英语论文网

rville was of opinion that if he could get married with the daughter of the rich merchant, he could have money, property, and he could be respected and envied by others as well as lead a comfortable life. All what he hoped was just like this. Hence, after he leaved good impression on Airsia’s family, Orville began paying court to Airsia, and finally proposed marriage to her successfully. The concept of success in Orville’s heart was to get married to money. He worked on an American pottery company, but he showed a kind of indifferent expression. He had no feelings to the workers he contacted over there, and thought that these people were unlucky, and their treatment perhaps cannot be higher than the present treatment. He was especially proud of his family conservative orientation, but he always went after the desirable position and gets married with the lady who can inherit wealth. Nothing more.

Dorothea was a girl with a jovial nature. When she was seventeen years old, she has fully understood that she should learn her father’s lifestyle, but it is impossible because endless happiness was waiting for her. She carefully studied the photos of those actresses and social stars, and dreamed that one day someone would take photos for her and to be a big potato. What he most worshiped was Mrs. Rhoda Kinbur, the wife of famous doctor, Justus Wallin. Rhoda gets married with a wealthy people who enjoy prestigious status in society. In Rhoda’s banquet, Dorothea get acquainted with Suduiraut kaut, and then proposed with him. He is a son of railway giant, and who was the young man danced with Dorothea and met with Dorothea for the first time in home of Rhoda’s aunt. She wanted to make her marriage to be a noticeable movement, and took it as her supreme expression of success.

The marriage of Orville and Dorothea was totally different from their parents. Their marriage turned out that under the impact of consumerism culture, how fragile the marriage which is not on the basis of love. In The Bulwark, Theodore Dreiser convincingly disclosed the consumerism culture prevailing in American society as well as the larger influence that this kind of culture has produced for the people’s family ethical concept at that time.

There is no doubt of consumption culture’s impact on American society, which pervades in various social relations including marriage and family life. Marriage is the most fundamental tie in a family and its essence is ethical relationship. Contemporary dramatists recommend an ideal concept of love and praise true love while they condemn marriage view based on social influence and money. These dramatists hold that American’s marriage today is based on the worship for money instead of romantic love or religion. Conjugal relation is also commoditized and both partners in a marriage judge each other by how much fortunes he/she owns. In this way, money equals love and romantic affection also becomes tradable commodities. What the two partners care is the exchange value of each other, resulting in loss of ethical relationship in a marriage.

At the beginning of 20th century, America is in the transitional period from industrial capitalism to monopoly capitalism, and consumption awareness gradually took place of productivity-based ideology. This kind of consumption ideology emphasized on expenditure and material possessions, which cut do