《屠场》的异化消费

The theme of overconsumption in The Jungle

美国左翼作家厄普顿.辛克莱致力于以文学介入社会生活,其代表作《屠场》的生态意识获得学界共识。小说从包括食品安全问题在内的多层面反映作者对人类与环境之矛盾冲突的生态思考。其中,从消费主体和消费环境两方面所反映的异化消费问题阐释了人类物质生活层面的困境。辛克莱以移民群体作为再现的对象,从消费的符号层面与文化内涵探讨美国现代社会中资本的逻辑,以及资本与社会控制之间的关系。

Upton Sinclair,an American leftist author,is dedicated to a social reform with literature.Recent scholarships acknowledge the ecological awareness in The Jungle,his masterpiece,which represents the conflicts between human beings and the environment from various aspects beyond food security.The theme of overconsumption of the novel,reflected from the alienation of the subject and the environment of consumption,demonstrates that human beings are materially alienated.Sinclair builds his representation around immigrants＇ life,explores the logic of capital in modern America by analyzing the cultural connotations of consumption,and reveals the relationship between capital and social domination.