Abstract

The Financier is the first volume of The Trilogy of Desire. The main idea of the novel is about a great financier named Cowperwood, a son of a bank clerk, who finally became a financier magnate, and his criminal activities in Philadelphia with all kinds of governors and states man. Cowperwood becomes the representative of the typical individualism in 19th century. Many scholars on the research of the book focused on consumerism, psychological analysis and the character image analysis. In this paper the research is analyzing the relationship between individualism and achievement of their value. At the same time, with the theory of social and historical criticism, this paper aims at analyzing different demonstrations of individualism revealed in different classes. And on this basis, through interpreting the reasons behind the differences from many aspects, a better understanding about works and significance of individualism in today’s society is provided.
This paper consists of three parts including introduction, body and conclusion. Firstly, in the introduction part, it briefly introduces writer, the book and previous studies about the book as well as the structure of this research. Secondly, the body part of the thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter analyzes the different individualism from different characters in the book. The second chapter explores the causes of the different reflections of individualism. The third chapter points out the realistic significance of individualism. The conclusion part summarizes the full text, pointing out the significance of this paper.

Key Words: Dreiser; Cowperwood; individualism; values

摘  要

《金融家》是德莱塞《欲望三部曲》中的第一部。主要描述柯帕乌从一个银行职员的儿子成为金融家的经过，以及他在费城金融界与各政界人士，为了财富和地位，勾心斗角，不择手段，成为20世纪资本主义特有的个人主义典型代表。很多学者对此书的研究主要集中在消费主义，心理分析和人物形象分析。本文着重研究乱世之中个人主义与实现自身价值之间的关系。本文结合社会历史批评主义理论，通过对比分析不同人物的个人主义，揭示了不同阶层对个人主义的理解差异。在此基础上，通过多方面解读差异背后的原因，进而更好地领悟作品所传达的意图以及个人主义对当今社会的现实指导意义。
本文由引言，本论和结论三部分组成。首先，在引言部分简要介绍作家作品以及前人对该作品的研究和本文的研究思路。其次，在论文的本论部分分为三章。第一章分析不同人物个人主义在书中的体现。第二章分析造成个人主义不同体现的原因。第三章，指出个人主义的现实意义。最后，结论部分总结全文，点明此论文的意义。

关键词: 德莱塞；柯帕乌；个人主义；价值