Abstract Sherwood Anderson is a famous American novelist in the early 20th century。 The Egg is one of the best stories of the collection。 The novel, from the perspective of “I”, a boy, tells the experience of the father who desired to succeed, but suffered various frustrations in the course of his pursuit of the Dream。 The novel also shows the father was defeated by reality。 This paper aims at concretely analyzing the causes of the protagonist’s failed dream from different perspectives of society, history, economy, and the psychological and personal character of Father。 In this way, we can bear a comprehensive and profound appreciation of the significance of the American Dream at that time in the United States。 Meanwhile, it also helps to enrich the research on the American Dream in American Literature。94784

Keywords: American Dream; the causes of the failure; The Egg

摘要舍伍德·安德森是20世纪早期美国著名的小说家，《鸡蛋的胜利》是其同名短篇小说集中最优秀的一篇。该小说以“我”一个孩子的视角，讲述渴望成功的父亲追求“美国梦”屡屡遭遇失败和挫折，最后被现实打败的经历。本文旨从社会，历史，家庭，人物心理和性格等方面具体分析了小说主人公的“美国梦”失败的原因，从而有助于更加全面深刻地理解当时的美国梦之于美国的意义，同时，也有助于丰富美国文学中的美国梦研究。

毕业论文关键词：美国梦; 失败的原因;《鸡蛋》

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

2。 Literature Review 1

3。 The Failed American Dream in The Egg 2

4。 The Causes of the Failure of the Father’s American Dream 4

4。1 Analysis on the external factors 4

4。1。1 The social factors 4

4。1。2 The historical factors 5

4。1。3 The economic factors 6

4。1。4 The religious factors 8

4。2 Analysis on the internal factors 8

4。2。1 From the perspective of the father’s simple nature 9

4。2。2 From the perspective of the father’s paranoid character 9

5。 Conclusion 10

Works Cited 11

1。 Introduction 

Sherwood Anderson (1876—1941) was a well-known American novelist, and short story teller。 His influence on American fiction was profound, and his literary voice can be heard in Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Thomas Wolf, John Steinbeck。 According to the famous critic Malcolm Cowley, he acclaimed that “Sherwood Anderson is a writer’s writer, he is the only story teller among his generation who has influenced the next generation in both style and field of vision。”(Cowley ii)。 

The Egg by Sherwood Anderson is a representative work reflecting the failed American Dream of Father , the protagonist。 In the story, Father is a farmer who works hard to realize his American Dream－to get up in the world, but he is confronted with a lot of obstacles and setbacks。 He is not able to deal with them and his dream is disillusioned at last。 Although American Literature has a short history of more than 200 years, a plenty of works with a far-reaching effect on the world literature have been produced, among which American Dream is an ever-lasting topic。 In terms of American Dream, it means that anyone is able to get a better life after his unremitting struggle。 That is, people take their steps towards success through their own diligence, bravery, creativity and determination but not depending on a given class or others’ help。 For this study, we discuss the causes of the failure of the American Dream in The Egg from the aspects of external factors: society, history, economy and religion and the internal factors: the author, the protagonist。 By analysis on the various causes of the failure, we can embrace a comprehensive meaning of the American Dream and its influence on the American Literature。