover in shadow. However， the different aspects that guide them to choose these are that Tess did it due to innocence but Sister Carrie due to desire for luxury life. Finally， Tess's child dies due to her inexperience and lack of money， she does not accept the sympathy or the financial support from the bad guy Alec. However， Sister Carrie has been Drouet's secret lover.

Both of them meet another gentleman who they choose to be with them.

The biggest difference between them is the choice they make in the end. After Tess knows that Alec cheated her and her soul mate Angel is alive， Tess furiously kills the liar and spends the last days with her love. On the co， Sister Carrie happens to be a famous actress and she begins to feel tired of Hurstwood， her indifference almost kills his heart， finally he commits suicide.

2.2 The analysis of the social background

Both of the two countries， England and America， were undergoing the industrial revolution， which pushed the economy and social reformation to a high speed developing rate. Money-making had been the central pursuit， what's more， wealth and power were the only two standards to classify the people into classes， the lowest working class could not even keep body and soul together， they were working quite a sweat in attempts to survive in the metropolis. Hard work， poor living condition， no social respect and bewildering in life lead the working class to the bottom of depression and frustration. Making a fortune in the chaos seemed to be a quick， fantastic but really difficult opportunity to get rid of the poverty and other sufferings. Tess and Carrie are the typical figures in that social background， who are struggling for their own hopeless life and happen to get a chance to join the upper class， and the ambition or dignity of themselves and the seduction of the wealth and social recognition result in their fallen period of their life.

2.3 The analysis of the characterization

2.3.1 The analysis of the two writers' characterization

In Tess of the D'Urbervilles， Tomas Hardy tries to illustrate Tess as an innocent beautiful and hardworking country girl， who feels obliged to ease the burden of her poor family and turns to the prosperous relatives for help. She is a filial daughter and thoughtful young lady. When she gets the news that his father is suffering from heart disease， \"Tess looked alarmed. Her father possibly to go behind the eternal cloud so soon， notwithstanding this sudden greatness!\". Tess is also a girl of strong self-respect， when his father is leaning in a carriage， \"The clubbists tittered， except the girl called Tess - in whom a slow heat seemed to rise at the sense that her father was making himself foolish in their eyes.\" She feels humiliated by her father's stupid and unnatural behavior. As for her looks， we know that she is beautiful， but more important， she is special to others， and innocence is the natural beauty， which can bewitch many gentlemen. Tess herself also notices this point， and as a young lady， the gentleman's favor is some sort of competition. \"As for Tess Durbeyfield， she did not so easily dislodge the incident from her consideration. She had no spirit to dance again for a long time， though she might have had plenty of partners; but， ah! They did not speak so nicely as the strange young man had done.\" When the handsome passenger does not choose her as a dancing partner， the strong envy and self-respect arise in her， and this may lead to her miserable life in the prosperous manor and trapped by the evil Alec.

Then take a look at the Sister Carrie in Sister Carrie of Theodore Dreiser， at the very beginning， the author also gives us a manifest impression of the young Carrie， \"She was eighteen years of age， bright， timid， and full of the illusions of ignorance and youth. Whatever touch of regret at parting characterized her thoughts， it was certainly not for advantages now being given up. A gush of tears at her mother's farewell kiss， a touch in her throat when the cars clacked by the flour mill where her father worked by the day， a pathetic sigh as the familiar green environs of the village passed in review， and the threads which bound her so lightly to girlhood and home were irretrievably broken.\" Just as the young innocent Tess， Carrie is also a pure drop jumping into a melting pot. She is too strange to the new environment. However， what is different from Tess is the insight and smartness of Sister Carrie， \"Caroline， or Sister Carrie， as she had been half affectionately termed by the family， was possessed of a mind rudimentary in its power of observation and analysis. Self-interest with her was high， but not strong.\" And what is the same with Tess is the self-respect or self-interest， which makes them dependent in the hard period and pull themselves through. What's more， the rudeness and crudeness is the typical innocence of an inexperienced country girl. \"In the intuitive graces she was still crude. She could scarcely toss her head gracefully. Her hands were almost ineffectual. The feet， though small， were set flatly.\". Nevertheless， her natural beauty and her smartness will guide her to learn and take in the gentleness and politeness of the higher class， which may be one factor that results in her falling life. \"And yet she was interested in her charms， quick to understand the keener pleasures of life， ambitious to gain in material things. A half-equipped little knight she was， venturing to reconnoitre the mysterious city and dreaming wild dreams of some vague， far-off supremacy， which should make it prey and subject--the proper penitent， groveling at a woman's slipper.\"

In the end， Tess kills the jerk who cheats her and she is hanged. This is the sign that Tess is coming back to her basis， however， Sister Carrie is long way from her own personality， she becomes greedy and selfish.

2.3.2 The contribution to literature

Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Sister Carrie are two tragedies， to which the two authors did not add too much individual judgment and they merely had shown the picture of the poor women's life in the male chauvinism society. Through the switches of the inward world and the conflicts between desire and humanity， Tess of the D'Urbervilles had been a mirror of the real society and Tomas Hardy uses Tess as a powerful proof and the character \"Tess\" has been a typical representative in the world's literary circle， not only due to her breaking the traditional morality and regulations， but also to the beautiful soul of a kind figure of women in humanity. The description of nature has been called the initial stage of the naturalism.

Sister Carrie had brought the \"naturalism\" to the top of the American literature and it is considered one of the most famous novels in the American literature history. Theodore Dreiser was the first American naturalist that was renowned， and his works Sister Carrie， Financier and American Tragedy were leading the American writers and readers to know about the naturalism， furthermore， more and more works that includes the naturalistic description were popping up in America， even in other areas， his work did have an impact.

All in all， both writers and novels， in spite of different time and place， are effectively affecting the world's literature. And the naturalism in the novels just leave the whole readers great impression， which has been more or less the incentive to the writing creation in the naturalism and other literacy schools.

3 Conclusion

Most researchers at home and abroad have provided colossal study analysis and information about naturalism and the study of the two novels， Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Sister Carrie， both novels contains the description and indication of naturalism， especially the latter， an symbol for the American naturalism.

In conclusion， the studies involved in the thesis attempt to analyze the naturalism in the two novels， Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Sister Carrie， from a new perspective and by a new method， comparison， which not only help to enrich our literature studies but also help to promote the studies of naturalism and give some assistances to those whom are studying or working for literature study.