Tracing The Spiritual Odyssey Of Contemporary America

Updike is known as a master of contemporary American literature who combines novelists,poets,playwrights,essayists and critics.Among contemporary American writers,Updike's works are famous for his excellent description of middle-class life,which reveals the spiritual and moral status of contemporary Americans and the social status of the United States.Published in 1996,the novel In the Beauty of the Lilies is his seventeenth novel,showing deep concern to the interactive impact of American religious faith and popular culture in the 20 th century.Based on the narrative of the four generations of the Clarence family,this thesis is intended to trace the spiritual journey of contemporary America,and to present the challenges brought about by the changes in American religious beliefs and the rise of popular culture represented by movies.The first generation Wilmot,a priest,affected by the new ideas and the mass media,steps down from the pulpit.From then on,his faith begins to sway,and no longer believes in God.In turn,he goes into the cinema to seek temporary relief.This symbolizes the decline of religion and the budding of the film industry.Influenced by his father's loss of faith,Teddy is discouraged from God,but he can't get relief from the film and eventually surrenders to reality.Teddy's daughter,Essie,is ambitious and believes in God,and attributes her success to God.Essie's success shows the rise of film industry and the secularization of religion.The fourth generation Clark,who has no religious beliefs,relies on the film to dispose time,and then is immersed in the cult temptation.His death reflects that American youth is living in a desolate spiritual desert and simultaneously illustrates the appeal for sincere faith.By grasping the development of popular culture in this novel,and analyzing the social problems,mode of pensee and solicitude of American society,this thesis aims to analyze the changes of American religious beliefs in the 20 th century and explore the spiritual crisis of contemporary people.It can be argued that the contradiction of America between the highly industrialized economy and void spiritual condition is a reflection of the decline of conventional religion and the secularization of religion in general.