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To Have or to Be: Twisted Existence in >Seize the Day< [占有还是存在—论《只争朝夕》中的扭曲生存方式], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, China 2019 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 贝娄作品中的人物大部分都是犹太人,因此学者们常常从犹太性或犹太和美国的双重语境研究《只争朝夕》。一些学者从存在主义的角度研究犹太人的存在困境。虽然研究视角不同,但学者们一致认为,小说的主人公威尔姆遭受着生存困境,小说结尾表达了贝娄对人性的肯定。然而,对于小说中反映的社会现实的研究,学者们往往把研究视角集中于威尔姆,较少探究小说中呈现的当时整个美国社会的存在方式。本论文的创新之处在于两个方面:第一,它研究了当时美国社会普遍的扭曲生存方式:重占有和异化;其次,主要从人本主义心理学的角度探讨造成扭曲生存方式的原因和可能的出路。本文以弗洛姆的人文主义精神分析理论和马斯洛的自我实现理论为基础,从现代美国城市居民扭曲生存方式这一现象入手,接着详细分析了这一现象产生的原因。全文共分五章。第一章简要介绍了作者索尔•贝娄,《只争朝夕》的情节和文献综述以及本篇论文的原创性、结构和内容。第二章分别介绍了本篇论文的两个理论基础:弗洛姆的人文主义精神分析理论,包括重存在和重占有两种生存方式,异化和生产性取向;马斯洛的自我实现理论,包括自我实现的定义和自我实现者的特征。第三章分析了两种主要的扭曲生存方式。首先,分析了自我异化的内涵并指出自我异化者具有的不同类型的重占有方式。自我异化的人不能体验到>真实自我<是活动的主体。他们受到欲望或>虚假自我<的驱使,违背自己的本性进行异化活动从而占有一些东西。因此他们总是担心失去所有物,有着强烈的不安全感。为了维持安全感,小说中的这些人物形成了对金钱和地位等自身之外的力量的顺从崇拜。这种崇拜包括两类重占有的方式:年长一辈,自力更生的成功人士如艾德勒医生和拉巴包特先生身上体现的囤积取向;较年轻的中产阶级如威尔姆身上体现的消费倾向。其次,本文从两个方面分析了当时美国社会中异化的人际关系。在社交中,人们表面上友好,内心深处则是冷漠,是一种相互利用的关系。在家庭中,缺失了和谐和关心,家庭成员之间的疏离更加明显。第四章着重从人本主义心理学的角度探讨出现扭曲存在方式的原因,主要从四个方面进行了探讨:没有>生产性的爱<的能力,没有>做出正确选择<的能力,没有>抛弃虚假自我<的能力,没有>活在当下<的能力。这些能力的缺乏导致他们不认同自己的真实自我,盲目追求外在的力量以谋取自身利益。因此,为了尽可能改善这种情况,这四种能力的发展至关重要。最后一章重申本篇论文的论点。贝娄意图通过《只争朝夕》一书揭示20世纪50年代美国人的扭曲存在方式,通过描绘一群心理不健康的人物,表达他对于一个促进人的自我健康发展的健全社会的期望。本篇论文的意义在于试图通过探究造成这种扭曲存在方式的四个主要原因,找到贝娄暗指的出路:不断减少重占有的生存方式和在>存在<中成长
  • Characters in Saul Bellow’s works are most Jews, thus scholars often study >Seize the Day< from the cultural perspectives, such as Jewishness or the dual contexts of Jew and America. And some study Jew’s existence plight from the perspective of existentialism. Although the research perspectives are different, scholars agree that the protagonist Wilhelm in the novelette suffers from an existence predicament and that the ending expresses Bellow’s affirmation of humanity. Yet, as to the study of social realities reflected in the novelette, scholars often concentrate on the protagonist, Wilhelm. Research devoted to exploring the way of existence in the whole society presented in the novelette is rare. The originality of this thesis lies in two aspects: firstly, it studies twisted existence, the having mode and alienation that is common among contemporary American industrial society; secondly, it focuses on the reasons for the twisted existence and possible solutions from the perspective of humanistic psychology. Based on theories of Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis and Maslow’s theory of self-actualization, this thesis starts with the phenomenon of twisted existence of dwellers in modern American city shown in >Seize the Day< and then gives a detailed analysis of reasons for the phenomenon. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is a brief introduction to the profile of Saul Bellow and the plot of >Seize the Day< and the literature review of the novelette. It also indicates the originality and the framework of this thesis. Chapter two respectively introduces two theoretical foundations: Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis including the having mode and the being mode, alienation and productive orientations; Maslow’s theory of self-actualization including the definition of self-actualization and characteristics of self-actualizers. Chapter three gives an analysis of two main twisted ways of existence.– First, it analyzes the connotation of self-alienation and points out different types of mode of having of self-alienated characters. Self-alienated people cannot experience their >true self< as the subject of their activity. They are driven by the desire or the >pretender self< to conduct alienated activity against their nature and acquire possessions. As a result, they have a strong sense of insecurity for fear that they will lose the possessions. In order to maintain the sense of security, these characters in the novelette develop a submissive worship of powers outside themselves like money and status. It consists of two types of having mode: the hoarding orientation appeared in the self-reliant and successful senior generation represented by Dr. Adler and Mr. Rappaport; and consumer-buying orientation appeared in the younger middle-class represented by Wilhelm.– Second, the thesis analyzes the alienated interrelationships in American society from two aspects. In social contact, people superficially maintain a friendly relationship while deep down are indifferent to each other with calculation. In family, there is a loss of harmony and care and more apparent alienation among family members. Chapter four concentrates on exploring the reasons for their twisted existence from the perspective of humanistic psychology. The reasons should be explored from four aspects: incapability for productive love, incapability to make proper choices, incapability to discard the pretender self and incapability to live here and now. The lack of these capabilities leads to their disability of identifying with their true self and blindly pursuing outside powers for self-interest. Therefore the key point of possible solutions to this situation should be put on the development of these capabilities. The final chapter restates the thesis statement. Bellow intends to reveal the twisted way of existence of American people in the 1950s through Seize the Day. He also expresses the expectation of a sane society which can promote the healthy development of people’s self by depicting a group of psychologically unhealthy characters. The significance of this thesis lies in that by exploring the four major reasons for such twisted existence, it attempts to find the possible solution implied by Bellow: increasing the being mode and reducing the >having mode<. [Author’s translation]

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Metadaten
Author:Jingjing Liu
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2019
Release Date:2020/11/03
Format:no copy existent / keine Kopie vorhanden
IdNo:Liu_Jingjing_2019
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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