| John Steinbeck,the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962,is one of the most prominent writers in America in the 20thcentury.The Winter of Our Discontent is John Steinbeck’s last novel and is considered to contribute a lot to his winning of Nobel Prize.The novel shows the state of American society and American people in the middle of the 20thcentury.It discloses the materialistic culture and corrupt values in American society at that time and displays John Steinbeck’s deep concern for American people.Since its publication,some scholars at home and abroad studied the novel from different perspectives,like morality,Steinbeck’s philosophical view,spiritual ecology and biblical archetypes and so on.However,few studies were carried out from the perspective of modernity.Therefore,this thesis discusses the novel from the perspective of modernity.By employing the method of text analysis,the thesis talks about Ethan’s predicament,alienation and salvation in the cultural context of modernity from three aspects respectively,including environment,interpersonal relationship and spirit,with the hope of broadening the perspective of the studies on John Steinbeck and his novels,and gaining an insight into John Steinbeck’s humanistic care.Moreover,through close-reading of the text,the thesis aims to look into the cultural context behind alienation,explore some possible paths to salvation,which is of great referential and practical significance for those who are suffering from the morbid culture caused by modernity.After analysis,the thesis comes to a conclusion that though modernization is unstoppable and irreversible,people in modern society could actively search for the ways to overcome alienation. |
