Abstract: Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road recounts American middle-class couples' incorporation into and rebellion against the post-war life of homogeneity， thus reflecting on the dead end that the self—American national character—comes to in 1950s， the time when the society is characterized with affluence and anxiety. Based on an interpretation of the plight of the self in the novel and the conformity culture in 1950s from the perspective of cultural criticism， those who conform to the mainstream values either develop the “other-directed character” due to the degenerating influence of the consumer culture， or become “the organization men” owing to the suppressing power of the cold war ideology. By contrast， some social rebels who pursue the American self are confronted with “new alienation”， thus suffering from the identity crisis and the paradox of freedom. In this sense， the degeneration， repression and alienation of the self demonstrates the collapse of the traditional American self in 1950s， and produces a crystalline snapshot of the plight of the self under the influence of conformity culture.

Key words: the self, conformity culture, Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates