《人鼠之间》的孤独主题解读_英语论文

On the Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men

摘要

约翰•斯坦贝克是美国20世纪著名的小说家，他于1904年和1962年分别获得了普利策文学奖和诺贝尔文学奖，被公认为20世纪美国最重要的作家之一。《人鼠之间》是其代表作之一。小说描述了美国大萧条时期到处流浪的农场工人的悲惨命运，寄寓着斯坦贝克对世界和人类生存状态的深刻领悟。

小说主要讲述了美国大萧条时期加利福尼亚两个四处流浪打工的农场工人的悲惨遭遇。他们唯一的梦想便是挣钱买一块属于自己的土地，不再四处流浪。这是美国大多数人民的梦想，也是处于社会底层人民所触及不到的梦想。小说主人公乔治努力工作编织梦想，可最后的结局却是以好朋友的死亡及梦想破灭告终。农场工人的孤独与无助是对现代人类生存状态的最好阐述。

本论文通过解读小说中孤独的人物群像以及他们之间无助的友谊和不可企及的梦想，分析当时社会背景下的人们孤独的原因和本质，同时也通过对《人鼠之间》孤独主题的理解来感受人物身上所赋予的深层意义，从而进一步理解斯坦贝克呈现给读者隐藏在文字背后的人性思考。

关键词：约翰•斯坦贝克； 《人鼠之间》； 孤独； 主题

Abstract

John Steinbeck is a famous novelist in the United States in the twentieth century. He won the Pulitzer Prize in literature in 1940 and won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962. He is recognized as one of the most important American writers in the twentieth century. Of Mice and Men is one of his representative works. It describes the tragic fate of migrant workers in the Great Depression, and it expresses Steinbeck’s profound understanding on the living condition of human beings.

The novel mainly tells the tragic experience of two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression. They dream of earning money to buy a piece of land, which would enable them to sustain themselves, and, most importantly, offer them protection from an inhospitable world. The dream is American dream. It is also the dream that can’t be touched by the bottom of society. George, the protagonist of the novel, works hard to create his dream. But the ending is that his dream is shattered and the only friend is dead. Loneliness and helpless are the best descriptions that reflect the state of human beings.

This paper mainly analyses the causes and the nature of loneliness in the novel at that time through the interpretation of the lonely characters, their helpless friendship and impossible dream. The deep significance that reflected in characters can also be understood by studying the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men. In this way, Steinbeck’s thought on human that hidden in the text will be fully conveyed to readers.

Keywords：John Steinbeck  Of Mice and Men  Loneliness  Theme