《纽约外史》通过对纽约历史的诙谐评述,讽刺了小说创作时美国的诸种社会现象和文化心态。小说背后的思想主线是对启蒙思想的讽刺和抨击,包括对进步主义历史观的否定,对自由主义政治的批评以及对理性主义的嘲讽。这些反启蒙思想构成了小说的思想基调。 Through the witty reviews of the history of New York City, The Outside World of New York City satirizes the various social phenomena and cultural mentality of the United States in the novel creation. The main line of thought behind the novel is the irony and lashing of enlightenment thoughts, including the negation of progressiveism, the criticism of liberal politics and the irony of rationalism. These anti-enlightenment ideas constitute the ideological tone of the novel.