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On Morbid Social Characters in >Mr. Norris Changes Trains< [论《诺里斯先生换火车》中的病态社会性格], English Language and Literature, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China 2017 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 克里斯托弗•伊舍伍德是二十世纪英国著名的左派小说家,以自传性小说闻名世界,《诺里斯先生换火车》是其代表作之一。小说根据伊舍伍德二战前旅居柏林的经历,以英国人的视角,深刻地描述了柏林社会的现状及其社会成员的个性风貌。小说中的人物虽然职业和阶层各不相同,却在社会交往中表现出相似的社会性格特征。战败后的德国出现通货膨胀、资源紧缺和种族歧视等社会问题,因此导致了柏林市民的价值观错位和安全感缺失,从而形成了病态社会性格。国外学者对《诺里斯先生换火车》的研究大多侧重于小说的自传性风格和写作手法;而国内对该作品的关注较少,更少有人对小说的人物性格及其反应的社会问题进行深入研究。社会性格理论由心理学家弗洛姆提出。在弗洛姆看来,社会成员虽然具有不同的个体性格,但绝大多数的成员都具有基本的性格结构,也就是社会性格。社会成员进行社会交往时,所表现的病态和不健康的性格特征称为非生产性取向。本文运用弗洛姆的社会性格理论,联系柏林政权更迭和金融危机的历史背景,聚焦于《诺里斯先生换火车》中人物病态社会性格的分析。本文选取小说中诺里斯、威廉、库诺、施密特等人物,对拜金型、服从型和破坏型三种社会性格进行分析,并提出以下三个问题:诺里斯等人的病态社会性格是如何形成的?从精神分析和社会心理学角度出发,病态社会性格的内容及其具体表现有哪些?病态社会性格与发展停滞甚至倒退的病态社会之间的相互关系如何?正文第一章关注的是拜金型性格。以奥尔加、库诺为代表的人唯利是图,为了获得利益可以出售任何东西,包括自己的身体和朋友的友情。冷漠、贪婪和虚伪是这类性格的具体表现。属于拜金型性格的社会成员信奉金钱至上,在他们的影响下,社会将变得物质化。第二章探讨的是服从型性格。诺里斯、威廉这些人在精神上极度依赖于他人,失去了独立思考和判断的能力。这类人盲目顺从,缺乏独立性。他们主导的社会逐渐丧失活力,发展陷入停滞,进而加速了社会的退化。第三章重点分析破坏型性格。这类人破坏性极强,通过打击和报复等手段来达到自己的目的,呈现出极度自私的性格特征。如果他们掌握社会权力,有可能使社会文明毁于一旦,社会将会退回到野蛮状态。结论部分回答了以上问题,表明了社会性格在形成和病变的过程中,社会成员的状态与社会发展息息相关。社会成员的盲目拜金、缺乏主见和道德沦丧加剧了柏林的社会矛盾,致使社会发展脱离正常轨道。伊舍伍德透过对柏林各阶层人物的描写表达了对当时社会的批判;诺里斯的骗局败露这一故事结尾,也折射出他对柏林社会回归正轨的美好愿望.
  • Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) is a well-known leftist writer in the 20th century of Great Britain who is famous for autobiographical novels. Based on his sojourn experience in Berlin before the Second World War, Isherwood used the perspective of an Englishman to objectively and profoundly describe the characters of the people and the society of Berlin in >Mr. Norris Changes Trains<. The figures of this novel share similar characteristics of social characters during social interaction despite their different professions and classes. After the First World War, social problems of inflation, limited resources and racial discrimination which lead to the dislocation of values and the lack of security of Berliners and the formation of morbid social characters aroused. Up to now Western critics have laid most emphasis on his work’s autobiographical style and writing techniques; there are few researches and studies on Isherwood and Mr. Norris Changes Trains by critics at home, and even fewer further researches on the individuals’ characters and the social problems of the novel. Social character theory is brought by psychologist Erich Fromm. In his view, although social members have different individual personalities, most of them obtain the basic character structure. It is called the social characters. When social members interact, the morbid and unhealthy characteristics they show are called the unproductive orientation. The morbid social characters in >Mr. Norris Changes Trains< can be better understood and analyzed by combining Fromm’s social character theory and the creation back-ground of regime changes and economic crisis in Berlin. This thesis picked the protagonists of Norris, William, Kuno and Schmidt to analyze the mercenary character, the obedient character and the destructive character. And then followed by questions: How were the morbid social characters of people like Norris formed? From the perspectives of psychoanalysis and social psychology, what are the morbid social characters as well as their specific manifestations? And what are the interactive relations between morbid social characters and morbid society of worship of money and stagnation and even retrogression?– The first chapter focuses on the mercenary character. People like Olga and Kuno are willing to sell anything even their own bodies and friendship in order to gain profits. Indifference, greed and hypocrisy are specific symptoms of mercenary character, which accelerate materialization of society.– The second chapter discusses the obedient character. People like Norris and William psychologically relay on others to a large extent and lose the abilities of independent thinking and judgment. Their compliance and lack of independence lead to loss of vitality and stagnation of development of the society which accelerate social degradation.– The third chapter analyzes the destructive character. People of this kind are extremely self-centered, and they achieve goals by retaliating and hurting others. Once they are in power, civilization is likely to be destroyed and the society goes back to barbarian status.– The conclusion part answers the questions above and shows that while the morbid characters are forming and growing, social members’ conditions have strong connections with social development. The worship of money, the lack of independence and the neglect of morality worsen the straitened circumstances caused by the First World War of Berlin city, and social development could derail off from the regular track. Isherwood’s descriptions of the characters reflect his criticism on the Berlin society, and the story ends with Norris’ exposure which shows his good wish of Berlin going back on track. [Author’s translation]

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Metadaten
Author:Lingli Huang
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2017
Release Date:2019/03/04
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Huang_Lingli_2017
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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