摘 要

从古至今，关于人性与动物性一直是人们讨论的焦点，人们对于人性与动物性的说法也没有一个明确的结论。但人性与动物性在个人发展或社会的发展中扮演着重要的角色。每个人都有动物性的部分，也有人性的部分，但就一个人的一生中是人性大于动物性，还是动物性优于人性仍然没有一个明确的结论。动物性向人性的转化，主要依靠个人成长的阅历和后天教育以及来自于信仰、家庭、和社会的控制和约束。本文主要通过对德莱赛两部作品中的两位主人公的人性与动物性的分析来阐明人性对于个人及社会的重要性。以及家庭，信仰，和社会及他人对于个人成长的影响。

关键词：人性；命运；嘉莉妹妹；珍妮姑娘

Abstract

Humanity and animanity has been a topic of discussion for last many decades. This topic “humanity and animanity” is much complicated so reseachers are digging to have a clear conclusion. But humanity and animanity play an important role in personal development or social development. Everyone has a part of animanity as well as humanity in his social life. The part of humanity and animanity in person’s life which is humanity greater than animanity or animanity greater than humanity is still not a clear conclusion. We still don’t any clear concept that which part have more influence in our life. The transformation of animanity into humanity relies on the experience of personal growth acquired education and from the control and restraint of faith, family, and society. This article is comparing the two works of Dresser’s which are two heroes in novels of Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt to clarify the importance of the true nature for the individual and society by analyzing the humanity and animanity as well as the influence of family, belief, and society and others on personal growth.

Key Words: The true nature; influence; Sister Carrie; Jennie Gerhardt

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Values for Life of Families Affect Kid's Growing up 2

2.1 The relationship between Carrie and her families 2

2.2 The relationship of Jennie and her families 3

3 The Influence of Circumustances for Human Beings 5

3.1 The nature and life attitudes of Sister Carrie 5

3.2 Jennie's nature in dazzling cities 6

4 The Importance of Personal Faith 8

4.1 The belief of Sister Carrie 8

4.2 Moral character and belief of Jennie 9

5 The Ending of Getting Happiness or Losing Oneself 10

6 Conclusions 12

References 14

Acknowledgements 15

Comparison of Humanity and Animality

Analysis of Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt

1 Introduction

Ludwig Feuerbach said that “humanity is half an angel, half an beast.” The human nature is divided into two category of humanity and animanity in society. Human nature refers to the truth which shows on human behavior. The one’s conscience will provide an equality of minds when individual shows nature with rational expression. According to Charles Darwin’s view that “human nature can be regarded as both a source of norms of conduct and ways of life, as well as presenting obstacles or constraints on living a good life.” One’s desire will go back to beautiful and kind-hearted expression and people will get some satisfaction on character. The concept of human nature is love. The love is man and woman yearn for sincerity, goodwill and beauty.

Animanity is for the purpose of survivla and unrestrained behavior that seeking a quik way to fulfill a desire. According to the bible “Adam’s disobedience corrupted human nature.” By Adam’s fall into sin, human nature became corrupt. The result is caused by Adam’s animanity. The animanity is the behavior which breaks the basic morals. Animanity includes pure animanity, moral dimension of animanity and animanity under the specific conditions. The pure animanity shows one’s animanity in any cases. It shows harm for others in one’s body or mind. There are full of morals in personal behavior and social relations in traditional culture of China. Each social relation has its concrete standards of humanity and animanity, for instance, making friends with good faith, that is humanity. On the contrary, making friends with perfidy, that is animanity. The purpose of all personal activities is to meet the human requirements. What’s one’s needs in social life? The needs are generally divided into two parts, one part is material requirements and another is cultural needs. It is the needs to show the essence of the human being. Dreiser through two novels of Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt to show human nature is half a goodness, half an evil. Sister Carrie’s nature tends towards Animanity, Jennie Gerhardt’s nature tends to humanity.

2 Values for Life of Families Affect Kid’s Growing up

Parents now know that it has a close relationship between the growth of children and the family. Parent’s words, deeds, the relationship between their parents and parent’s attitude to life have a subtle influence on the values of children since the moment when children were born. It is said that a person’s value will be formed before the age of 18. It is not extremely easy to change one’s views after 18 years old.

2.1 The relationship between Carrie and her families

According to Jim Taylor’s saying “The parents are those who treat their children without love or respect, and these children are likely to grow up having the lowest levels of self-esteem and confidence.” Carrie’s parents only present in the text once when their daughter leaves their hometown for Chicago at the train station. Sister Carrie doesn’t mention any information about their parents until she is famous. Whether her parents are still alive or not? Are they healthy? Do they have a better life? In general, everyone would miss home and families after leaving a long time. She does not have the idea of homesickness no matter it is a good life or not. It seems that nothing could attract her attention except money and luxury goods. There are no parents or relatives on the earth for her. When she finds first job she tells herself she will live in Chicago and she will have a better life than before. She doesn’t care about her parents. She just believes that she will be happy. It is no more surprising that she leaves Hurstwood alone when he loses money and be a poor man. She becomes a heartless woman, in addition to money is her faith she doesn’t care anything. In Sister Carrie’s opinion Hurstwood and Drouet both are the successful man around her. Once they both represent the world which full of happiness and the rich can not attract her eyes, they will be nothing for her even if she regards them as strangers. Carrie loses herself step by step during the process of pursuit better life. When she first arrives in Chicago, she finds that the city has many lovely things which make her addicted to, etc: finely dressed, elegant in the environment, many rich people and so on. People in the city are all contented and happy, what a hope she could be one of them! Therefore, she tries her all efforts to close those rich men for her dreams. She doesn’t desire for those which are Chicago and New York, Drouet and Hurswood, the world of clothes and stage. The material universe just meets her by accident. Actually she does not care them, what she does care is that the presents of them. But with time goes by she finds out those they represents are not what she wants, so she leaves them and continue to seek but still not have a content results. Human kind will be almost no difference from the animals when desire becomes only one faith in one’s heart. She never intends to go to visit her sister and she doesn’t thank her sister for providing a shelter. Folk’s nature is selfish but should be grateful for those who give you a hand when you are in trouble. That life is more meaningful. However, in Carrie’s view there is ungrateful.

2.2 The relationship between Jennie and her families

Parents always influence their children in countless way. Parents can teach their children invaluable lessons by the way they deal with situations in daily life and they respond to events. Although their life is a little bitterness, their family full of love and they still smile towards life. When they laugh, the sound will be full of happiness. Jim Taylor said that “parents who treat their children with love and respect. These types of parents are likely to produce children that grow up having the highest levels of self-esteem and confidence.” Jennie spends her most life going along with her families and companion, her parents are very friendly to their kids and they pay more attention to what they are doing in a common day. Her parents’ attitude towards life goes a long way towards her values of righteousness and forgiveness. It is an incredible display of motherly love and forgiveness. It is the most important thing for her that her families safe and sound, healthy, and happy. It is her joyfulness that the happiness of family members. That is why she thinks she loses the hope of life and lives in an earthly hell when all those people who are her mother, her father, her daughter and her husband out of her life to the heaven. She regards the life as most significant things. For birthing her daughter she would rather have a poor life than get an abortion. Her nature is goodness. Money for her is just a living expenses and tool. The true significance of life is a family’s happiness, health, and safe and sound. Life rules are too hard to come true for her. It is more ethical and valuable because there are too many uncertain situations. Life and health can not abstain by being hardworking. Human beings are created by the creator and has no right to determine how long they will be alive. Her goodness is noble and her generosity is fine moral character even she is not able to be accepted by others. Jennie has sacrificed herself to her families’ survival. Jennie’s character shows goodness, selflessness, self-sacrificing woman. She is influenced by religion and social beliefs. The influence is so severe that her humanistic spirit is distorted. She decides to sacrifice herself and save her family because she is influenced by those social rules. She not only saved her parents and brothers and sister as well as Lester and the development of his family business.

3 The influence of circumstances of human beings

3.1 The nature and life attitude of Sister Carrie

Dreiser believes that “everyone’s action is a direct reaction which is effected by an inner drive and external temptation. Therefore, no one can think too much before starting action. No one can make a choice. The circumstance not any more restricts one’s desire but shows it. Ultimately, it is certified that desire will not be satisfied.” Changes of environment will affect a person's vision and increase their determination to change their situation. This is probably the reason why readers are enlightened "either reading or travel, the body or the soul must have one on the road". All for Carrie who is an ordinary girl are fresh and full of curiousness while she first arrives in the city of Chicago. Her sister and brother-in-law are hard working as the lower people in Chicago. Carrie is clear that her sister can not help her to have a better life. Even if she is afraid of being dragged down by her sister. She also makes sense of the difficulties of surviving of her sister. The life is not what she wants to have. What she dreams of that she lives in the bustling and extravagant metropolitan life. But only four and a half dollars each week of wages is too far away from her dreams. She is not satisfied with the life of her leagues who work for several years in the factory. It is the major reason why she has desire to change another job. She is able to find a job in most prosperous place in the city center. That is extremely hard for her who lacks of experience. She is anxious and shameful but still obtains some information about rich people’s life during hunting job. She meets those women who are dress-up fashion, fine makeup, and elegance at the center of the city. She knows that life is what she wants and gradually loses herself. In her opinion if you have lots of money you will be happy otherwise you are not a lucky one. Money is all things in her eyes but she forgets that it is just one part of beings’ life. She is lazy and haughty. She does not want to work hard but wants a good life. After that the salesman persuading her to be his lover and he can make a better life for her, she is not against him and chooses comfortable life. She thinks that now she has been among the best living conditions.

The culture and social consciousness are influenced by Darwinism and theory of Natural Selection at that time. The ideology dominated by production is gradually replaced by consumerism culture-ideology. The consumerism culture-ideology emphasizes expenditure and physical possession. It weakens conventional morality standards including diligence and frugality and self-control. American women have influenced by consumerism when Dreiser started to write Sister Carrie. They have challenged conventional morality standards. They aren’t believe that a woman’s duty is having baby. On the contrary, in their opinion they should dress up beautiful and enjoy life. Therefore Sister Carrie was influenced seriously by the current moral concept and consciousness.

3.2 Jennie’s nature in dazzling cities

A book named Learning and Revolution said that “if a child lives in a family of criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives in a hostile family, he learns to battle. If a child lives in fearful environment, he learns to worry. If a child lives in a compassionate situation, he learns to blame. If a child lives in a cynical world, he learns to be shy. If a child lives in jealousy, he learns jealousy.” Jennie has been living with her families. Even though Jennie has a hard life she always keeps smiling towards life. It seems that if only she tries all efforts to live, the better life will around her and her families. Actually, she is a lucky girl. When she goes to the hotel to find something to do with her mom, they got a job easily, that is because she and her mother’s sincerity and diligence. She is amazed about the affluent hotel but does not think to much when working in the hotel just do things best so that they could do the job for longer time. In her standpoint if there are someone who is willing to provide a job for her, she thinks that she has nothing but to do more to show her appreciate. “A hearty industry promotes happiness”(Ke,1988:220). Labor as a sense of honor in her view, doing works is an important part of the life and meaningful no matter what the job is it. She wants to continue to do her job after getting a lot of helpings, and even when she gets compensation money from Leicester she still wants to continue to do her job. Job is an important part of life for her. Compared with Carrie, she is able to work seriously and wants to live better with her own actions. She and her mother are provided this work with gratitude to work hard. Generally speaking such a earnest girl is not too bad in life. The human nature of them makes them glowing. She always has a courage to meet the future with calmness. She puts herself into a new world without complaint. Even if her father doesn’t want to forgive her and her neighbors ridicule her for having a baby but not marry. She still wants to have the baby. It is a gift that the God gives her. She doesn’t want to give it up. Finally she leaves home and far away from those people. Liming said: “the ultimate goal of life is the wisdom of wisdom, because only wisdom is really immortal.” Jennie lives in a poor family but she is gentle. The motives of her acts are shaped with goodness and compassion. She is not a talented artist but has a real sense of life.

4 Personal faith decides one’s level of life

4.1The belief of Sister Carrie

Belief is the operating principle of life. It’s the means that we relate to God and live a life in freedom (It means that there is always a spiritual connection between human and God). Notice the variety of methods stated in scripture by which faith influences our lives(Faith has a great influence on our individual lives and scriptures related to faith shows those connection). A believer thinks the creator will examine everyone in daily life and human will be punished at the last day. From the novel we can’t find Sister Carrie has belief. She doesn’t care she will be punished. Her behaviors go back on creed. The existence and continuation of this world must depend on eternal truth. Its mainstream consciousness is good-nature. Faith can make a person success but also can destroy a person with the slaves of faith. The vital part of human nature is not the body but the spirit. Spiritual belief is goodness and behavior that follows the ethic rules. It is the essence of human nature and the most noblest wisdom. The body is just a carrier of human nature. What we believe determines how we live(The life of an individual is the outlook of his beliefs). We can say Carrie has faith of money (Can we say Carrie has a materialistic nature?). Because she regards money as important as life. She can give up anything includes her parents and relatives and her lover even if lost herself. First arrived in this full of dreams and hopes of the big city, Carrie holds the view that her fate will vary from those who are the same age girls as her in her countryside when she arrives here. However, When she starts to find a job with shyness and lacking of confidence in florid cities, full of rural simple temperament. She is full of good wishes to withstand the brutal reality of the pressure in finding job process. Her dream is gradually broken step by step because she lacks of experience and she refuses to suffer hard. At the same time, she is in a hurry to earn a job. This scene seems to be the same as the students who are now graduating. Everyone is anxious, panic, and busy to resume. Even too late to think about what the job means for them. And whether is it appropriate? Is it lead a happy life? As if every student puts the happiness of future life on attaching to earning money. Can that really be happy? Our situation is just very similar to Sister Carrie’s, no matter what works are, we all want to try, as long as we could be hired. In other words, first step is to find a job and then start to think better about your career. Students should firstly take into account our professional skills. If the basic salary can survive is enough for our graduating students. Carrie’s salary of the first job is just four and a half. It lets her down for this too little money because she believes she can get more reward. So she is hesitating and retreat. The fate is unfair and the gap between the rich and the poor is wider and deeper in her heart. She feels helpless. She hopes the salesman named Droued who she met on the train can give her help. In fact, she does not see the labor is actually a kind of perfect knowledge. As long as do your favorite things, happiness is spiritual wealth. You can also create values. Perhaps if she is able to stick to it, it might be able to early achieve her money dream. She just does not understand it. She blindly wants to become a rich woman overnight.

4.2 Moral character and belief of Jennie

A person’s faith determines the height of her life and the deepness of appreciation of things. The human body is made of the same material. The good and evil can not be formed by changing their flesh but by the change of their souls. The parent’s belief affects children. Jennie’s father believe in Christianity. Especially her father’s goodness slowly drips into her mind. Her experience has taught her be temper of life and be responsible because if you smile at life, the life will smile at you. She is optimistic in life. Although she has bitterness she is still optimistic in her inner heart and always in spring life. Everything is good in her mind. What do workers do is that work hard and live happily. She pursues a new life that hoping her families have a better life. As for herself the good news is that her families are happy, she is happy too. This belief will let her be tougher when life gets hard and more appreciative when in prosperity. “When life gets hard and you want to give up, remember that “life is full of ups and downs, and without the downs, the ups would mean nothing”(Jean,1982). Jenny's belief is a moral belief and the measure of morality in her heart is clear. She has a passion when she accompanies her parents and takes care of her brothers and sisters. She is generous to treat others. Even if Lester leaves her in order to get inherited property. She also chooses to give him freedom and let him go. She will start living a new life with her daughter. Although she is not willing to do that, she would rather forgive and not want her lover to be in troubles. She is generous and lets Lester be free during the period of Lester has a serious illness. She forgives him and is also willing to take care of him.

5 The ending of getting happy or losing oneself

Carrie’s belief is over greed for money and morbidly fascination about luxury. Her humanity is flawed, impetuous, greedy, selfish. She is not love Drouet at the beginning but agrees to be his lover only because he can provide a good life for her. She gets the first shortcut with her beautiful appearance. After that she still does not think through her own efforts to change the current situation. But she thinks that that is what she should deserve. It shows her beast lazy performance. She is also very selfish. When Hurstwood is rich she thinks he could provide a better life what she wants to live. She neither respects him nor appreciates him. After the manager running out money and could not find a job, she thinks he is useless and lazy and loses respect for him. As for the attitude she towards Hurstwood exposes her selfishness. When she is wealthy she wants to have a lot of beautiful clothes and money. However, she does not want to share her achievements with her family. Sister Carrie never changes her standard by money to judge a man is good or evil. Once her lover loses job and can not be capable to earn money she regards that person as an useless people and she starts to hate him when he stays at home. Thus after she gets what she wants but she still feels lonely. For Jenny, wealth and status are a fence, a thing that keeps her and her lover far away from each other forever. Her life is always dominated by wealth and power. Perhaps it brings her profit for the time being. However, it is a miserable profit for her if she “gained the whole world but lost her own souls”(Matt.16:26). Sister Carrie is initially poor, pure, and passionate. She has a desire for every cute thing in life, but the fate makes her out of the ethic lines and lets her make mischief so that far away her families, friends, and lover. Finally she lives along with money and luxurious dresses. Although she obtains the material enjoyment through her efforts. Finally, she ignores the spiritual education and loses her nature and becomes a beast with lust.

All in all Sister Carrie is a loser no matter from aspect of material life or from aspect of spiritual life. Her failure reflects in three aspects. The first is that her ideology degenerate, because she is young and healthy she can totally earn a bright future by herself. However, she doesn’t depend on herself. The second failure is that she can’t resist the temptation of money. She can’t resist the temptation of beautiful clothes. The third failure is that her morals flaw, because she isn’t grateful after someone else helped her. She doesn’t control the nature of her longings in prosperous city. Her lust surpasses her moral outlook of life and she becomes a loser and victims. Her character shows a depravity according to nature.

“The poor man with industry is happier than the rich man in idleness; for labor makes the one more manly, and riches unmans the other”(Ke,1988:221). Living in an upside-down world, individual pain can be imagined unless you give up your own value then shake hands with this bad times, or close your eyes and pretend to sleep. But even in the case of a very bad external environment, a person can still choose a virtuous life, and in order to arrange their own daily life. You can still choose to be a gentle person, you can also be a good citizen in a troubled world. Jenny is taught by her parents like that and also to do so. She and Lester understand that people are small, everything in the universe is a short existence as a traveler. So it should not be the waste years, have a detailed plan is necessary in today’s life. In addition to money and there are more things worthy people to pursue, such as love between you and your families, love between lover, as well as the true value of life. Being a kind man is not only a choice but is a moral character. Goodness of instincts gives people more inner conscience of the awakening, always remind people that everything is good at first. So Jennie chooses tolerance and would like to forgive. Vague compassion and divine goodness permeate her whole soul. And a person's good will eventually let her get unexpected returns. Lester is touched by her love, integrity, kindness, so she has been living in his heart and in the spirit. Although Lester doesn’t stay with her, she still has her own life with joyful. In spite of her mother and father, her daughter finally left her alone, but those days they are happy together with each other always engrave in her heart. Memories are precious, beautiful memories are worth for us to create and treasure in our possession. People are alive, in addition to integrity and a kindness, what is important? In this world, what is the most real thing? Is it coin or is it a luxury? Looking at the final fate of Carrie who still fells loneliness after getting money. We perhaps knew the answer is definitely not.

6 Conclusion

Everyone has a desire and the desire is one of the weaknesses of human nature, because sometimes people will be buried by desire. Although the weakness of human nature is very strong and difficult to overcome, as long as we do not complain, no longer attribute our own failure to the community, attribute to the family, attribute to others. “Indeed, to stand composedly in the storm, amidst its rage and wildest devastation; to let it beat over you, and roar around you, and pass by you, and leave you undismayed, this is to be a man”(Ke,1988:225). From now on, if we start to self-reflection, re-life, to overcome our own weaknesses, we can start a successful life.

Everyone contains the true nature of mind as well as the enlightened quality. The body is the servant of the root self. Sister Carrie’s motive is not bad, but her way of handling things are wrong. Human nature is good, but human nature is also flawed. It is easy to make mischief in the process of pursuing the ideal or a better life. It is our compulsory course about that how to correctly treat people's survival desire in one’s daily life. We must be very careful for analysis of the desires in our daily lives. It is not difficult to find out that there is a common characteristic between them. That is its usually the means to achieve the purpose rather than the purpose itself. People are always looking forward to getting something else. The endless need is human character, but not all the needs will be met our willing. In the pursuit of desire, people's heart hardened so that they become sinners. If you have a good heart, you will be hurt. That’s reality. Just like Emma Watson said: “Whatever others do , they know you will forgive”. But do not keep the hurt inside you. Making yourself be full of hope for the future. If you think you are a bad fate guy you lost hope because you only saw your sins, and could not see what is greater. If you are always upset because of hardship and lack of confidence you perhaps need a belief to guide you. Trusting the Creator would not make the mountain smaller, but will make climbing easier. Do not ask him for a lighter road, but ask him for a stronger back.

Human nature is not absolutely good, it also includes the emotion of the impetuous, lust fullness, and greed in human nature, and then the revelation of their ethical character and humanity, which leading mankind to resist evil in justice. It is that the righteousness and strength hidden in the human nature. Everyone has that character. It can be used to resist the evil and lust. It is also the self-clearing gene in the soul of the body. Righteousness can improve people's character and quality. The sentence comes from the movie of Lion King I1 is that “From the day we arrive on the planet, and blinking, step into the sun. There is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done, more to find than can ever be found”. People need to experience ups and downs, setbacks and resistance in one’s whole life, and finally become a man with kindness.

References

[1] B Barry-Nomos.Humanity and justice in global perspective.JSTOR.1982.