@misc{Sang, author = {Sang, Xiaoyan}, title = {A Study of >The Human Stain< from the Perspective of Fromm's Humanistic Theory (2012)[用弗洛姆人本主义解读《人性的污秽》], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China 2012 [application of Fromm's theories to art].}, abstract = {The Human Stain is the contribution of the contemporary American writer the Philip Roth in 2000 which completes his splendid trilogy that begins with American Pastoral (1997) and I married a Communist (1998). It is an exquisite and profound novel, which tells the tragic story of a college professor Coleman Silk, a black man who pretends to be white so as to pursue a better life development. The novel is well accepted and is awarded PEN / Faulkner Award in 2001. It is also adapted into a film of the same name in 2003 starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman. Critics and scholars abroad and at home have studied The Human Stain from various perspectives, such as theme analysis, cultural criticism, intertextual study, writing techniques and so on, but few have studied this novel from the perspective of man's living situations. The novel is set at Athena College, which in fact is the miniature of American society. People who live in this environment encounter with various living predicaments, which expresses Roth's concern with the living situations of human being. The thesis attempts to analyze The Human Stain from the perspective of Erich Fromm's humanistic theory. It aims to analyze the wretched living situations of the main characters in this novel, explore the causes for their living plights and search the salvations of modern man. The paper falls into three sections apart from introduction and conclusion.- Introduction gives a general introduction to Philip Roth and his literary accomplishments, The Human Stain, literature review and the significance of this thesis.- Then, Fromm's humanistic theory is presented in brief. According to Fromm, the living situation of human being is a unique matter in nature. He takes human nature as the starting point of his humanism. With the rapid development of capitalism, escape from freedom and alienation become the typical living predicaments of modern people. Moreover, only through creative love can man find a way out of the predicaments.- Chapter One provides a detailed analysis for the wretched living situations of the main characters in this novel, namely escape from freedom and alienation, which are very typical. The freedom they pursue is negative freedom, which means to gain freedom only by getting rid of external bondage without a correct life orientation. The accompanying pressure and burden bring them lots of sufferings. Their life turns out to be perfect and prosperous on the surface, but to the core, it is oppressing. They have to suffer from mental alienation.- Chapter Two comes up with the causes for the paradoxical living situations from social and personal aspects. Man is social animal and cannot exist without the social environment. In this novel, racial discrimination, political correctness, persecuting spirit and the impact of the Vietnam War deepen the degree of man's predicaments. At the same time, various conflicts come into being due to the common living situation of human being, which lead to different psychological needs of people. People would suffer a lot if their basic needs are not satisfied or are satisfied through wrong way.- Chapter Three discusses the salvations of the main characters. According to Roth, death is a thorough and ultimate salvation for the main characters in this novel because it simplifies everything, purifies everything, and is also a form of self-transcendence. Coleman Silk and Faunia Farley end their lives in flowing river, which shows Roth's hope on purification of life. At the same time, a harmonious relationship between man and nature help people gain mental salvation. Lester Farley obtains inner peace in nature. Besides, love is the final salvation for modern people's mental crisis.- In the conclusion part, a summary is made based on the above analysis. The Human Stain expresses Roth's ultimate concern over human nature and the destiny of human beings. He insists on moral values in an age of materialism and has faith in salvations of modern man. The humanistic ideas in this novel heighten Roth's thoughts on human nature and are instructive to modern people. [Author's translation]}, language = {zh} }