赵芳

【摘要】美国传统价值观在美国社会的发展过程中起到了积极的推动作用，一直以来是美国社会的主流价值取向。笔者首先对小说内容、进行简介，然后概述美国传统价值观的概念，并详细分析个人主义、平等、自由等美国传统价值观在阿甘主要小说人物身上的体现。本论文对小说中所体现的美国传统价值观进行总结，积极倡导美国传统价值观中健康向上的因素，有助于加深人们对美国传统观及美国社会与文化的认识。

【關键词】美国传统价值观 阿甘正传 文化 道德

【Abstract】Traditional American values， such as individualism， equality and freedom， have played a positive role in the development of American society. As the main value orientation of American society， traditional American values have great influenced on the American society as well as the individuals development. Forrest Gump is a famous novel， which reflects the social reality and culture of that time. Traditional American values， such as individualism， equality and liberty， are fully reflected by the main characters of the novel. First， the writer introduces the main plot of the novel simply； second， the concept and core contents of the traditional American values are outlined； third， the writer makes analysis of individualism， equality and freedom reflected in the main characters of the novel， Forrest. Finally， the author makes a conclusion of the reflection of the American traditional values in the novel， and advocates the positive influence of traditional American values in the development of society and individuals， which will help people get a better understanding of the American society and culture.

【Key words】Traditional American values； Forrest Gump； Culture； Morality

I. A Study of the Traditional American Values

Traditional American values are formed with the development and advance of American society. It is a kind of outcome created by history， and promotes social progress and leads America moving forward toward a brilliant future. The one value that most Ameican agree upon is individual freedom. By freedom， American mean the desire and the right of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government， a noble class， the church or any other organized authority. The traditional American values were an important spirit supported by Americans， and bought wealthy and wonderful life to people. And then writer will focus on the core contents of the traditional American values， and analyses individualism， freedom and equality based in novel figures.

Ⅱ. The reflection of individualism in Forrest

Sincerity is an important quality in peoples daily life. The sincerity of Forrest was reflected in his friendship with his friends. Although he did not have many friends， his friend accompanied with him in adversity. Although he uses his abnormal way to express his concern for friends and relatives， his every word and action is sincere. He can sacrifice his own life to save his friends. The quality of fidelity， faith， persistence and kindness of Forrest are the typical symbols of the American tradition values.

Ⅲ. The reflection of equality in Forrest

The values of equality reflected in Forrest mainly shown in his equal treatment to the blacks and no racial discrimination. In novel， Forrest and black Babb met in the school and became good friends. Then they took part in the Vietnam War， and Babb were killed in battle. In order to achieve the dream of Babb， Forrest and Lieutenant Dan bought a shrimp boat and started shrimp career. At the same time， he also helped Babb take care of his mother and family members after he got success. For Forrest， friends should be equal and friendship has nothing to do with skin color， so he abides his promise to Babb. This is his simple way of thinking. Although there are severe discriminators towards the black people in American society at that time， Forrests equal attitude to his friends became a good symbol of the American spirit of equality. So equality always is one of the important themes of the western cultural values.

Ⅵ. Conclusion

The traditional values of the American society are the common way of thinking and the common standard to make judgment， which is concentrated on the expression of the national psychological consciousness. All of optimistic， romantic and pure traits embodied in the American characters. They advocated personal struggle， adventure and respected indomitable fighting spirit. The thesis discusses the reflection of traditional American values in characters of the novel Forrest Gump. It aims at inducting and summarizing the positive values of traditional American values， and elaborating its guidance effect in the development of individual and society， and also this study will support people to pursue positive values in Chinese society.

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