Abstract
The Sorrows of Young Werther, as an epistolary novel written by Goethe tells us a tragic story of Werther, a German young man who committed suicide after failing to seek his love. This paper aims to analyze Werther’s complicated characteristics with help of “Bildungsroman”, by further revealing the main causes of his death and exploring this novel’s autobiographical elements, with the conclusions that Werther’s death is doomed under such an environment. To a certain degree, his death symbolizes the author’s spiritual revival.       
Key words: Bildungsroman,characteristics, tragedy, autobiographical elements
Contents
1.    Introduction    1
2.    Demonstration    2
2.1 The traditional definition of bildungsroman     2
2.1.1  Typical bildungsroman: Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship    3
2.1.2  Bildungsroman in The Sorrows of Young Werther    3
2.2 Characteristics of Werther in view of bildungsroman    4
2.2.1  From gentleness to testiness    5
2.2.2  From enthusiasm to depression    6
2.3 Autobiographical elements    9
2.3.1  Similarities between Werther and Goethe    9
2.3.2  Goethe's ration verses Wertther's sensibility    9
2.4 Reflection    10
2.4.1  Reasons of Werther’s doomed death    10
2.4.2  Lessons we can draw from young Werther    11
3.    Conclusion    12
Notes    14
Works Cited    15
Bibliography    16