美国文学史复习指导题
美国文学史及选读期末复习题
1.Captain John Smith became the first American writer。
2.The puritans looked upon themselves asa chosen people.is an annual collection of proverbs written by Benjamin Franklin.4.Thomas Paine’s famousboldly advo cated a “Declaration for Independence”。
5.Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence with John Adams,Benjamin Franklin,Roger Sherman,and Robert Livingston.has been called the “Father of American Poetry”.7.In Washington Ir ving’sappeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature.8.Cooper’s enduring fame rests on his frontier stories, especially the five novelsWilliam Cullen Bryant’s wok.is considered “father of American detective stories and American gothic stories"。
10.Emerson believed above all inand self—reliance.11.deepest12.Moby Dick is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage in pursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale. 13.After his death,Longfellow became the only American to be honored with a bust in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey。
美国文学史复习资料
I. Multiple Choice (20 points in all, 1 for each)1) Check the dictionary: pompous, vernacular2) At the beginning of Faulkner’s福克纳(美国小说家,曾获1949年诺贝尔文学奖)A Rose For Emily, there is a detailed description of Emily’s old house. The purpose of such description is to imply that the person living in it __C____.A. is a wealth ladyB. has good tasteC. is a prisoner of the pastD. is aconservative aristocrat3) Stylistically, Henry James’s亨利·詹姆斯(美国著名小说家和批评家)fiction is characterized by ___D_____.A. short clear sentencesB. abundance of local imagesC. ordinary American speechD.highly refined language1. The convention of the desire for an escape from society and a reture to nature inAmerican Literature is particularly evident in __A______A. Cooper’s L eather-Stocking TakesB. Hawthorne’s . 霍桑The Scarlet Letter红色禁恋;红字C.Whitman’s惠特曼Leavesof Grass草叶集D.Irving’s 欧文Rip Van Winkle里普·万·温克尔(美国作家欧文的作品中人物名)2. In 1873,Ralph Waldo Emerson 拉尔夫·瓦尔多·爱默生(美国作家)made a speech entitled at Harvard,which was hailed by Ol iver Wendell Homes as “our Intellectual Dedaration of Independence” DA.NatureB.Self-RelianceC.Divinity Scholar AddressD.The AmericanScholar3. What’s the analogy that Emily Dickin son uses in her poem Because I could not stopfor death? AA.Horse and carriageB. stage and performanceC.Cloud and ShadeD.ship and harbor4. Most of the writers in the Modern Period were able to probe into the inner would of ofhuman reality on the base of _D___A.Carl Jung’s “collective unconscious”集体无意识and “archetypal symbol”B.Sigmound Frend’s “interpretation of dreams”C.William Jame’s “stream of consciousness”意识流(一种文学流派)D.all of the above.II. Blank Filling (10 points in all, 1 for each)1) __Henry James____ is considered the founder of Psychological realism. He believed that reality lies in the impressions made by life on the spectator.2) Mark Twain’s first novel, __ The Gilded Age______ 镀金时代was an artistic failure, but it gave its name to the America of the postbellum美国南北战争后的period which it attempts to satirize.Blank Filling1. The best of puritan poets was Edward Taylor 爱德华.泰勒, whose complete edition of poems appeared in 1960, more than two hundred years after his death.7. The Financier, The Titan 巨人;提坦;太阳神and The Stoic 斯多葛学派哲学家form D reiser’s Martin Eden.8. Edwin Arlington Robinson produced a large body of works and was honored with the Pulitzer 普利策奖Prize in 1522, 1925 and 1928.10. Fitzgerald’s菲茨杰拉德(美国作家,弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德)first novel This Side of Paradise, with its portrayal of casual dissipations of “flaming youth”, was an immediate commercial success.3. In “Song of Myself”, Whitman’s惠特曼own early experience may well be identified with the children of a young growing American.4. The range of Dickinson’s poetry suggests not her limited experience but the power of her creativity and imagination.5. Mark Twain, breaking out of the narrow limits of local color fiction, described thebreadth of American experience as no one had ever done before, or since.6. Mark Twain’s first novel, The Gilded Age was an artistic failure ,but it gave its name to the America of the postbellum period which it attemps.7. Many of O.Henry’s stones talk about the life of poor people in New York.8. Henry James realism is characterized by his psychological approach to his subject matter.9. The Financier, T he Tifan and The Stoic form Dreiser’s “Trilogy of Desire”欲望三部曲12. American writers of first postwar era self ——consciously acknowledged that they were a “Lost Generation ” devoid of faith and alienated from a civilization.13. At one time, Sandburg’s reputation mainly rested on a multi ——volume biography of Abraham Lincoln 亚伯拉罕including “The Prairie Years”and “The War Years”14. For publication of his collected Poems, Wallace Stevens华莱士.史蒂文斯received the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize.15. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded a Nobel Prize for his “mastery of the art of modern narration”.16. In 1935, Steinbeck斯坦贝克published Tortilla Flat. A collection of short story which vividly described the “life of poor Mexican——Americans with affection and humor.17. The Yoknapatawpha Country is a legendary kingdom created by Faulkner.18. The most significant American poem of the 20th century was The Waste Land.19. Edwin Arlington Robinson produced a large body of works and was honored with the Pulitzer Prize in 1922, 1925 and 1928.21. As Thomas Sterns Eliot’s declared, he followed strictly the advice of his doze friendEzra Pound in cutting and concentrating The Waste Land12.“Martin Eden”is the novel into which Jack London put most of himself。
美国文学题库 整理版
美国文学史及选读期末复习重点考试题型:1.名词解释(20分)5个*4=20分2.选择题(20分)3.连线题(10分)4.判断题(10分)5.片段赏析(20分)一个10分2个一个小说一个诗歌6.论述题(20分)一个10分2个一个小说一个诗歌The Outline of American LiteratureThe Realistic Period 1865-1914Realists:Henry James and his psychological realismWilliam Dean Howells and his moral realismLocal Colorism/Regionalism: Mark TwainNaturalists:Stephen Crane /DreiserThe Modern Period 1914-1945Modern Poetry:Imagism:Ezra PoundW.C.WilliamsLyrical Poet:Robert FrostCarl SandburgWallace StevensModern Novelists:Representatives of the Lost Generation:(Jazz Age)F.Scott Fitzgerald/Ernest Hemingway/T.S.EliotEpitome of the Southern Renaissance:William FaulknerThe Leftist Novelists:John Dos Passos/John SteinbeckThe Jewish American Novelists in this period:Eugene O·NeillPart I Term Definition1.American Naturalism:美国自然主义1.Naturalism is a more deliberate kind of realism and this term describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity(客观)and detachment(冷静)to its study of human beings.2.Naturalism is a literary movement that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character.3.Although naturalist literaturedescribed the world with sometimes brutal realism, it sometimes also aimed at bettering the world throughsocial reform.4.It accepted the interpretation Dreiser is a leadingKey words:Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory;environment and heredity; objectivity and detachment Theodore Dreiser; Sister Carrie, Stephen Crane, etc.2.American Realism:美国现实主义1.时间:In American literature, the Civil War brought the Romantic Period to an end. The Age of Realism came into existence. 内战将浪漫主义结束,开启现实主义。
美国文学史期末考试复习资料全
I.Multiple choice. Please choose the best answer among the four items.(10 x 1’= 10’)1.In American literature, the 18th century was the age of Enlightenment. ______was the dominant.2.The short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is taken from Irving’s worknamed ______.3.Which of the following is not the characteristic of American Romanticism?4.The short story “Rip Van Winkle” reveals the ____ attitude of its author.5.Stylistically, Henry James’ fiction is characterized by _____.6.Transcendentalist doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in_____ and Thoreau.7.Which is regarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”?8.____ is considered Mark Twain’s greatest achievement.9._____ is not among those greatest figures in “Lost Generation”.10.Naturalism is evolved from realism when the author’s tone in writing b ecomesless serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more ____.1-5,BBACD 6-10 BADCDII.Multiple choice. Please choose the best answer among the four items.(10 x 1’= 10’)11.______ is the father of American Literature.12._____ is a fantasy tale about a man who somehow stepped outside the mainstream of life.13._____ was the most leading spirit of the Transcendental Club.14.Which of following is NOT a typical feature of Mark Twain’s language?15.From Thoreau’s jail experience, came his famous essay, _____ which stateshis belief that no man should violate his conscience at the command of agovernment.A. WaldenB. NatureC. Civil DisobedienceD. Common Sense16.Which is regarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”?17.Most of the poems in Whitman’s Leaves of Grass sing of the “en-mass” andthe ____ as well.18.What did Fitzgerald call the 1920s?19.Naturalism is evolved from realism when the author’s tone in writing becomesless serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more ____.20.For Melville, as well as for the reader and ____, the narrator, Moby Dickis still a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the universe.1-5 D A B C C 6-10 A C C D C II. Identify Works as Described Below (1’×15 =15’):1.The novel has a sole black protagonist who tells his own story but whose namein unknown to us.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It on theMountains2.The main conflict of the play is the protagonist’s false value of fineappearance and popularity with people and the cruel reality of the societyin which money is everything.a.A Street Car Named Desireb. The Hairy Apec.Long Day’s Journey intoNightd. Death of Salesman3.It is an autobiographical play and Edmund in the play is based on theplaywright himself.a. Long Day’s Journey into Nightb. Henderson the Rain Kingc. The Hairy Aped. The Glass Menageries4.The novel tells of how a black man kills a white woman by accident and howthe society is responsible for the murder.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It on theMountains5._________ is one of the best works in American literature about the SecondWorld War.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Catcher in the Ryec.The Red Badge of Couraged. The Naked and the Dead6. The novel by Hemingway is the best of its kind about World War I.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Sun Also Risesc.The Old Man and the Sead. The Naked and the Dead7.The novel is about how a family of farmers cannot survive in Oklahoma andtravel to California to seek a living and how they suffer hunger in California.a.The Grapes of Wrathb. U.S. A.c.Babbittd. The Adventures of Augie March8.It is a trilogy including The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money, withsuch techniques as biographies, newsreels and camera eye.a.Babbittb. Light in Augustc. U.S.A.d. The Grapes of Wrath9.It is a novel which uses the stream of consciousness technique and whosetitle is taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.a. Absolom, Absolom!b. The Sound and the Furyc.A Farewell to Armsd. The Great Gatsby10. It is a naturalistic work about how a country girl is seduced and how shebecomes a famous actress and how her lover falls into a beggar and finally commits suicide.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec. McTeagued.Maggie, A Girl of the Streets11. The novel is set on the Mississippi with the protagonist telling us the storyin the local dialect. It is a representative work of local colorism.a.Sister Carrieb.The Adventures of Tom Sawyerc. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnd.The Portrait of a Lady12.The novel is a psychological study of a soldier (Henry Fleming)’s reactionsin the Civil War.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec.The Red Badge of Couraged. McTeague13. The poem is written in free verse in 52 cantos with the theme of theuniversality and equality in value of all people and all things.a.Cantosb. The Ravenc. Song of Myselfd.Chicago14. The novel is about how a group of people on a whaling ship kill a great whalebut themselves are killed by the whale, with the conflict between man and his fate.a.The Octopusb. Moby-Dickc. The Rise of Silas Laphamd. Leaves of Grass15. It is a philosophical essay in 8 chapters plus an introduction mainlyconcerned with the four uses of nature.a. Waldenb. Naturec. The Scarlet Letterd. The American Scholar1-5.cdaad 6-10.aacbb cbbI.C hoose the Best Answer for Each of the Following (1’×15=15’):1.An English ship brought 102 people from Plymouth, England on September 16,1620 and arrived in the present Provincetown harbor on November 21 in the same year. This ship was named ____________.a. The Pilgrimsb. Mayflowerc. Americad. Titanic2._________ is father of American drama and in his dramatic career he wrote 49 plays.a. Tennessee Williamsb. Eugene O’Neillc. Arthur Millerd. Elmer Rice3._________ was the first American writer to write entirely American literature.a. Anne Bradstreetb. Washington Irvingc. Mark Twaind. Ernest Hemingway4. _______ was the leader of American transcendentalism.a. Benjamin Franklinb. Washington Irvingc. Ralph Waldo Emersond. Henry David Thoreau5._______was the greatest woman poet in American literature and she wrote about1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Pearl S. Buckb.Harriet Bicher Stowec. Emily Dickensond. Walter Whitman6._________ is father of the detective story and of psychoanalytic criticism.a. Washington Irvingb. Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walt Whitmand. Edgar Allan Poe7.William Dean Howells is concerned with the middle class life; ______ writes about the upper class society, and Mark Twain deals with the lower class reality.a. Stephen Craneb. Frank Norrisc. Theodore Dreiserd. Henry James8. Which of the following is a naturalistic writer?a. William Dean Howellsb. Mark Twainc. Ernest Hemingwayd.Theodore Dreiser9. His writings are characterized by simple, colloquial language and deep thoughts. He is______.a. Ernest Hemingwayb. William Faulknerc. F. Scott Fitzgeraldd. Mark Twain10. He wrote 18 novels all set in Jefferson Town, Yoknapatwapha County in thedeep south. He is ______.a. William Faulknerb. John Steinbeckc. Ernest Hemingwayd. Mark Twain11. ________is Jewish in origin and in many of his novels the American Jews aremajor characters.a. Sinclair Lewisb. Saul Bellowc. Norman Mailerd. Jerome David Salinger12._________ is often regarded as the greatest American woman poet and she wrote over 1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Anne Bradstreetb. Robert Frostc. H.D.d. Emily Dickinson13.________ is father of American drama and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936.a. John Steinbeckb. William Faulknerc. Euge ne O’Neilld. Arthur Miller14. He was the first black American to write a book about black life with greatimpact on the consciousness of the nation and his masterpiece is one of the three classics about black Americans. Who is he?a.Richard Wrightb. Harriet Beecher Stowec. Langston Hughesd. RalphEllison15. Hemingway wrote about American compatriots in Europe whereas ________ wroteabout the Jazz age, life in American society.a.William Carlos Williamsb. William Faulknerc. John Steinbeckd. F. ScottFitzgerald1-5 bbccc 6-10.dddaa 11-15.bdcadI.Choose the Best Answer for Each of the Following (1×15 %):2.The American Civil War broke out in 1861 between the Northern states and theSouth states, which are known respectively as the ______and the______. a. N, S b. Revolutionaries, Reactionaries c. Union, Confederacy d. Slavery, Anti-Slavery2._____________was praised by the British as the “Tenth Muse in America”.a.Anne Bradstreetb. Edward Taylorc. Thomas Pained. Philip Freneau3.Mark Twain was a representative of ________ in American literature.a. transcendentalismb. naturalismc. local colorismd. imagism4. _______ was the leader of American transcendentalism.a. Benjamin Franklinb. Washington Irvingc. Ralph Waldo Emersond. Henry David Thoreau5.The greatest American poet and the first writer of free verse is ____________.a. Washington Irvingb.Ezra Poundc. Walt Whitmand. Emily Dickinson6._________ is father of the detective story and of psychoanalytic criticism.a. Washington Irvingb. Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walt Whitmand. Edgar Allan Poe7.Henry James is concerned with the upper class life; ______ writes about the middle class society, and Mark Twain deals with the lower class reality.a. Stephen Craneb. Frank Norrisc. Theodore Dreiserd. William Dean Howells8. Which of the following is a naturalistic writer?a. William Dean Howellsb. Mark Twainc. Ernest Hemingwayd.Theodore Dreiser9. ________’s writings are characterized by simple, colloquial language and deep thoughts.a. Ernest Hemingwayb. William Faulknerc. F. Scott Fitzgeraldd. Mark Twain10. ______ wrote 18 novels all set in Jefferson Town, Yoknapatwapha County inthe deep south. .a. William Faulknerb. John Steinbeckc. Ernest Hemingwayd. MarkTwain11. ________is Jewish in origin and in many of his novels the American Jews aremajor characters.a. Sinclair Lewisb. Saul Bellowc. Norman Mailerd. Jerome David Salinger12._________ is often regarded as the greatest American woman poet and she wrote over 1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Anne Bradstreetb. Robert Frostc. H.D.d. Emily Dickinson13.________ is father of American drama and won the Nobel Prize for literaturein 1936.a. John Steinbeckb. William Faulknerc. Eugene O’Neilld. Arthur Miller14. _______ was the first black American to write a book about black life withgreat impact on the consciousness of the nation and his masterpiece is one of the three classics about black Americans.b.Richard Wright b. Harriet Beecher Stowec. Langston Hughesd. Ralph Ellison15. ________ first used the “Jazz age” as the title of a collection of shortstoriesa. F. Scott Fitzgeraldb. William Faulknerc. John Steinbeckd. ErnestHemingway1-5.caccc 6-10.dddaa 11-15.bdcbaII. Identify Works as Described Below (1×15 %):6.The play is about a stoker whose identity as a human being is not recognizedby his fellow human beings and who tries to find affinity with a monkey in the zoo and is finally killed by the animal.a. The Hairy Apeb. Henderson the Rain Kingc. Long Day’s Journey into Nightd. The Glass Menageries7.The protagonist in this play is a crippled girl named Amanda.a.A Street Car Named Desireb. The Hairy Apec.Long Day’s Journey intoNightd.The Glass Menageries8.The hero of this novel tells about his own story to us but his name is unknown.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It on the Mountains4. It is an autobiographical play and Edmund in the play is based on theplaywright himself.a. Long Day’s Journey into Nightb. Henderson the Rain Kingc. The Hairy Aped. The Glass Menageries5.The novel tells of how a black man kills a white woman by accident and howhe is finally arrested and tried and sentenced to death.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It on theMountains6._________ is one of the best works in American literature about the SecondWorld War.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Catcher in the Ryec.The Red Badge of Couraged. The Naked and the Dead6. The novel by Hemingway is the best of its kind about World War I.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Sun Also Risesc.The Old Man and the Sead. The Naked and the Dead10.The novel is about how a family of farmers cannot survive in Oklahoma andtravel to California to seek a living and how they suffer hunger in California.b.The Grapes of Wrath b. U.S. A.c.Babbittd. The Adventures of Augie March11.It is a trilogy including The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money, withsuch techniques as biographies, newsreels and camera eye.b.Babbitt b. Light in Augustc. U.S.A.d. The Grapes of Wrath12.It is a novel which uses the stream of consciousness technique and whosetitle is taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.a. Absolom, Absolom!b. The Sound and the Furyc.A Farewell to Armsd. The Great Gatsby10. It is a naturalistic work about how a country girl is seduced and elopeswith Hurstwood and how she becomes a famous actress and how her lover falls into beggary and finally commits suicide.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec. McTeagued.Maggie, A Girl of the Streets11. It is a novel with 135 chapters plus an epilog; in it a group of people ona whaling ship kill a great whale but they themselves are killed by the whalein the end, except Ishmael the narrator who survives by adhering to a coffin.b.Sister Carrie b.The Adventures of Tom Sawyerc. Moby Dickd. The Portrait of a Lady12.The novel is a psychological study of a soldier (Henry Fleming)’s reactionsin the Civil War, in which wound is called the red badge which symbolizes courage.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec.The Red Badge of Couraged. McTeague13. The poem is written in free verse in 52 cantos with the theme of theuniversality and equality in value of all people and all things.a.Cantosb. The Ravenc. Song of Myselfd.Chicago14. The novel is about how a man falls economically and socially but who risesmorally because he gives up the opportunity to sell his factory to an English Syndicate, which would otherwise mean a ruin to that syndicate.a.The Octopusb. The Rise of Silas Laphamc. Moby-Dickd. Leaves of Grass15. It is a speech delivered at Harvard University. It is often hailed as the“declaration of intellectual independence” in America.a. The American Scholarb. Naturec. The Scarlet Letterd. Walden 1-5.adcad 6-10.aacbb cbaII. Match the following (1×20%)A. Match Works with Their Authors1.Hugh Selwyn Mauberly2.Walden3. Autobiography4. The Scarlet Letter5.Leaves of Grass6.The Raven7. The Rise of Silas Lapham8. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer9. Long Day’s Journey into Night10. The Old Man and the Seaa.Mark Twain b . Ernest Hemingwayc. Eugene O’Neilld. William Dean Howellse. Edgar Allan Poef. Walt Whitmang. Nathaniel Hawthorne h. Benjamin Franklini.Henry David Thoreau j. Ezra Poundk.Thomas Jefferson l. T.S. EliotB. Match the Characters with the works in which they appear.1.Hester Prynne2.Mrs. Touchett3.Frederick Henry4.Benjy Compson5.the Joads6.General Edward Cummings7.Holden Caulfield 7.Bigger Thomas8.Yank 9.Happya.The Portrait of a Ladyb. The Scarlet Letterc. The Hairy Aped. A Farewell to Armse.The Sound and the Furyf. The Grapes of Wrathg. The Naked and the Deadh. The Catcher in the Ryei. Native Sonj. Death of a Salesmank.Invisible Man l.Catch-22A. Match Works with Their Authors1-5.jihgf 6-10.edccbB. Match the Characters with the works in which they appear. 1-5.badef 6-10.ghicjIII. Match the following (1’×20=20’)A. Match works with their authors1.Nature2.Rip Van Winkle3. Nature4. The Scarlet Letter5.Leaves of Grass6.The Raven7. The Rise of Silas Lapham8. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn9. Cantos10. The Old Man and the Seaa.Ezra Poundb. Ernest Hemingwayc. Mark Twaind. William Dean Howellse. Edgar Allan Poef. Walt Whitmang. Nathaniel Hawthorne h. Ralph Waldo Emersoni.Washington Irving j. Waldo Emersonk.T.S. Eliot l. Robert FrostB. Match characters with the works in which they appear.2.Captain Ahab and Starbuck 2.Isabel Archer3.Frederic Henry and Catherine4.Benjy Compson5.the Joads6.General Edward Cummings7.Holden Caulfield 8.Bigger Thomas9.The Tyrones 10.Willy Lomana.The Portrait of a Ladyb. Moby-Dickc. Death of a Salesmand. A Farewell to Armse.The Sound and the Furyf. The Grapes of Wrathg. The Naked and the Dead h. The Catcher in the Ryei. Native Son j. Long Day’s Journey into Nightk.Absalom, Absalom l. The Old Man and the SeaA. Match Works with Their Authors1-5.jihgf 6-10.edcabB. Match the Characters with the works in which they appear.1-5.badef 6-10.edcabV. Essay Questions (30%; c hoose only ONE of the following three topics and write a short essay of at least 200 words. Note: [1]Your essay should have at least 2 paragraphs; you are not simply to make a list of facts.[2] You may give a title to your essay, but you are required to indicate which of the 3 topics it belongs to. [3]You are not to write on a topic of your own.1.To the best of your knowledge, analyze and make comments on Emerson’sNaturement on any American poet you like.3.Analyze and/or comment on any one of the American novels or plays you haveread.V. Essay Questions (30%; c hoose only ONE of the following three topics andwrite a short essay of at least 200 words. Note: [1]Your essay should haveat least 2 paragraphs; you are not simply to make a list of facts.[2] You maygive a title to your essay, but you are required to indicate which of the 3topics it belongs to. [3]You are not to write on a topic of your own.)4.Make comments on an American novel we have discussed in this course.ment on an American poet.6.Describe how your knowledge of American literature is improved after takingthis course..IV. Please answer the following questions briefly. (2 x 10’ = 20’)1.Why do people think Franklin is the embodiment of American dream?2.What is “Lost Generation”?V. Discussion. (1 x 20’ = 20’)State your own interpretations of Hemingway’s iceberg theory of writing?IV. Please answer the following questions briefly. (2 x 10’ = 20’)3.Wha t is Hawthorne’s style? Explain the style with examples.4.At the end of the 19th century, there were three fighters for Realism. Whoare they? What are their differences?________True or False. (10 x 2’= 20’)1. American literature is the oldest of all national literature.2. Thomas Jefferson was the only American to sign the 4 documents that created the US.3. All his literary life, Hawthorne seemed to be haunted by his sense of sin and evil.4. Most of the poems in Leaves of Grass are about human psychology.5. Hurstwood is a character in Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.6. Faulkner’s region was the Deep North, with its bitter history of slavery, civil war and destruction.7. Placed in historical perspective, Howells is found lacking in qualities and depth. But anyhow he is a literary figure worthy of notice.8. Faulkner’s works have been termed the Yoknapatawpha Saga, “one connected story”.9. As a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematical.10. Emily Dickinson expr esses her deep love in the poem “Annabel Lee”.1-5 F F T F F 6-10 F F T F FII. Decide whether the statements are True or False. (10 x 2’= 20’)1. Early in the 17th century, the English settlements in Virginia and began the main stream of what we recognize as the American national history.2. American Romantic writers avoided writing about nature, medieval legends and with supernatural elements.3. As a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematical.4. “Young Goodman Brown” wants to prove everyone possesses kindness in heart.5. Henry James was a realist in the same way as one views the realism of Twain or Howells.6. The American realists sought to describe the wide range of American experience and to present the subtleties of human personality.7. Frost’s concern with nature reflected his deep moral uncertainties.8. Faulkner’s works have been termed the Yoknapatawpha Saga, “one connected story”.9. Roger Chillingworth is a character in Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.10. After the Civil War, the Frontier was closing. Disillusionment and frustration were widely felt. What had been expected to be a “Golden Age” turned to be a “Gilded” one.1-5 T F T F T 6-10 F T T F TIII. Please explain the follo wing terms. (5 x 6’ = 30’)1. Puritanism2. Free verse3. International novel:4.Romanticism 5. Naturalism 6. American Realism7.American Naturalism Modernism Imagism1.Puritanism: Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans.2.Free verse: It is poetry that has an irregular rhythm and line length andthat attempts to avoid any predetermined verse structure; instead, it usesthe cadences of natural speech.3.International novel: IN brings together persons of various nationalities whorepresent certain characteristics of their own countries.4. Naturalism: It views human beings as animals in the natural world respondingto environmental forces and internal stresses and drives, over none of whichthey have control and none of which they fully understand. The literarynaturalists have a major difference from the realists. They look at adifferent spot to find real life.III. Please explain the following terms. (5 x 6’ = 30’)1. Puritanism2. international novel3. the lostgenerationHemingway heroes4. free verse5.Americantranscendentalism1.Puritanism: Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans.2.international novel: IN brings together persons of various nationalities whorepresent certain characteristics of their own countries.3.the lost generation: reveals the huge destruction of the wars to the younggeneration. It describes the Americans who remained in Paris as a colony of“expatriates”. They were lost in disillusionment.4.free verse: It is poetry that has an irregular rhythm and line length andthat attempts to avoid any predetermined verse structure; instead, it usesthe cadences of natural speech.5.transcendentalism: It stressed the power of intuition, believing that peoplecould learn things both from the outside world by means of the five sensesand from the inner world by intuition. It took nature as symbolic of spirit or God. All things in nature were symbols of the spiritual, of God’s presence. It emphasized the significance of the individual and believed that the individual was the most important element in society and that the ideal kind of individual was self-reliant and unselfish. Transcendentalists envisioned religion as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal “Oversoul”.。
美国文学史期末考试复习资料
一、作者-作品1.Eugene O’Neill 尤金·奥尼尔Desire under the Elms榆树下的欲望2.Washington Irving华盛顿.欧文The Sketch Book见闻札记The Legend of Sleepy Hollow睡谷的传说3.Nathaniel Hawthorne霍桑The Scarlet Letter红字4.Herman Melville麦尔维尔Moby Dick白鲸5.Edgar Allan Poe艾伦.坡The Raven乌鸦6.Walt Whitman惠特曼Leaves of Grass草叶集7. Harriet Beecher Stowe 哈丽雅特.比彻.斯托Uncle Tom’s Cabin汤姆叔叔的小屋8. Henry James 亨利.詹姆斯in the Portrait of a Lady一位女士的肖像9.Mark Twain 马克.吐温TheAdventures ofHuckleberry Finn哈克贝里.费恩历险The Gilded Age镀金时代10. O. Henry 欧.亨利The Gift of the Magi麦琪的礼物11. Stephen Crane:史蒂芬.克莱恩The Red Badge of Courage红色英勇勋章12.Theodore Dreiser 西奥多.德莱塞Sister Carrie嘉莉妹妹13.Jack London 杰克.伦敦The Call of the Wild野性的呼唤14. John Steinbeck 约翰.斯坦贝克The Grapes of Wrath愤怒的葡萄15.F. Scott Fitzgerald弗斯.菲茨杰拉德The Great Gatsby了不起的盖茨比16.Ernest Hemingway 海明威The Sun Also Rises太阳照样升起17.Katherine Anne Porter 凯瑟琳.安.波特Flowing Judas and other Stories犹大之花18. Ezra Pound 埃兹拉.庞德 Imagism 意象派The Cantos 诗章19.William Carlos Williams: 威廉.威廉姆斯The Red Wheelbarrow红色手推车20. Joseph Heller约瑟夫海勒:Catch-22 第22条军规21.Thomas Stearns Eliot爱略特The Waste Land荒原22.Zora Neal Hurston 佐拉.赫斯顿Their eyes were watching God 他们眼望上苍二、名词解释1.Transcendentalism超验主义:(1)As a philosophical and literary movement, American Transcendentalis m (also known as “ American Renaissance”) flourshed in New England fr om the 1830s to the Civil War. It is the high tide of American romanticism and its doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in Emerson and Thoreau. Transcendentalists spoke for the cultural rejuvenation and agai nst the materialism of American society.(2)The major features of Transcendentalism:① The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe. 思想超灵宇宙② The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. To t hem, the individual is the most important element of Society. 个体+社会③ The Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbol ic of the Spirit or God. Nature was not purely matter. It was alive, filled w ith God’s overwhelming presence. 自然+上帝代表人物:Emerson, Thoreau2.The Gilded Age镀金时代:an age of excess and extremes, of decline and progress, of poverty and dazzling wealth, of gloom and buoyant hope. Although Americans continued to read the works of Irving, Cooper, Hawthorne, and Poe, the great age of American romanticism had ended. By the 1870s the New England Renaissance had waned. 无节制、走极端,倒退和进步、贫困和富有并存,既令人沮丧又让人有希望的时代。
美国文学史考试复习资料全
美国文学史考试复习资料全1美国文学史复习(colonialism)第一部分殖民主义时期的文学一、时期综述1、清教徒采用的文学体裁:a、narratives 日记b、journals 游记2、清教徒在美国的写作内容:1)their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops 3) About deal ing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit3、清教徒的思想:1)puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology.3look upon themselves as chosen people, and it follow logically tha t anyone who challenged their way of life is opposing God's will and is not to be accepted.4)puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts sometimes has been exagge rated. 步5)religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.。
4、典型的清教徒:John Cotton & Roger William他们的不同:John Cotton was much more concerned with authority thanwith democrac y;William begins the history of religious toleration in America.5、William的宗教观点:Toleration did not stem from a lack of religious convictions. Instead , it sprang from the idea that simply to be virtuous in conduct an d devout in belief did not give anyone the right to force belief o n others. He also felt that no political order or church system cou ld identify itself directly with Go6、英国最早移民到美国的诗人:Anne Bradstreet7、在殖民时期最好的清教徒诗人:the best of Puritan poets is Edward Tayor.学习指南:1、Could you give a description of American Puritans? 关于美国清教徒的描绘Like their brothers back in England, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to the "purity" of the first·c entury church as established by Jesus Christ himself. To them religion was a matter of primary importance. They made it their chief busi ness to see that man lived and thought and acted in a way which t ended to the glory of God. They accepted the doctrine of predestinat ion, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God, all that John Calvin, the gre at French theologian who lived in Geneva had preached It was this kind of religious belief that they brought with them into the wild ness. There they meaant to prove that were God's chosen people enjoy ing his blessings on this earth as in Heaven.2,,Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety were the Puritan valuesthat d ominated much of the earliest American writing.3、The work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet & Edward Taylor, rose to t he level of real poetry.4.The earliest settlers included Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French, Spani ards Italian, and Portuguese.美国文学史复习2(reasoning and revolution) )一、美国的性质:The war for Independence ended in the formation of a Federative bourgeois democratic republic - the United States of America. 联邦的资产阶级民主共和国--美利坚合众国。
美国文学史期末考试复习题
美国文学史期末考试复习题(使用书本为童明的《美国文学史修订版》)一、名词解释(交代背景、内容/特点、代表人物/作品)1. American Realism: In American literature, the Civil War brought the Romantic Period to an end. The Age of Realism came into existence. It came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism. Realism turned from an emphasis on the strange toward a faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived. It expresses the concern for commonplace and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience. (the representative writers and its features should be also added.)2. Black Humor :1)In the 1960s, in literature, drama, and film, black humor refers to grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world.2)Black humor often uses low comedy farce and low comedy to make clear that individuals are helpless victims of fate and character.3)Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is an example of this school3. Henry James’s international theme: 书p1594. Beat Generation:1) American poets, 1950s-1960s, a rebellion ,counterculture, romantic, drugs and uninhibited sex.2)Best and most influential poem: “Howl”:denounces the life-denying effects of American culture.5.American Puritanism:it comes from the American puritans, who were the first immigrants moved to American continent in the 17th century. Original sin, predestination and salvation were the basic ideas of American Puritanism. And, hard-working, piousness,thrift and sobriety were praised.书p176. Transcendentalism: is a philosophic and literary movement that flourished in New England, particular at Concord, as a reaction against Rationalism and Calvinism. Mainly it stressed intuitive understanding of God, without the help of the church, and advocated independence of the mind. The representative writers are Emerson andThoreau.7. Themes of Henry James’s writing: 书p1588.The Lost Generation:it refers to a group of young intellectuals who came back from war,were injured both physically and mentally. They lived by indulging themselves in the Bohemian way of life. Their American dream was disillusioned. The best representative of the lost generation was Ernest Hemingway.二、回答问题1. What are the characteristics of American romanticism?(书本p68. 3点+ P69.5点)2. How is the Darwinian belief in naturalism opposed to the Christian creationist view? 书p166What is the determinist view of existence that informs naturalism? What are the implications of this view on ethics?3. What are the philosophical foundations and characteristics of American naturalism? 书p1664. What are the important point s for Hawthorne’s sty le?5. What is the predominant mood in Poe’s poetry? Discuss with two poems as examples.6. What are the parameters of American Realism?书P1457. How is Thoreau revolt manifested both in his social actions and his writing?书p99What is the nature of his revolt?书p100( and nature in Civil Disobedience should be added)8. The age of American realism is divided into two more periods. What are the periods called? What are the characteristics and who are the representatives of each period?。
美国文学史复习
美国文学史复习(一)Colonialism(殖民主义)一、Puritan thoughts:1. to make their religious beliefs and practices pure,2. to restore simplicity,3. to live a hard and disciplined life4. to oppose pleasure and arts.二、Puritan values:hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (they dominated much of the earliest American writing.)(二)Romanticism一、文学特征:1. Environment:①shaped by their New World environment 美洲大陆新环境②array of ideas inherited from the romantic traditions of Europe 欧洲早期浪漫主义思潮2.美国文学的特点:①pluralistic多元化②manifestations varied 表现形式多样③individualistic个人主义④conflicting 矛盾3. Romanticism的特点:①moral enthusiasm注重道德②faith in the value of individualism and intuitive perception强调个人主义价值观和直觉感受③the presumption that the natural world was a source of corruption.认为自然是美的源头,人类社会是腐败之源。
4. Transcendentalism:(超验主义)①As a moral philosophy, it was neither logical nor systematized.It exalted feeling over reason, individual expression over the restraints of law and custom.不讲逻辑,不讲系统只强调超越理性的感受,超越法律和世俗束缚的个人表达。
美国文学史考试复习资料全
1美国文学史复习(colonialism)第一部分殖民主义时期的文学一、时期综述1、清教徒采用的文学体裁:a、narratives 日记b、journals 游记2、清教徒在美国的写作内容:1)their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops 3) About deal ing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit3、清教徒的思想:1)puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology.3look upon themselves as chosen people, and it follow logically tha t anyone who challenged their way of life is opposing God's will and is not to be accepted.4)puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts sometimes has been exagge rated. 步5)religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.。
4、典型的清教徒:John Cotton & Roger William他们的不同:John Cotton was much more concerned with authority than with democrac y;William begins the history of religious toleration in America.5、William的宗教观点:Toleration did not stem from a lack of religious convictions. Instead , it sprang from the idea that simply to be virtuous in conduct an d devout in belief did not give anyone the right to force belief o n others. He also felt that no political order or church system cou ld identify itself directly with Go6、英国最早移民到美国的诗人:Anne Bradstreet7、在殖民时期最好的清教徒诗人:the best of Puritan poets is Edward Tayor.学习指南:1、Could you give a description of American Puritans? 关于美国清教徒的描绘Like their brothers back in England, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to the "purity" of the first·c entury church as established by Jesus Christ himself. To them religion was a matter of primary importance. They made it their chief busi ness to see that man lived and thought and acted in a way which t ended to the glory of God. They accepted the doctrine of predestinat ion, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God, all that John Calvin, the gre at French theologian who lived in Geneva had preached It was this kind of religious belief that they brought with them into the wild ness. There they meaant to prove that were God's chosen people enjoy ing his blessings on this earth as in Heaven.2,,Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety were the Puritan values that d ominated much of the earliest American writing.3、The work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet & Edward Taylor, rose to t he level of real poetry.4.The earliest settlers included Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French, Spani ards Italian, and Portuguese.美国文学史复习2(reasoning and revolution) )一、美国的性质:The war for Independence ended in the formation of a Federative bourgeois democratic republic - the United States of America. 联邦的资产阶级民主共和国--美利坚合众国。
美国文学史及选读期末复习题
1.Captain John Smith became the first American writer.5.The puritans looked upon themselves as a chosen people.6.The first major intellectual spokesman of the Massachusetts Bay colony was John Cotton,sometimes called “the Patriarch of New England.”7.Anne Bradstreet published The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, and she wasnicknamed the tenth Muse.8.Poor Richard’s Almanac is an annual collection of proverbs written by Benjamin Franklin.9.Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense boldly advocated a “Declaration forIndependence”.10.Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence with John Adams, BenjaminFranklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.11.Philip Freneau developed a natural, simple, and concrete diction, best illustrated in suchnature lyrics as “The Wild Honey Suckle” and “The Indian Burying Ground”.12.Philip Freneau has been called the “Father of American Poetry”.13.In Washington Irving’s Sketch Book appeared the first modern short stories and the first greatAmerican juvenile literature.14.Cooper’s enduring fame rests on his frontier stories, especially the five novels that comprisethe Leatherstocking tales.15.“To a Waterfowl” is perhaps the peak of William Cullen Bryant’s wok.16.“Thanatopsis”, William Cullen Bryant’s best-known poem, consists of four stanzas in iambictetrameter abab. The title means “view of death”.17.Edgar Allan Poe is considered “father of American detective stories and American gothicstories”.18.Emerson believed above all in individualism, independence of mind, and self-reliance.19.In Walden, Thoreau thought it better for a man to work one day a week and rest six, and therest of the time could be devoted to thought.20.Hawthorne’s stories touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature.21.Moby Dick is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage in pursuit of a seeminglysupernatural white whale.22.After his death, Longfellow became the only American to be honored with a bust in the Poet’sCorner of Westminster Abbey.23.Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, had become an American institutionand the most famous literary woman in the world.24.William Dean Howells found his subject matter in the experiences of the American middleclass.25.William Dean Howells called for the treatment of the “smiling aspects of life” as being themore “American.”26.The naturalists emphasized that the world was amoral, that men and women had no free will,that their lives were controlled by heredity and the environment.27.The poetic style Walt Whitman devised is now called free verse.28.O·Henry’s stories are usually short and interesting; Famous for theirsurprising end.29.Henry James is famous for his international theme of the traditionless American confrontingthe complexity of European life.30.Jack London believed in the inevitable triumph of the strongest individuals.31.Dreiser’s greatest and most successful novel, An American Tragedy, is about a young manwho acts as if the only way he can be truly fulfilled is by acquiring wealth—through marriage if necessary.32.Writers of the first postwar era self-consciously acknowledged that they were a “LostGeneration,” devoid of faith and alienated from a civilization.33.Wallace Stevens’ work is primarily motivated by the belief that “ideas of order”.34.With the publication of The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway became the spokesman for whatGertrude Stein had called “a lost generation.”Terms1.TranscendentalismTranscendentalism refers to the religious and philosophical doctrines of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others in New England in the middle 1800’s, which emphasized the importance of individual inspiration and intuition, the Oversoul, and Nature. Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea that nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual is divine and, therefore, self-reliant. New England Transcendentalism is the product of a combination of native American Puritanism and European Romanticism.2.NaturalismNaturalism, a more deliberate kind of realism, usually involves a view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment. As a literary movement, naturalism was initiated in France and it came to be led by Zola, who claimed at “scientific” status for his studies of impoverished characters miserably subjected to hunger, sexual obsession, and hereditary defects. Natural fiction aspired to a sociological objectivity, offering detailed and fully researched investigations into unexplored corners of modern society. The most significant work of naturalism in English being Dreiser’s Sister Carrie.3.American DreamThe American Dream is the faith held by many people in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.4.The Lost GenerationThe term Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American Literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Significant members included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, T. S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein herself. Hemingway likely popularized the term, quoting Stein (“You are all a lost generation”) as epigraph to his novel The Sun Also Rises. More generally, the term is being used for the young adults of Europe and America during World War I. They were “lost”because after the war many of them were disillusioned with the world in general and unwilling to more into a settled life5. ModernismModern writing is marked by a strong and conscious break with traditional forms and techniques of expression; it believes that we create the world in the act of perceiving it. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair. Itelevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious.6. RomanticismRomanticism as a literary movement came into being in England in the later half of the 18th century. It first made its appearance in England as a renewed interest in medieval literature. William Blake and Robert Burns represented the spirit of what is usually called Pre-Romanticism. With the publication of W illiam Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads in collaboration with S. T. Coleridge, romanticism began to bloom and found a firm place in history of English literature. In fact, the first half the 19th century recorded the triumph of Romanticism.7. PuritanismThe principles and practices of puritans were popularly known as Puritanism. Puritanism accepted the doctrines of Calvinism: the sovereignty of God; the supreme authority of the Bible; the irresistibility of God’s will for man in every act of life from cradl e to grave. These doctrines led the Puritans to examine their souls to find whether they were of the elect and to search the Bible to determine God’s will.8.Hemingway Heroes / Code Hero“Hemingway Heroes” refer to some protagonists in Hemingway’s works. Such a hero usually is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent. And usually he is a man of action and of a few words. He is such an individualist, alone even when with other people, somewhat an outsider, keeping emotions under control, stoic and self-disciplined in a dreadful place where one can not get happiness. The Hemingway heroes stand for a whole generation. In a world which is essentially chaotic and meaningless, a Hemingway hero fights a solitary struggle against a force he does not even understand. The awareness that it must end in defeat, no matter how hard he strives, engenders a sense of despair. But Hemingway heroes possess a kind of “despairing courage” as Bertrand Russell terms. It is this courage that enables a man to behave like a man, to assert his dignity in face of adversity. Surely Hemingway heroes differ, one from another, in their view of the world. The difference which comes gradually in view is an index to the subtle change which Hemingway’s outlook had undergone.Identify the fragments.1. These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly—This dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods.(1)Which book is this passage take from?(2)Who is the author of this book?(3)Whom is the author praising? Whom is the author criticizing?(4)What do you think of the language?Answer:(1) The American Crisis.(2) Thomas Paine(3) Paine is praising those who stand “it”, it referring to “the service of their country”. In themeantime, Paine is criticizing those who shrink from the service of their country in this crisis. (4) The language is plain, impressive and forceful. Paine himself once said that his purpose as a writer was to use plain language to make those who can scarcely read understand and to fit the powers of thinking and the turn of language to the subject, so as to bring out a clear conclusion that shall hit the point in question and nothing else.2. From morning suns and evening dewsAt first thy little being came;If nothing once, you nothing lose,For when you die you are the same;The space between, is but an hour,The frail duration of a flower.(1) Who is the writer of these verses?(2) What is the title of this poem?(3) Give a brief comment on this poems.Answer:(1) Philip Freneau(2) The Wild Honeysuckle(3) Here Freneau offers a version of an abundant America with potential for providing a good life for all. The poem is also an indication of his dedication to American subject matter as he examined peculiarly American characteristics of the countryside.3.From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring country. Drowsy and dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. Question:(1) Who is the writer of this short story from which the passage is taken?(2) What is the title of this short story?(3) Give a definition of “short story”?Answer:(1) Washington Irving(2) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(3) A short story is a brief prose fiction, usually one that can be read in a single sitting. It generally contains the six major elements of fiction—characterization, setting, theme, plot, point of view and style.4. It was not very long after speaking the Goney that another homeward-bound whaleman, the Town-Ho, was encountered. She was manned almost wholly by Polynesians. In the short gam that ensued she gave us strong news of Moby Dick. To some the general interest in the White Whale was now widly heightened by circumstance of the Town-Ho’s story, which seemed obscurely to involve with the whale a certain wondrous, inverted visitation of one of those so called judgments of God which at times are said to overtake some men. This latter circumstance, with its ownparticular accompaniments, forming what may be called the secret part of the tragedy about to be narrated, never reached the ears of Captain Ahab or his mates…Nevertheless, so potent and influence did this thing have on those seamen in the Pequod who came to the full knowledge of it, and by such a strange delicacy, to call it so, were they governed in this matter, that they kept the secret among themselves so that it never transpired abaft the Pequod’s main-mast. Interweaving in its proper place this darker thread with the story as publicly narrated on the ship, the whole of this strange affair I now proceed to put on lasting record.Question:(1)From which novel is this paragraph taken?(2) What is the name of the novelist?(3) Who is Ahab?(4) What is Pequod?(5) What is the theme of the novel?Answer:(1) Moby Dick(2) Herman Melville(3) The captain of the whaling ship(4) The name of the whaling ship(5) The rebellious struggle of Captain Ahab against the overwhelming, mysterious vastness of the universe and its awesome sometimes merciless forces.5. To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generation the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these preachers of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.Question:(1)This paragraph is taken from a famous essay. What is the of the essay?(2)Who is the author?(3)What does the author say would happen if the stars appeared one night in a thousand years?(4)Give a peculiar term to cover the author’s belief.Answer:(1) Nature(2) Ralph Waldo Emerson(3)Then, the men cannot believe and adore the God, cannot preserve the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown.(4)Transcendentalism6. Isabel always felt an impulse to pull out the pins; not that she imagined they inflicted any damage on the tough old parchment, but because it seemed to her her aunt might make better use of her sharpness. She was very critical herself-it was incidental to her sex, and her nationality butshe was very sentimental as well, and there was something in Mrs. Touchett’s dryness that set her own moral fountains flowing.Questions:(1) This passage is taken from a well-known novel. What is the name of the novel?(2) Who is the author of this novel?(3) Make a brief comment on the heroine of this novel?(4) What is theme of the author? Tell something about it.Answer:(1) The Portrait of a Lady(2) Henry James(3) She is one of the Jamesian American girls. She arrives in Europe, full of hope, and with a will to live a free and noble life, but in fact, she only falls prey to the sinister designs of two vulgar and unscrupulous expatriates, Madam Merle and Gilbert Osmond.(4) Jamesian theme refers to Henry James’s handling of his major fictional theme, “the international theme”: the meeting of America and Europe, American innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence and the moral and Psychological complications arising there from.7.When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediate balance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human temper. There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human. The gleam of a thousand lights is often as effective as the persuasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye. Half the undoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forces wholly superhuman. A blare of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counselor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear! Unrecognized for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens then perverts the simpler human perceptions.Questions:(1) From which novel is this paragraph taken?(2) Who is the author of this novel?(3) How do you understand “the cosmopolitan standard of virtue”?(4) Is there any naturalist tendency in this passage?Answer:(1)Sister Carrie(2) Theodore Dreiser(3) “The cosmopolitan standard of virtue” is something that makes a person become low in virtue and become worse.(4) Yes.Give brief answers to the following questions.1.What are the characteristics of the Colonial Literature?In a real sense, there were no literal works in the early colonial period. They were just personalliterature in the form of diaries, travel books, letters, journals, sermons, histories and prose.(1) In content, they wrote about the voyage to the new land, about adopting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops, about dealing with Indian, and especially about religion.(2) In form, English traditions were imitated.ment briefly on Emily Dickinson’s themes?(1)By far the largest portion of Dickinson’s poetry concerns death and immortality, theme which lie at the centre of Dickinson’s world.(2)Dickinson’s nature poems are also great in number and rich in matter. Natural phenomena, changes of seasons, heavenly bodies, animals, birds and insects, flowers of various kinds, and many other subjects related to nature find her way into her poetry.(3)Dickinson also wrote some poems about love. Like her death and nature poems, her love poems were original.(4)Besides deaths and immortality, nature and love, Dickinson’s poems are concerned about ethics, with respect to which, she emphasizes free will and human responsibility.3. Comment briefly on Theodore Dreiser’s themes and writing style?Theme: Dreiser’s works are mainly concerned with the tragic nature of the human condition by depicting the coarse, vulgar, cruel, and terrible aspects of life like sex and crime.Style: In terms of style, Dreiser has sometimes been censured for his clumsy syntax, deficient characterization, and inept and dull prose. Yet his accumulated detail, carefully selected and faithfully recorded, is a technique of power. Like the other naturalists, he refused to judge—to consider people as good or evil. He clothes his concepts symbolically in the details of reality. It is his journalistic method that has made him one of America’s foremost novelists.4 Henry James is a great realistic writer. Name two of his major works. Do you know anything about his narrative “point of view”? What is it for? How does James employ it in his works? Briefly discuss this question.(1) Henry James’s major works include Daisy Miller and The Portrait of A Lady, etc.(2) One of Henry James literary techniques is his narrative “point of view.” As the author, James avoids the authorial omniscience as much as possible and makes his characters reveal themselves with his minimal intervention. So it is often the case that in his novels we usually learn the main story by reading through one or several minds and share their perspectives. This narrative method proves to be successful in bringing out his themes.5. What are the three main principles that Ezra Pound endorsed?(1)Directly treat poetic subjects.(2)Eliminate merely ornamental or superfluous words.(3)Rhythmical composition in the sequence of the musical phrase rather than in the sequence of metronome.6.Tell the differences between Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman(1)Emily Dickinson expresses the inner life of individuals, while Walt Whitman keeps his eyes on the society at large.(2)Emily Dickinson is “regional”, while Walt Whitman is “national” in his outlook.(3)Formally, Emily Dickinson uses concise, simple dictions and syntax, while Walt Whitman uses endless, all-inclusive catalogs.7. Briefly discuss Hemingway’s Iceberg PrincipleIceberg principle is that the full meaning of the text is not limited to moving the plot forward:there is always a web of association and inference, a submerged reason behind the inclusion (or even the omission) of every detail.In Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway outlined his “theory of omission” or “iceberg principle.”He states: “is a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know only makes hollow places in his writing.”8. Briefly discuss the Jazz Age“The Jazz Age” describes the period the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between World War I and World War II, particularly in North America; with the rise of the Great Depression, the values of this age saw much decline. Perhaps the most representative literary work of the age is American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, highlighting what some describe as the decadence and hedonism, as well as the growth of individualism. Fitzgerald is largely credited with coining the term “The Jazz Age”. It can also be known as “The Roaring Twenties” and “The Dollar Decade.”9. Jack Landon’s themes(1) London was logically inconsistent in his viewpoint.On the one hand, he took faith in Darwin’s surviv al of the fittest, evolutionary concept of progress, and on the other hand, he embraced the socialists’ doctrines of Marx.(2) London wrote on many subjects and themes which centered around primitive violence, Anglo-Saxon supremacy(至上), biological evolution, class warfare, and mechanistic determinism. His heroes are physically robust and rugged but often psychologically harried(苦恼). His heroines are athletic, daring, yet intensely feminine. They are man’s intellectual equal and his emotional superior.10. Briefly discuss ImagismImagism was one of the modern literary movements which expressed the modern spirit, the sense of fragmentation(破裂)and dislocation(错位,混乱). It came as a reaction to the traditional English poetics. The first Imagist theorist is the English writer T.E. Hume. He suggests that modern art deal with expression and communication of momentary(瞬间的)phases in the poet’s mind.Poetic techniques should become subtle enough to record exactly the momentary impressions. The most effective means to express these momentary impressions is through one dominant image. Each word must be an image seen. Each sentence should be a lump(团,块), a piece of clay, a vision seen. Hulme advises the poet to seek the hard, personal word for expression. The Imagist movement lasted from 1908 to 1917.。
美国文学复习资料题(有标准答案版)
美国文学复习提纲第一部分连线题(1*10=10’)1. Thomas Jefferson The Declaration of Independence2. Walt Whitman O’ Captain, My Captain3. Mark Twain Jumping Frog4. Robert Frost Mending Wall5. Ezra Pound In a Station of the Metro6. Carl Sandburg Chicago7. Saul Bellow The Adventure of Augie March8. Ernest Hemingway Men without Women9. John Steinbeck The Grape of Wrath10. Jack London The Call of the Wild11. Sinclair Lewis Babbit12. Flannery O’ Conno r A Good Man Is Hard to Find13. O. Henry The Last Leaf14. Jerome David Salinger The Catcher in the Rye15. William Falkner The Sound and the Fury第二部分单项选择(1.5*20=30’)1. Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan poet. Her poems made such a stir in England that shebecame known as the “________” who appeared in America.A. Tenth MuseB. Ninth MuseC. Best MuseD. First Muse2. In American literature, the 18th century was the age of the Enlightenment. ________ wasthe dominant spirit.A. HumanismB. RationalismC. RevolutionD. Evolution3. Which of the following stirred the world and helped form the American republic?A. The American CrisisB. The FederalistC. Declaration of IndependenceD. The Age of Reason4. At the Reason and Revolution Period, Americans were influenced by the Europeanmovement called the ________.A. Chartist MovementB. Romanticist MovementC. Enlightenment MovementD. Modernist Movement5. Thoreau was often alone in the woods or by the pond, lost in spiritual communicationwith ________.A. natureB. transcendentalist ideasC. human beingsD. celestial beings6. ________tells a simple but very moving story in which four people living in a puritancommunity are involved in and affected by the sin of adultery in different ways.A. Twice-Told TalesB. The Scarlet LetterC. The House of the Seven GablesD. The Marble Faun7. Washington Irving’s social conservation and literary for the past is revealed, to someextent, in his famous story, ________.A. The Legend of Sleepy HollowB. Rip Van WinkleC. The Custom-houseD. The Birthmark8. The convention of the desire for an escape from society and a return to nature inAmerican literature is particularly evident in ________.A. Cooper’s Leatherstocking TalesB. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet LetterC. Whitman’s Leaves of GrassD. Irving’s Rip Van Winkle9. As a philosophical and literary movement, ________ flourished in New England from1830s to the Civil War.A. modernismB. rationalismC. sentimentalismD. transcendentalism10. Edgar Allan Poe mainly writes __________.A. poemsB. literary critic theoriesC. short storiesD. dramas11. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, “A” may stand for ________.A. AdulteryB. AngelC. AmiableD. All the above12. The period before the American Civil War is generally referred to as ________.A. the Naturalist PeriodB. the Modern PeriodC. the Romantic PeriodD. the Realistic Period13. In the following works, which signs the beginning of the American literature?A. The Sketch BookB. Leaves of GrassC. Leatherstocking TalesD. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn14. The main theme of Emily Dickinson is the following except ________.A. war and peaceB. love and marriageC. life and deathD. religion15. Emily Dickinson’s poetic idiom is noted for the following except ________.A. brevityB. directnessC. plainest wordsD. obscure16. The publication of ________ established Emerson as the most eloquent spokesman ofNew England Transcendentalism.A. NatureB. Self-RelianceC. The American ScholarD. The Over-Soul17. The Age of Realism in the literary history of the United States refers to the periodfrom ________ to ________.A. 1861...1914 B. 1863...1918 C. 1865...1914 D. 1865 (1918)18. ________ is considered to be Theodore Dreiser’s greatest work.A. An American TragedyB. Sister CarrieC. The FinancierD. The Titan19. ________ is a novella about a young American girl who gets “killed” by the winter inRome, and it brought Henry James international fame for the first time.A. The AmericanB. The EuropeansC. Daisy MillerD. The Portrait of a Lady20. ________ is described by Mark twain as a boy with “a sound heart and a deformedconscience”.A. T om SawyerB. Huckleberry FinnC. JimD. Tony21. Mark Twain wrote most of his literary works with a ________ language.A. grandB. pompousC. simpleD. vernacular22. The book from which “all modern American literature comes” refers to ________.A. The Great GatsbyB. The Sun Also RisesC. The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnD. Moby-Dick23. In which of the following works Hemingway presents his philosophy about life anddeath through the depiction of the bull-fight as a kind of microcosmic tragedy?A. Death in the AfternoonB. The Snows of KilimanjaroC. To Have and Have NotD. The Green Hills of Africa24. ________ is Hemingway’s first true novel in which he depicts a vivid portrait of “TheLost Generation”.A. The Sun Also RisesB. A Farewell to ArmsC. In Our TimeD. For Whom the Bell Tolls25. Robert Frost combined traditional verse forms—the sonnet, rhyming couplets,blank verse—with a clear American local speech rhythm, the speech of ________ farmers with its idiosyncratic diction and syntax.A. SouthernB. WesternC. New HampshireD. New England26. ________, one of the most important poets in his time, is a leading spokesman of the“Imagist Movement”.A. J. D. SalingerB. Ezra PoundC. Richard WrightD. Ralph Ellison27. “Tender Is the Night” is a ________ by Fitzgerald.A. short storyB. novellaC. poemD. novel28. ________ is said to be a “historical novel” by Faulkner.A. Go Down, MosesB. Light in AugustC. The Sound and the FuryD. Absalom29. ________ stems from the ambiguity of the speaker’s choice between safety and theunknown.A. Mending the wall B Home BurialC. The Road not TakenD. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening30. Hemingway’s writing style, together with his theme and the hero, is greatly andpermanently influenced by his experiences ________.A. in his childhoodB. in the warC. in AmericaD. in Africa31. The following writers were awarded Nobel Prize for literature except ________.A. William FaulknerB. F. Scott FitzgeraldC. John SteinbeckD. Ernest Hemingway32. ________ is not considered to be one of the masters in the field of American fiction inthe modernistic period.A. F. Scott FitzgeraldB. Ernest HemingwayC. Arthur MillerD. William Faulkner33. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both…” Inthe above two lines of Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken”, the poet, by implication, was referring to ________.A. one’s course of lifeB. a marriage decisionC. a middle-age crisisD. a travel experience34. Most of the writers in the modern period were able to probe into the inner world ofhuman reality on the base of ________.A. William James’ “stream of consciousness”B. Carl Jung’s “collective unconscious” and “archetypal symbol”C. Sigmund Freud’s “interpretation of dreams”D. All of the above35. Writers of the second postwar era self-consciously acknowledged that they were____________.A. a Lost GenerationB. a Beat GenerationC. a Jazz GenerationD. none of the above36. In 1862, President Lincoln exclaimed: “So you are the little woman who wrote thebook that started this great war!” The book refers to ________.A. Uncle Tom’s CabinB. BelovedC.Pride and PrejudiceD.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn37. In Leaves of Grass, _______ is all that concerned Whitman.A. individualismB. freedomC. democracyD. all the above38. It is not surprising to find in _______’s fiction a world of jungle, where “kill or to bekilled” was the law.A. Mark TwainB. Emily DickinsonC. Theodore DreiserD. Henry James39. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of William Faulkner?A. He is master of stream-of-consciousness narrative.B. His writing is often complex and difficult to understand.C. He often depicts slum life in New York and Chicago.D. He represents a new group of Southern writers40. The setting of the novel The Scarlet Letter is in ________.A. England during World War IB. Paris during the French RevolutionC. Puritan AmericaD. America after the Revolutionary War第三部分判断对错(1*15=15’)(T)1. The Calvinist doctrine of “original sin” exerted great influence upon Hawthorne. (T)2. To Hawthorne sin will get punished, one way or another.(T)3. Roger Chillingworth, the scholar, the embodiment of pure intellect, committed the “Unpardonable Sin”.(F)4. Emily Dickinson didn’t like using capital letters where small ones are needed. (T)5. Walt Whitman used parallelism and refrain in his poems.(T)6. Walt Whitman was regarded as the Zenith in American romantic poetry.(T)7. Dickinson was original. She never imitates others.(T)8. Allan Poe defined poetry as the rhythmical creation of beauty.(F)9. O. Henry seldom wrote about poor people.(T)10. According to Poe, art serves for pleasure. The chief aim of poetry is beauty, namely, to produce a feeling of beauty in the reader.(T)11. According to Dickinson, death means immortality.(F)12. According to Poe, truth is beauty, beauty truth.(T)13. According to Henry James, the aim of the novel is to reflect life reality.(T)14. James wrote mostly of the upper reaches of American society, and Howellsconcerned himself chiefly with middle class life whereas Twain dealt largely with the lower strata of society.(F)15. American writers, especially novelists were rather experimental after the World Wars.(T)16. O. Henry’s short stories are famous for their surprising endings.(T)17. Allen Ginsberg was the representative of the Beat Generation.(T)18. Allan Poe exerted great influence upon many southern American writers, especially William Faulkner.(F)19. Emily Dickinson was regarded as the forerunner of symbolism.(F)20. Mark Twain never touched upon the problem of slavery system in his novels. (F)21. Allan Poe was regarded as the forerunner of American Imagism.(T)22. Mark Twain was the father of American language.(T)23. Allan Poe advocated “pure” poetry.(F)24. Mark Twain’s contribution to the development of realism and to American literature as a whole was partly through his theories of localism in American fiction and partly through his themes.(T)25. Toni Morrison is one of the most famous contemporary women writers.(T)26. O. Henry was the pen name of William Sidney Porter.(T)27. Thomas Jefferson was the major writer of The Declaration of Independence (T)28. Henry James discovered the trick of making his characters reveal themselves with minimal intervention of the author.(T)29. N. Hawthorne was a symbolic writer in some sense.(T)30. Whitman’s poetry suggests rather than tells.第四部分术语解释(4*5=20’)1. TranscendentalismTranscendentalism refers to the religious and philosophical doctrines of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others in New England in the middle 1800’s, which emphasized the importance of individual inspiration and intuition, the Oversoul, and nature. Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea that nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual is divine and, therefore, self-reliant.2. NaturalismNaturalism, a more deliberate kind of realism, usually involves a view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment. As a literary movement, naturalism was initiated in France and it came to be led by Zola, who claimed at “scientific” status for his studies of impoverished characters miserably subjected to hunger, sexual obsession, and hereditary defects.3. American DreamThe American Dream is the faith held by many people in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.4. The Lost GenerationThe term Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group ofAmerican Literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of WWI to the beginning of the Great Depression. Significant members included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, T.S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein herself. Hemingway likely popularized the term, quoting Stein (“You are all a lost generation”) as epigraph to his novel The Sun Also Rises. More generally, the term is being used for the young adults of Europe and America during WWI. They were “lost” because after the war many of them were disillusioned with the world in general and unwilling to move into settled life.5. ModernismModern writing is marked by a strong and conscious break with traditional forms and techniques of expression; it believes that we create the world in the act of perceiving it. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair. It elevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious.6. PuritanismThe principles and practices of puritans were popularly known as Puritanism. Puritanism accepted the doctrines of Calvinism: the sovereignty of God; the supreme authority of the Bible; the irresistibility of God’s will for man in ever act of life from cradle to grave. These doctrines led the Puritans to examine their souls to find whether they were of the elect and to search the Bible to determine God’s will.7. Hemingway Heroes (Code Hero)“Hemingway Heroes” refer to some protagonists in Hemingway’s works. Such a hero usually is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent. And usually he is a man of action and of a few words. He is such an individualist, alone even when with other people, somewhat an outsider, keeping emotions under control, stoic and self-disciplined in a dreadful place where one can not get happiness.8. Jazz Age“The Jazz Age” describes the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between WWI and WWII, particularly in North America; with the rise of the Great Depression, the values of this age saw much decline. Perhaps the most representative literary work of the age is American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a highlighting what some describe as the decadence and hedonism, as well as the growth of individualism.第五部分选读分析25’Text1.From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from[he original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring country. Drowsy and dreamy influence seems to hang over the land,and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of histribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson.Questions:(1) Who is the writer of this short story from which the passage is taken?(2) What is the title of this short story?(3) Give a definition of “short story”.Answer:(1) Washington Irving(2) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(3) A short story is a brief prose fiction, usually one that can be read in a single sitting. It generally contains the six major elements of fiction—characterization, setting, theme, plot, point of view and style.Text 2.Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.Questions:(1) Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2’)(2) Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? (3’)(3) How do you understand the word “sigh”? (4’)(4) What might the two roads stand for in the speaker’s mind? (2’)(5) What is the theme of this poem? (2’)Answer:(1) It is written in iambic tetrameter and rhymed abaab.(2) Similarities: both of the roads are beautiful;Differences: one is quiet and grassy, less-traveled, the other is trodden by many people and flatHe took the less-traveled road.(3) The word “sigh” is a tricky word. Because sigh can be interpreted into nostalgic relief or regret. If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker feels glad with the road he took. If it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be signing in regret. Hence, sigh is ambiguous here for the speaker is not showing whether his choice is right or wrong.(4) The real road, the life road and the road in career.(5) Choices is inevitable but you never know what you choice will mean until you have lived it. This is also the theme of the poem.Text 3.Tell me not, in mournful numbers,Life is but an empty dream!For the soul is dead that slumbers,And things are not what they seem.Life is real-life is earnest-And the grave is not its goal;Dust thou art, to dust returnest,Was not spoken of the soul.Questions:(1). Who is the writer of the lines?(2). What is the title of the whole poem from which the two stanzas are taken?(3). Summarize the poet’s advice for living.Answers:(1). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(2). A Psalm of Life(3). His optimism which has characterized much of his poetry, also endeared many critics to him. He seemed to have persevered despite tragedy. This poem is the cry of his heart, “rallying from depression”, ready to affirm life, to regroup from losses, to push on despite momentary defeat.Text 4.Because I could not stop for Death —He kindly stopped for me —The Carriage held but just Ourselves —And Immortality.We slowly drove — He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility —We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess — in the Ring —We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain —We passed the Setting Sun —Or rather — He passed Us —The Dews drew quivering and Chill —For only Gossamer, my Gown —My Tippet — only Tulle —We paused before a House that seemedA Swelling of the Ground —The Roof was scarcely visible —The Cornice — in the Ground —Since then —’tis Centuries — and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses’ HeadsWere toward Eternity —Questions:(1) Who wrote this poem? In the poem, what is he/she watching and recording? (3%)(2) What is death compared to in the poem? (2%)(3) What does the poet think of eternity? (2%)(4) What is the attitude of the poet towards death? (2%)Answer:(1) Emily Dickinson. She is watching and recording her own funeral.(2) Death is compared to a polite gentleman or polite wooer.(3) The speaker is not quite sure whether there will be eternity after death since she just surmises that “the Horses’ Heads were toward Eternity —”.(4) She treats death light-heartedly for she believes that death is a necessary step towards eternity or immortality.。
美国文学复习题有答案
美国文学复习题有答案美国文学复习题及答案一、选择题1. 哪位作家被誉为“美国文学之父”?A. 爱德加·爱伦·坡B. 纳撒尼尔·霍桑C. 华盛顿·欧文D. 马克·吐温答案:C2. 《白鲸》的作者是谁?A. 赫尔曼·梅尔维尔B. 欧内斯特·海明威C. 杰克·伦敦D. 弗朗西斯·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德答案:A3. 以下哪部作品不是菲茨杰拉德所著?A. 《了不起的盖茨比》B. 《夜色温柔》C. 《太阳照常升起》D. 《草叶集》答案:D二、填空题4. 爱德加·爱伦·坡是19世纪美国文学中著名的_________和_________作家。
答案:恐怖小说;侦探小说5. 《草叶集》是19世纪美国著名诗人_________的代表作。
答案:沃尔特·惠特曼6. 欧内斯特·海明威的代表作《老人与海》讲述了一位古巴老渔夫_________的故事。
答案:桑地亚哥三、简答题7. 简述《汤姆叔叔的小屋》的主题和影响。
答案:《汤姆叔叔的小屋》是美国作家哈丽雅特·比彻·斯托所著的一部反奴隶制小说,通过描绘黑人奴隶汤姆叔叔的悲惨命运,揭露了奴隶制的罪恶,对美国南北战争的爆发和废奴运动产生了深远的影响。
8. 描述《了不起的盖茨比》中盖茨比的悲剧性。
答案:《了不起的盖茨比》中的盖茨比是一个富有的商人,他为了追求自己心中的爱情和美国梦,不惜一切代价。
然而,他的努力最终未能实现,他的爱情和梦想都被现实无情地粉碎,最终以悲剧收场,反映了20世纪20年代美国社会的虚伪和道德的沦丧。
四、论述题9. 论述美国文学中的“美国梦”主题。
答案:美国梦是美国文学中一个重要的主题,它代表了个人通过努力可以实现成功和财富的信仰。
从马克·吐温的《汤姆·索亚历险记》到菲茨杰拉德的《了不起的盖茨比》,再到约翰·斯坦贝克的《愤怒的葡萄》,美国梦一直是美国作家探讨的主题。
美国文学复习题有答案
美国文学复习题有答案
1. 谁是美国文学史上第一位重要的诗人?
答案:爱德华·泰勒(Edward Taylor)。
2. 19世纪美国文学中,哪位作家的作品以幽默和讽刺著称?
答案:马克·吐温(Mark Twain)。
3. 简述赫尔曼·梅尔维尔的《白鲸》中的主要冲突。
答案:《白鲸》中的主要冲突是船长亚哈对白鲸莫比·迪克的复仇。
4. 谁是“垮掉的一代”文学运动中最著名的诗人?
答案:艾伦·金斯伯格(Allen Ginsberg)。
5. 在菲茨杰拉德的《了不起的盖茨比》中,盖茨比的悲剧结局是什么?
答案:盖茨比被威尔逊误杀,因为他认为盖茨比是导致他妻子死亡
的罪魁祸首。
6. 描述艾米莉·狄金森的诗歌风格。
答案:艾米莉·狄金森的诗歌风格以简洁、使用短句和强烈个人情
感表达为特点。
7. 谁是20世纪美国文学中“南方文艺复兴”的代表人物?
答案:威廉·福克纳(William Faulkner)。
8. 在《杀死一只知更鸟》中,阿提克斯·芬奇律师为何受到小镇居民
的尊敬?
答案:阿提克斯·芬奇律师因坚持正义和平等,为一个被错误指控
的黑人辩护而受到尊敬。
9. 简述海明威的“冰山理论”。
答案:海明威的“冰山理论”是指在写作中只展示故事的表面部分,而将更深层的意义和情感留给读者去揣摩。
10. 在《愤怒的葡萄》中,约德一家的旅程象征着什么?
答案:约德一家的旅程象征着美国大萧条时期农民的苦难和对更
好生活的不懈追求。
英语-《美国文学史及作品选读》复习资料
一卷I. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1.The first American writer is ___________.a. John Cottonb. John Winthropc. John Smithd. Anne Bradstreet2.In the direct line of Metaphysical Poets, _________ is considered the best ofPuritan poets and his works were hailed as the finest 17th century American verse.a. Henry Wadsworth Longfellowb. Edgar Allen Poec. William Cullen Bryantd. Edward Taylor3.“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cr eated equal, …” is aquotation from __________ drafted by ______________.a. The American Crisis, Thomas Jeffersonb. The American Crisis, Thomas Painec. The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Pained. The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson4.______________ was called the “Father of American Poetry”.a. Edward Taylorb. William Cullen Bryantc. Edgar Allen Poed. Philip Freneau5.____________ was the first great prose stylist of American romanticism.a. Nathaniel Hawthorneb. Edgar Allen Poec. Washington Irvingd. James Fennimore Cooper6.In the five novels that comprise the Leatherstocking Tales, the central figure,________, goes the various names of Leatherstocking, Deerslayer, Pathfinder, and Hawkeye.a. Chingakgookb. David Gamutc. Natty Bumppod. Uncas7.The publication of ___________ written by _________introduced the mosteloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism to American literature.a. Nature, Henry David Thoreaub. Nature, Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walden, Henry David Thoreaud. Walden, Ralph Waldo Emerson8._____________ was written to show that the consequences of a sin cannot beescaped and that many different lives are influenced by one wrong deed.a. Nathaniel Hawthorneb. Herman Mellvillec. James Fennimore Cooperd. Washington Irving9.__________ was the first American writer to have a bust to be placed in the Poets’Corner at Westminster Abbey.a. William Wordsworthb. Edgar Allen Poec. William Cullen Bryantd. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow10.In a sense, we can say that Romanticism designates a literary and philosophicaltheory, which tends to see the ___________ as the very center of all life and all experience.a. societyb. individualc. familyd. country life11.“He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs,hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together.” The description is about __________.a. Brom Van Bruntb. Rip Van Winklec. Ichabod Craned. Katrina Van Tassel12.Herman Melville was very much influenced by _________, who he called “thelargest brain with the largest heart” in America Litera ture.a. Nathaniel Hawthorneb. Edgar Allen Poec. Washington Irvingd. James Fennimore Cooper13.In The Last of the Mohicans, the last of the Mohicans refers to _____________.a. David Gamutb. Chigachgookc. Maguad. Uncas14. ___________ consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.a. Iambb. Trocheec. Dactyld. Spondee15.Among the following short stories, which one is NOT written by NathanielHawthorne?a. Ethan Brandb. The Great Stone Facec. Rapaccini's Daughterd. Bartleby the ScrivenerII. Explain the following terms briefly in English.1.Refrain2.American Puritanism3.New England Transcendentalism4.Familiar essay5.AllegoryIII. Arrange in pairs.Directions: Column A consists of ten writers, please find their corresponding works in Column B and write the answer on the Anwer Sheet.IV. Try to decide whether the following statements are true or false. Please write “T” for “true” and “F” for “false ”.1.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story about a man who falls into a sleep of 20years while out hunting during which the Revolutionary War takes place.2.Bartleby the Scrivener is one of Herman Melville’s short stories.3.The Song of Hiawatha is the first American epic about the American Indians.4.The Birthmark uses the background of witchcraft to explore uncertainties of beliefthat trouble a man’s heart and mind.5.Edgar Allen Poe has often been regarded as the father of modern short story.V. Read the following passages and complete the tasks according to the specific requirements1.Standing on the bareground, - my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted intoinfinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.a.Identify the author and the work from which the quotation is selected.b.What does “the Universal Being” refer to? What is the relation between theindividual and the Universal Being? Explain with regard to the author’s philosophical ideas.2.Another peculiar torture was felt in the gaze of a new eye. When strangers lookedcuriously at the scarlet letter, - and none ever failed to do so, - they branded it afresh into Hester’s soul; so that, oftentimes, she could scarcely refrain, yet always did refrain, from covering the symbol with her hand.a.Identify the author and the work from which the quotation is selected.b.What is the character’s full name? What does “the symbol” refer to? Does itchange its meaning for him/ her through out the whole story?3.Let us then be up and doing,With a heart for any fate;Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait.a.Identify the author and the work from which the quotation is selected.b.Analyze the poem from at least three of the following aspects: structure,rhyme scheme, tone, theme and figures of speech used with regard to thestanza selected.VI. Answer the following questions1.Discuss the symbolism in Moby Dick.2.What are Edgar Allen Poe’s criteria for writing short stories?一卷答案I.Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1-5:cdddc 6-10:cbadb 11-15:cadadII.Explain the following terms briefly in English.1.Refrain: one or more words repeated at intervals in a poem, usually at theend of a stanza. The most regular is the use of the same line at the close of each stanza.2.American Puritanism stressed predestination, original sin, total depravity,and limited atonement from God’s grace. It was influenced heavily by Calvinism. With such doctrines in their mind Puritans left Europe for America in order to prove that they were God’s chosen people who would enjoy God’s blessings on earth and in Heaven. Over the years in the new homeland, they built a way of life that stressed hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety.3.New England Transcendentalism was the first American intellectualmovement. Transcendental club became the movement’s center with its magazine The Dial. It was a system of thought that originated from manysources, mainly Idealistic philosophy. It stressed the power of intuition, spirit and the individual. It envisioned religion as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal “oversoul”. It was represented by two major writers of the country, Emerson and Thoreau whose writings had great impact in the country.4.Familiar essay is the more personal, intimate type of informal essay. It dealslightly, often humorously, with personal experiences, opinions, and prejudices, stressing especially the unusual or novel, and having to do with the varied aspects of everyday life.5. Allegory is a story or image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning.III.Arrange in pairs.1-5:C J H G I 6-10:F D A E BIV.Try to decide whether the following statements are true or false. Please write “T” for “true” and “F” for “false ”1-5: F T T F TV.Read the following passages and complete the tasks according to the specific requirements1. a. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Relianceb. One of Emerson’s philosophy is the importance of the individual. In the passage, he is affirmative about man’s intuitive knowledge, with which a man can trust himself to decide what is right and to act accordingly. There is an emotional communication between an individual and the all-pervading power from which all things come from and of which all are a part. He means to convince people that the possibilities for man to develop and improve himself are infinite.2. a. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letterb. Hester Prynne; The symbol refers to the scarlet letter A which refers to hersin of adultery; at the very beginning of the romance, the letter “A” symbolizes the act of adultery to Dimmesdale , but towards the end of the story, it symbolizes Angel to the other people in the community.3. a. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Lifeb. The poem is written in quatrains, with a rhyme scheme of abab and each line in iambic tetrameter. The tone is optimistic. Figures of speech used are alliteration, parallel structure and repetition. It stresses the importance of a full and sincere activity in making the most of life’s brief span, rather than succumbing to moods of vain regret or dejection.VI.Answer the following questions1.①Herman Melville is a master of symbols, that is, objects or persons whorepresent something else.②Different people on board the ship are representations of different ideas anddifferent social and ethnic groups; facts become symbols and incidents acquire universal meanings.③Ishmael , the narrator of the story, is symbolic of a wanderer or displacedperson who is wandering in the world and fails to find out the real meaning of the world.④Ahab, symbolic of the Jewish king who started worship of Pagan gods,suffers both psychological and physical damage inflicted by life in a harsh world that eventually destroys him.⑤The Pequod is the microcosm of human society and the voyage becomes asearch for truth.⑥Queequeg’s Coffin alternately symbolizes life and death. Queequeg has itbuilt when he is seriously ill, but when he recovers, it becomes a chest to hold his belongings and an emblem of his will to live. The coffin furthercomes to symbolize life, in a morbid way, when it replaces the Pequod’s li fe buoy. When the Pequod sinks, the coffin becomes Ishmael’s buoy, saving not only his life but the life of the narrative that he will pass on.⑦The white whale, Moby Dick, symbolizes nature for Melville, for it iscomplex, unfathomable, malignant, and beautiful as well. For the character Ahab, however, the whale represents only evil. Moby Dick is like a wall, hiding some unknown, mysterious things behind. Ahab wills the whole crew on the Pequod to join him in the pursuit of the big whale so as to pierce the wall, to root out the evil, but only to be destroyed by evil, in this case, by his consuming desire, his madness. For the author, as well as for the reader and Ishmael, Moby Dick is still a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the universe, inscrutable and ambivalent, and the voyage of the mind will forever remaina search not a discovery of the truth.2.① A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashionedhis thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived, with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out, he then invents such incidents,--he then combines such events as may best aid him in establishing this preconceived effect. If his very initial sentence tend not to the outbringing of this effect, then he has failed in his first step. In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design."②Although beauty is the aim of poems, truth is the aim of tales.③Tales can deal with terror, passion, horror, humor, sarcasm, wit, andratiocination.④The merit of a work of art should be judged by its psychological effect uponthe reader.二卷I. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1.Written by William Cullen Bryant, __________, is called by the eminent Englishcritic and poet, Mathew Arnold, the “most perfect brief poem in the language”.a. To a Waterfowlb. To Helenc. Thanatopsisd. The Wild Honey Suckle2.The first American writer is ___________.a. John Cottonb. John Winthropc. John Smithd. Anne Bradstreet3.According to ______________, the most poetical topic is the death of a beautifulwoman.a. Henry Wadsworth Longfellowb. Edgar Allen Poec. William Cullen Bryantd. Edward Taylor4.“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, …” is aquotation from __________ drafted by ___________.a. The American Crisis, Thomas Jeffersonb. The American Crisis, Thomas Painec. The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Pained. The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson5.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are the two most famous shortstories from Washington Irving’s ____________.a. Bracebridge Hallb. The Sketch Bookc. A History of New Yorkd. Twice-Told Tales6.______________ was called the “Father of American Poetry”.a. Edward Taylorb. William Cullen Bryantc. Edgar Allen Poed. Philip Freneau7._____________ is called by Oliver Wendell Holmes “our intellectual Declarationof Independence”.a. The American Scholarb. Self-Reliancec. The Divinity School Addressd. Nature8._______, New England’s Utopia, is the record of ____________’s experiment inendeavoring to live an ideal life in the forest.a. Nature, Henry David Thoreaub. Nature, Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walden, Henry David Thoreaud. Walden, Ralph Waldo Emerson9.____________ is a movement supported by all progressive forces of the countrywhich opposed themselves to the old colonial order and religious obscurantism.a. American Romanticismb. New England Transcendentalismc. American Puritanismd. American Enlightenment10.Among the writers in the Literature of Reason and Revolution, ________ shapedhis writing after the Spectator Papers of the English essayists Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.a. Thomas Jeffersonb. Benjamin Franklinc. Joel Barlowd. William Bartram11.“He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs,hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together.” The description is about __________.a. Brom Van Bruntb. Rip Van Winklec. Ichabod Craned. Katrina Van Tassel12.Herman Melville was very much influenced by _________, who he called "thelargest brain with the largest heart" in America Literature.a. Nathaniel Hawthorneb. Edgar Allen Poec. Washington Irvingd. James Fennimore Cooper13.In The Last of the Mohicans, the last of the Mohicans refers to _____________.a. David Gamutb. Chigachgookc. Maguad. Uncas14.___________ consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.a. Iambb. Trocheec. Dactyld. Spondee15.Among the following short stories, which one is NOT written by NathanielHawthorne?a. Ethan Brandb. The Great Stone Facec. Rapaccini's Daughterd. Bartleby the ScrivenerII. Explain the following terms briefly in English.1.Refrain2.American Puritanism3.New England Transcendentalism4.Iambic pentameter5.Familiar essayIII. Arrange in pairs.Directions: Column A consists of ten writers, please find their corresponding works inIV. Try to decide whether the following statements are true or false. Please write “T” for “true” and “F” for “false ”1.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story about a man who falls into a sleep of 20years while out hunting during which the Revolutionary War takes place.2.Bartleby the Scrivener is one of Herman M elville’s short stories.3.The Song of Hiawatha is the first American epic about the American Indians.4.The Birthmark uses the background of witchcraft to explore uncertainties ofbelief that trouble a man’s heart and mind.5.Edgar Allen Poe has often been regarded as the father of modern short story.V. Read the following passages and complete the tasks according to the specific requirements1.I do not propose to write an ode to dejection, but to brag as lustily as chanticleerin the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my neighbors up.a.Identify the author and the work from which the quotation is selected.b.Explain the purpose(s ) of the author with regard to the passage.2.Another peculiar torture was felt in the gaze of a new eye. When strangers lookedcuriously at the scarlet letter, - and none ever failed to do so, - they branded it afresh into Hester’s soul; so that, oftentimes, she could scarcely refrain, yet always did refrain, from covering the symbol with her hand.a.Identify the author and the work from which the quotation is selected.b.What is the character’s full name? What does “the symbol” refer to? Does itchange its meaning for him/ her through out the whole story?3.Let us then be up and doing,With a heart for any fate;Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait.a.Identify the author and the work from which the quotation is selected.b.Analyze the poem from at least three of the following aspects: structure,rhyme scheme, tone, theme and figures of speech used with regard to thestanza selected.VI. Answer the following questions1. Analyze the symbolism appeared in The Scarlet Letter.2. Analyze the character Ahab in Moby Dick.二卷答案I. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1-5 acbdb 6-10 dacdb 11-15 cadadII. Explain the following terms briefly in English.1. Refrain: one or more words repeated at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. The most regular is the use of the same line at the close of each stanza. A variety is the use of language that, by its mere repetition at the close of each stanza presenting different ideas and moods, seems to take on a different significance on each appearance.2. American Puritanism stressed predestination, original sin, total depravity, and li mited atonement from God’s grace. It was influenced heavily by Calvinism. With such doctrines in their mind they left Europe for America in order to prove that they were God’s chosen people who would enjoy God’s blessings on earth and in Heaven. They felt that they were exiles under the special grace of God to establish a theocracy in the New England. Over the years in the new homeland, they built a way of life that stressed hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety.3. New England Transcendentalism was the first American intellectual movement which exerted a tremendous influence on the consciousness of American people. Transcendental club became the movement’s center with its magazine The Dial. It was a system of thought that originated from four sources: Unitarianism, Neoplatonism, Idealistic philosophy and Oriental mysticism. It stressed the power of intuition, spirit and the individual. It envisioned religion as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal “oversoul”. It was represented by two major writers of the country, Emerson and Thoreau whose writings had great impact in the country and a new group of writers of the period under the influence began to apply transcendental ideas in their works, e.g.Hawthorne, Melville, Dickinson, and Whitman.4. Iambic pentameter a metrical verse line having five feet, with each one having one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.5. Familiar essay the more personal, intimate type of informal essay. It deals lightly, often humorously, with personal experiences, opinions, and prejudices, stressing especially the unusual or novel, and having to do with the varied aspects of everyday life.III.Arrange in pairs.1-5:C J H G I 6-10:F D A E BIV.Try to decide whether the following statements are true or false. Please write “T” for “true” and “F” for “false ”.FTTFTV. Read the following passages and complete the tasks according to the specific requirements1. a. Henry David Thoreau, Waldenb. He had three purposes in writing the book: To make the readers evaluate the way he lived and thought, to reveal the hidden spiritual possibilities in everyone’s life, and to condemn the weaknesses and errors of society, such as the pursuit of materialism.2. a. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letterb. Hester Prynne; The Scarlet Letter A which refers to her sin of adultery; at the very beginning of the romance, the letter “A” symbolizes the act of adultery to Dimmesdale , but towards the end of the story, it symbolizes Angel to the other people in the community.3. a. Henry Walworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Lifeb. The poem is written in quatrains, with a rhyme scheme of abab and each line in iambic tetrameter. The tone is optimistic. Figures of speech used are alliteration,parallel structure and repetition. It stresses the importance of a full and sincere activity in making the most of life’s brief span, rather than succumbing to moods of vain regret or dejection.VI. Answer the following questions1. ①Hawthorn is a master of symbolism.②For example, in The Scarlet Letter, the prison door at the beginning may well symbolize the restrictive laws and forces that are typical of the puritan society, as well as a remainder of the presence of evil or sin.③The wild rosebush, on the other hand, will surely associate themselves with the freedom of natural spirit or sympathy of nature for the human beings.④Forest is usually used to refer to moral wilderness where witches wander about and human beings tend to get morally lost.⑤The letter “A” symbolizes the act of adultery to Dimmesdale , but Angel to the other people in the community.2. ①Ahab is basically a noble and intelligent man whose balance has been disturbed by the blind and purposeless fury of the whale that eventually destroys him. As Ishmael wants to understand the meaning of life, he wants to remake the world to his own way. Ishmael avoids the “woe that is madness”, but Ahab is entrapped in that woe.②Ahab represents both an ancient and a modern type of hero. Like the heroes of Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, Ahab suffers from a single fatal flaw, one he shares with such legendary characters as Oedipus and Faust. His tremendous overconfidence leads him to defy common sense and believe that, like a god, he can enact his will and remain immune to the forces of nature.③He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale monomaniacally because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.④According to the critic M. H. Abrams, such a tragic hero “moves us to pit y because, since he is not an evil man, his misfortune is greater than he deserves; but he moves us also to fear, because we recognize similar possibilities of error in our own lesser and fallible selves.”⑤Unlike the heroes of older tragic works, however, Ahab suffers from a fatal flaw that is not necessarily inborn but instead stems from damage, in his case both psychological and physical, inflicted by life in a harsh world. He is as much a victim as he is an aggressor, and the symbolic opposition that he constructs between himself and Moby Dick propels him toward what he considers a destined end.三卷I. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1. In Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Antonio could not pay back the money he borrowed from Shylock, because ________________.A. his money was all invested in the newly-emerging textile industryB. his enterprise went bankruptC. Bassanio was able to pay his own debtD. his ships had all been lost2. Which of the following is not written by Robert Frost?A. To AutumnB. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningC. Mending WallD. A Boy's Will3. "The shepherd in Virgil grew at last acquainted with Love, and found him a native of the rocks."(Samuel Johnson, "To the Right Honorable the Earl of Chesterfield")The speaker here is ( ).A. cheerfulB. ironicC. mysteriousD. nonchalant4. Charles Dicken's early years were________A. happyB. difficultC. richD. sunny5. Robert Frost described ________________as “a book of people,”which shows a brilliant insight into New England character and the background that formed it.A. North of BostonB. A Boy’s WillC. A Witness TreeD. A Further Range6. The lines, "Two roads diverged in a wood. and l/l took the one less traveled by,/And that has made all the difference. " are found in _________________________.A. Robert Frost’s The Road Not taken"B. William Wordsworth’s "Lines Written in Early Spring"C. John Keats’s "Ode to Autumn"D. Percy Bysshe Shelly’s "ode to the West Wind"7. Robert Frost combined traditional verse forms - the sonnet, rhyming couplets, blank verse - with a clear American local speech rhythm, the speech of _________________ farmers with its idiosyncratic diction and syntax.A. SouthernB. WesternC. New HampshireD. New England8. Mark Twain created ,in ________________________________ ,a masterpiece of American realism that is also one of the great books of world literature.A. Huckleberry FinnB. Tom SowyerC. The Gilded AgeD. The Mysterious Stranger9. "So much the worse for me, that I an strong. Do I want to live? What kind of living will it be when you-oh, God! /Would you like to live with your soul in the grave?"/In the above passage quoted from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the word "soul" apparently refers to _________________ .A. HeathcliffB. CatherineC. ghostD. one's spiritual lift10. American writers of the first postwar era who were devoid of faith and alienated from the civilization were commonly called "________________."A. sons of libertyB. fatherless childrenC. a beat generationD. a lost generation11. All the following poets belong to lake poets EXCEPTA. WordsworthB. ColeridgeC. Robert SoutheyD. Shelley12. Here are some lines from a literary work:I shall be telling this with asigh,/Somewhere ages and ages hence:/Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—/I took the one less traveled by,/And that has made all the difference.The work is ________.A. Robert Frost'sThe Road Not TakenB. John Milton's Paradise LostC. Alexander Pope's Essay on CriticismD. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream13. What's the name of Hester and Dimmesdale 's daughter?A. AmyB. PearlC. NinaD. Berry14. Which of the following is NOT written by Jane Austen?A. Sense and SensibilityB. Pride and PrejudiceC. Jane EyreD. Emma15. The literary characters of the American type in early 19th century are generally characterized by all the following features EXCEPT that theyA. speak local dialectsB. are polite and elegant gentlemenC. are simple and crude farmersD. are noble savages(red and white) untainted by societyI. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions. II. Choose the best answers(at least 2 answers) to each of the following questions.1. What are the things that Robinson Crusoe brings with him when he decidesto travel on the other side of the island?Robinson Crusoe brings withhimA. gunB. hatchetC. dogD. raisins2. All of the following works are written by Jane Austen?A. Northanger AbbeyB. Mansfield ParkC. PersuasionD. Emma3. The works Shakespeare wrote in 1594 are________________.A. Timon of AthensB. The Two Gentlemen of VeronaC. Love’s Labour’s LostD. Romeo and Juliet4. The features of style of Robinson Crusoe includeA. the first person singularB. short and plain sentencesC. nothing artificial in his languageD. smooth,easy,colloquial5. What are the insults of this world mentioned by HamletA. the tyrant's crueltiesB. the proud man's attempts to humiliate thosebeneath himC. the heartbreak of being in loveD. the slowness of the law's working6. The works Shakespeare wrote in his second period (1601-1608)are________________.A. HamletB. King LearC. OthelloD. Cymbline。
美国文学史期末复习资料
美国文学(本科)试题5I. Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases andput your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 1 point for each)1. The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 .2. became the first American writer.3. Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety were the values that dominated much of the early American writing.4. In American literature, the 18th century was an age of and Revolution.5. Franklin’s best writing is found in his masterpiece.6. On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet appeared.7. The signing of symbolized the birth of an independent American nation.8. The most outstanding poet in America of the 18th century was .9. Washington Irving’s became the first work by an American writer to win international fame.10. is the summit of American Romanticism.11. With the publication of Emerson’s in 1836,American Romanticism reached itssummit.12. Hester Prynne is the heroine in Hawthorne’s novel.13.Henry James’ major fictional theme is.14. brought the Romantic period to an end. So the age of Realism came intoexistence.15. The Poetic style invented by Whitman is now called .16. “Because I could not stop for Death---” is written by.17. The term The Gilded Age is given by to describe the post-civil war years.18. Theodore Dreiser’s first novel is.19. The leader of the literary movement Imagism is .20. is the spokesman for Lost Generation.II. Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answersor completions. Choose the one that is the best in each case and put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 1 point for each)1. The first American writer of local color to achieve wide popularity was .A. Bret HarteB. Mark TwainC. Henry JamesD. William Dean Howells2. Which of the following is the masterpiece of Mark Twain?A. The Gilded AgeB. The Adventures of Tom SawyerC. The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnD. Jumping Frog3. Which writer has no naturalist tendency?A. Mark TwainB. Jack LondonC. Theodore DreiserD. Frank Norris4. Transcendentalist doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in and Thoreau.A. JeffersonB. EmersonC. FreneauD. Oversoul5. Which of the following doesn’t belong to Dreiser’s “Trilogy of Desire”?A. The FinancierB. The TitanC. The StoicD. An American Tragedy6. Which is the character who appears in the novel Moby Dick?A. Hester PrynneB. Mr. HooperC. transcendentalismD. veritism9. Jack London was at his height of his powers when he wrote , which is deeply influenced by Darwinism.A. The Sea WolfB. To Build a FireC. The Call of the WildD. Martin Eden10. The Cop and the Anthem is written by .A. O. HenryB. Henry JamesC. Jack LondonD. Mark Twain11. “Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.” is a line in the poem TheRiver-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter written by .A. T. S. EliotB.Robert FrostC.Ezra PoundD. Carl Sandburg12. The imagist poets followed three principles, they are , direct treatment andeconomy of expression.A. blank verseB. rhythmC. free verseD. common speech13. Of the following American writers, who has NOT been an expatriate in Paris?A. Ernest HemingwayB. Ezra PoundC. F. S. FitzgeraldD. Emily Dickinson14. Who was the foremost novelist of the American Depression of the 1930s?A. Ernest HemingwayB. Ezra PoundC. John SteinbeckD. F. S. Fitzgerald15. The first writings that we call American were the narratives and of the earlysettlements.A. journalsB. poetryC. dramaD. folklores16. An American Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1828 by .A. Samuel JohnsonB. Noah WebsterC. Daniel WebsterD. Daniel Defoe17. Walden is written by .A. EmersonB. ThoreauC. PoeD. Hawthorne18. is famous for psychological realism.A. Mark TwainB. William Dean HowellsC. Henry JamesD. Walt Whitman19. Which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism?A. NatureB. WaldenC. On BeautyD. Self-Reliance20. Which is regarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”?A.The American ScholarB. English TraitsC. The Conduct of LifeD. Nature21. Santiago is the character in Hemingway’s novel.A. In Our TimeB. The Old Man and the SeaC. For Whom the Bell TollsD. The Sun Also Rises22. Which of the following is a much harsher realism?A. local colorismB. naturalismC. romanticismD. imagism23. Who is the arbiter of 19th century literary realism in America?A. Mark TwainB. Bret HarteC. William Dean HowellsD. Henry James24. F. S. Fitzgerald is NOT the author of .A. The Great GatsbyB. Tender is the NightC. A Farewell to the ArmsD. This Side of Paradise25. The pessimism and deterministic ideas of naturalism pervaded the works of suchAmerican writers as .A. Mark TwainB. F. S. FitzgeraldC. Walt WhitmanD. Stephen Crane26. Charles Drouet is a character in the novel of______.A. The AmericanB. The Portrait of a LadyC.Sister CarrieD. The Gift of the Magi27. American literature produced only one female poet during the 19th century.She was .A. Anne BradstreetB. Jane AustenC. Emily DickinsonD. Harriet Beecher28. read his poetry at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.A. Robert FrostB. T. S. EliotC. Carl SandburgD. Ezra Pound29. With Howells, James and Mark Twain active on the scene, became the majortrend in the 70s and 80s of the 19th century.A. sentimentalismB. romanticismC. realismD. naturalism30. “The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough”. Thisis the shortest poem written by .A. T. S. EliotB. Robert FrostC.Ezra PoundD. Wallace StevensIII. Comment on the following poems. Put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 10 points for each)1.Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Eveningby: Robert FrostWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound’s the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.The woods are lovely, dark and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.1. I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died—by: Emily DickinsonI heard a Fly buzz — when I died —The Stillness in the RoomWas like the Stillness in the Air —Between the Heaves of Storm —The Eyes around — had wrung them dry —And Breaths were gathering firmFor that last Onset — when the KingBe witnessed — in the Room —I willed my Keepsakes — Signed awayWhat portion of me beAssignable — and then it wasThere interposed a Fly —With Blue — uncertain stumbling Buzz —Between the light — and me —And then the Windows failed — and thenI could not see to see —IV. Give brief answers to the following and write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 15 points for each)1. Being a period of the great flowering of American literature, the Romantic Period is called “the American Renaissance”. Briefly discuss what the features of American literature in this period are.2. How does Sister Carrie embody Dreiser’2008-2009学年度第二期《美国文学史及作品选读》(2006级本科)期末考试A卷参考答案命题人:王琪、丁华良、祝小丁I. Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases andput your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 1 point for each)1. 16072. John Smith3. Puritan4. Reason5. The Autobiography6. Common Sense7. The Declaration of Independence8. Philip Freneau 9. Sketch Book 10. Transcendentalism11. Nature 12. The Scarlet Letter 13. international theme 14. The civil war15. free verse 16. Emily Dickinson 17. Mark Twain18. Sister Carrie 19. Ezra Pound 20. Ernest HemingwayII. Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers or completions. Choose the one that is the best in each case and put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 1 point for each)1 --- 5: A C A B D 6 --- 10: C D B C A11 ---15:C B D C A 16 --- 20: B B C A A21 ---25: B B C C D 26 --- 30: C C A C CIII. Comment on the following poems. Put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 10 points for each)1. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was Frost's favorite of his own poems and Frost in a letter to Louis Untermeyer called it "my best bid for remembrance."This poem illustrates many of the qualities most characteristic of Frost, including the attention to natural detail, the relationship between humans and nature, and the strong theme suggested by individual lines. The speaker in the poem, a traveler by horse on the darkest night of the year, stops to watch a woods filling up with snow. He thinks the owner of the woods is someone who lives in the village and will not see him stopping there. While he is attracted by the beauty of the woods and nature, he is reminded by his little horse and realizes that he has obligations which pull him away from the lure of nature. The speaker describes the beauty and temptation of the woods as “lovely, dark and deep,” but reminds himself that he must not remain there, because he has “promises to keep,” and a long journey ahead of him. He has to complete his obligations and then make his aspirations to be realized. Through the symbolic woods and horse, we also get to know that the speaker has strong self-awareness and self-discipline.In another way, the poem can be analyzed from the perspective of aspiration and realization. Aspiration is something to be worked at. We enjoy the fruit of our realization only when we reach our destination. But from the spiritual point of view, we notice something else that is the transformation of aspiration and realization. Today's aspiration transforms itself into tomorrow's realization. Again, tomorrow's realization is the pathfinder of a higher and deeper goal. There is no end to our realization, and there is no end of our aspiration as long as you are alive. Our journey is eternal, and the road that we are taking on is also eternal. All aspirations become realization till the end of one’s life.The poem is written in iambic tetrameter in the Rubaiyat stanza created by Edward Fitzgerald. Each verse (save the last) follows an a-a-b-a rhyming scheme, with the following verse's a's rhyming with that verse's b, which is a chain rhyme. Overall, the rhyme scheme is AABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDD.2. The poetess is watching her own death and recording the process. Instead of seeing God and hearing the songs of angels yearned for by Puritans upon death she heard a fly buzz, which is really ironic.Fly: sets off the stillness in the room;blocks off the light (from heaven);suggests a coming decadence→ the speaker loses the opportunity of gaining immortality after deathThe fly plays an important role in the speaker’s experience of death. The poem is, in part, about “the conflict between preconception and perception.” The person on his or her deathbed shifts perspective from “the ritual of dying” to “the fact of death.” The fly, by interrupting the dying speaker with its “Blue — uncertain stumbling Buzz —” obliterates his or her false notions of death. The sound of the fly represents “the last conscious link with reality.” The poem lacks any hint of a life after death. IV. Give brief answers to the following and write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 15 points for each)1.(1) The whole nation had a strong sense of optimism and the mood of “f eelinggood”, giving birth to the spectacular outburst of romantic feeling.(2) The English counterpart exerted a stimulating impact on the writers of the young nation.(3) Taking foreign influence in consideration, the great works of American writers stillcarried typically American romantic color.(4) The young nation had brought forth its own philosophy. Transcendentalism stressesman’s capacity of knowing truth intuitively, and of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses.2.(1) In this novel, Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding thepurposelessness of life and attacking the conventional moral standards.(2) The novel best embodies his naturalistic belief that while men are controlled byheredity, instinct and chance, a few extraordinary and unsophisticated human beings refuse to accept their fate wordlessly and instead strive, unsuccessfully, to find meaning and purpose for their existence.(3) To Sister Carrie, the world is cold and harsh. Alone, helpless, she moves along likea mechanism driven by desire and catches blindly at any opportunities for abetter existence, opportunities first offered by Drouet, and then by Hurstwood. A feather in the wind, she was totally at the mercy of forces she cannot comprehend, still less to say control. The famous picture of Carrie sitting in a rocking chair in her room in the evening, rocking back and forth, is a picture of Carrie’s drifting with the tide. She has no control, no freedom of will.美国文学(本科)试题6I. Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases: (20%, 1 point for each)1. In 1817, the stately poem called “Thanatopsis” introduced the best poet, ______, to appear in America up to that time.2. James Fennimore Cooper launched two kinds of immensely popular stories: thesea adventure and ______.3. Ralph Emerson was recognized throughout his life as the leader of ______movement, yet he never applied the term to himself or to his beliefs and ideas.4. Herman Melville’s novel ______ is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage inpursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale.5. In the early 19th century, Washington Irving wrote ______ which became the firstwork by an American writer to win financial success on both sides of the Atlantic.6. In 1845, Henry David Thoreau began a two-year residence at ______ Pond.7. After his death, ______ became the only American to be honored with a bust inthe Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey.8. The American Romantic period stretches from the end of the 18th century throughthe outburst of the ______.9. The arbiter of 19th century literary realism in America was ______.10. The poetic style Walt Whitman devised is now called ______, which is poetry withouta fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme.11. ______ is considered the founder of psychological realism. He believed that realitylies in the impressions made by life on the spectator.12. ______ is the novel into which Jack London put most of himself.13. O. Henry’s ______ is a very moving story of a young couple who sell their bestpossessions in order to get money for a Christmas present for each other.14. ______ was the leader of a new movement in poetry which he called the“Imagist” movement.15. In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald completed his best novel ______. It is the story of anidealist who was destroyed by the influence of the wealthy, pleasure-seeking people around him.16. Ernest Hemingway’s stature as a writer was confir med with the publication of hisnovel ______ in 1929. The novel portrayed a farewell both to war and to love.17. ______ was the foremost novelist of the American Depression of the 1930s.18. William Faulkner considered __________ to be “the first truly American writer”.19. As a genre, naturalism emphasized heredity and ______ as important deterministicforces shaping individualized characters that were presented in special and detailed circumstances.20. A series of sixteen pamphlets by Thomas Paine was entitled ______.II. Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers or completions. Choose the one that is the best in each case: (30%, 1 point for each)1. Moby Dick was dedicated to ____.A. Ralph EmersonB. Nathaniel HawthorneC. Henry ThoreauD. Henry Longfellow2. ____ was Mark Twain’s masterpiece from which, as Hemingway noted, “allmodern American literature comes.”A. The Adventures of Tom SawyerB. The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnC. Life on the MississippiD. The Gilded Age3. ____ usually was regarded as the first American writer.A. Emily BradfordB. Ann BradstreetC. Emily DickinsonD. John Smith4. Benjamin Franklin was the epitome of the ____.A. American EnlightenmentB. Sugar ActC. Chartist movementD. Romanticist5. Thomas Jefferson’s attitude, that is, a firm b elief in progress, and the pursuit ofhappiness, is typical of the period we now call ____.A. Age of EvolutionB. Age of ReasonC. Age of RomanticismD. Age of Regionalism6. As a literary and philosophical movement, ____ flourished in New England fromthe 1830s to the Civil War.A. modernismB. rationalismC. sentimentalismD. transcendentalism7. ____ is NOT written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.A. The American ScholarB. Self-RelianceC. The Divinity School AddressD. Civil Disobedience8. There is a good reason to state that New England Transcendentalism was actually____ on the Puritan soil.A. RomanticismB. SymbolismC. MysticismD. Rationalism9. American literature produced only one female poet during the 19th century. Thiswas ____.A. Anne BradstreetB. Jane AustenC. Emily DickinsonD. Harriet Beecher10. Which of the following statements about O. Henry is NOT right?A. He wrote about the poor people.B. The ends of his stories are always surprising.C. Many of his stories contain a great deal of slang and colloquial expressions.D. The plots are usually clumsy.11. The main theme of ____’s The Art of Fiction reveals his literary credo thatrepresentation of life should be the main object of the novel.A. Henry JamesB. William HowellsC. Mark TwainD. O. Henry12. Which of the following does NOT have a naturalist tendency?A. Stephan CraneB. Frank NorrisC. Jack LondonD. Walt Whitman13. For Melville, as well as for the reader and _____, the narrator, Moby Dick is still amystery, an ultimately mystery of the universe.A. StubbB. IshmaelC. AhabD. Starbuck14. Which of the following is NOT optimistic about human nature?A. Ralph EmersonB. Walt WhitmanC. Nathaniel HawthorneD. Henry Thoreau15. Emily Dickinson wrote many of her poems on various aspects of life. Which of thefollowing is NOT a usual subject of her poetic expression?A. ReligionB. Life and deathC. Love and marriageD. War and peace16. Of the following American writers, _____ had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.A. Mark TwainB. Ernest HemingwayC. Henry JamesD. F. S. Fitzgerald17. In 1862, President Lincoln exclaimed: “So you are the little woman who wrote thebook that started this great war!” The book refers to ____.A. The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnB. BelovedB. Pride and Prejudice D. Uncle Tom’s Cabin18. The works of _____ reveals the misery of the migrant workers because of theAmerican Depression.A. F. S. FitzgeraldB. John SteinbeckC. Ernest HemingwayD. William Howells19. In Leaves of Grass, _____ is all that concerned Whitman.A. individualismB. freedomC. democracyD. all the above20. It is not surprising to find in _____’s fiction a world of jungle, where “kill or to bekilled” was the law.A. Mark TwainB. Emily DickinsonC. Theodore DreiserD. Henry James21. During the period after the Civil War, the American society entered in what MarkTwain referred to as ____.A. the Golden AgeB. the Modern AgeC. the Gilded AgeD. the Puritan Age22. “The Custom-House” is an introductory note to _____.A. Moby-DickB. The Scarlet LetterC. The Marble FaunD. The Blithedale Romance23. When we say that a poor young man from the West tried to make his fortune in theEast but was disillusioned in the quest of an idealized dream, we are probably discus sing ______’s thematic concern in his fiction writing.A. Henry JamesB. F. Scott FitzgeraldC. Ernest HemingwayD. William Faulkner24. American writers after World War I self-consciously acknowledged that they were(a) “____”, devoid of faith and alienated from the Western civilization.A. Lost GenerationB. Beat GenerationC. Sons of LibertyD. Angry Young Men25. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of William Faulkner?A. He is master of stream-of-consciousness narrative.B. His writing is often complex and difficult to understand.C. He often depicts slum life in New York and Chicago.D. He represents a new group of Southern writers26. The setting of the novel The Scarlet Letter is in ____.A. England during World War IB. Paris during the French RevolutionC. Puritan AmericaD. America after the Revolutionary War27. Which statement is NOT true of the American naturalist?A. They ventured the forbidden subjects such as sex, death, and violence.B. They stressed the possible triumph of human will.C. They wrote in a daring, open, and direct manner.D. They see human beings no more than a physical object.28. ____ is often acclaimed as the literary spokesman of the Jazz Age.A. Ernest HemingwayB. F. Scott FitzgeraldC. William FaulknerD. John Steinbeck29. ____, one of America’s greatest playwrights, won the Nobel Prize in 1936, the firstAmerican playwright to receive the honor. Some of his most famous works include The Hairy Ape, Long D ay’s Journey into Night.A. Arthur MillerB. Tennessee WilliamsC. Bernard MalamudD. Eugene O’Neill30. Edgar Allan Poe occupies an important position in American literature as a poetand a ____.A. short story writerB. novelistC. dramatistD. translatorIII. Read the poems carefully and answer the questions that follow. Put your answers on the Answer Sheet: (20%, 10 points for each poem)1. Because I could not stop for Death —Because I could not stop for Death —He kindly stopped for me —The Carriage held but just Ourselves —And Immortality.We slowly drove — He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility —We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess — in the Ring —We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain —We passed the Setting Sun —Or rather — He passed Us —The Dews drew quivering and Chill —For only Gossamer, my Gown —My Tippet — only Tulle —We paused before a House that seemedA Swelling of the Ground —The Roof was scarcely visible —The Cornice — in the Ground —Since then —’tis Centuries — and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses’ HeadsWere toward Eternity —Questions:1.1 Who wrote this poem? (1%)1.2 What is the poet or the speaker in the poem watching and recording? (1%)1.3 What is death compared to in the poem? (1%)1.4 What is depicted in the 3rd stanza? How is it related to the whole poem? (2%)1.5 What is depicted in the 4th stanza? (1%)1.6 What does the poet or the speaker in the poem think of eternity? (2%)1.7 What is the attitude of the poet or the speaker in the poem towards death? (2%)2. Annabel LeeIt was many and many a year ago,In a kingdom by the sea,That a maiden there lived whom you may knowBy the name of Annabel Lee; -And this maiden she lived with no other thoughtThan to love and be loved by me.I was a child and she was a child,In this kingdom by the sea;But we loved with a love that was more than love -I and my Annabel Lee -With a love that the wingéd seraphs in HeavenCoveted her and me.And this was the reason that, long ago,In this kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud, chillingMy beautiful Annabel Lee;So that her high-born kinsmen cameAnd bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulcher,In this kingdom by the sea.The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,Went envying her and me -Yes! - that was the reason (as all men know,In this kingdom by the sea)That the wind came out of the cloud by night,Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.But our love it was stronger by far than the loveOf those who were older than we -Of many far wiser than we -And neither the angels in Heaven above,Nor the demons down under the sea,Can ever dissever my soul from the soulOf the beautiful Annabel Lee: -For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreamsOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyesOf the beautiful Annabel Lee: -And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the sideOf my darling - my darling - my life and my bride,In her sepulcher there by the sea -In her tomb by the sounding sea.Questions:2.1 Who wrote this poem? (1%)2.2 What is the theme of the poem? (2%)2.3 What is the mood of the poem? (1%)2.4 How does the poem coincide with Poe’s poetics or theory of poetry writing? (3%)2.5 What makes you think the poem reads like a fairy tale? (3%)IV. Answer the following questions, and put your answers on the Answer Sheet: (30%, 15 points for each)1. What is local color fiction? List at least 5 of the best known writers of local color.2. Instead of having her punished for her life of sin, Dreiser let Caroline Meeber in Sister Carrier become successful. Can you tell why?2007—2008学年度第二期《美国文学史及作品选读》考试A卷参考答案命题人:王琪、丁华良I: Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases. (20%, 1 point for each)1. Bryant2. frontier saga3. transcendentalist4. Moby Dick5. Sketch Book6. Walden7. Longfellow8. Civil War9. Howells 10. free verse11. Henry James 12. Martin Eden 13. The Gift of Magi14. Pound 15. The Great Gatsby 16. A Farewell to Arms17. Steinbeck 18. Mark Twain19. Environment 20. American CrisisII: Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers or completions. Choose the one that is the best in each case. (30%, 1 point for each)1 --- 5: B B D A B 6 --- 10: D D A C D11 ---15: A D B C D 16 --- 20: B D B D C21 --- 25: C B B A C 26 --- 30: C B B D AIII. Read the poems and answer the questions that follow. (20%)Poem 11.1 Who wrote this poem? (1%)Emily Dickinson.1.2 What is the poet or the speaker in the poem watching and recording? (1%) Apparently the woman tells the story of how she is busily going about her day when a polite gentleman by the name of Death arrives in his carriage to take her out for a ride, but, in reality, the speaker is watching and recording her own funeral.1.3 What is death compared to in the poem? (1%)Death is compared to a polite gentleman or polite wooer.1.4 What is depicted in the 3rd stanza? How is it related to the whole poem? (2%) Death takes the woman on a leisurely ride to the grave and beyond, passing playing children, wheat fields, and the setting sun, which indicate the three periods of a day, morning, noon and evening and symbolize the three stages of human life — childhood, middle age and old age.1.5 What is depicted in the 4th stanza? (1%)In this stanza, the speaker describes her dead body and what is wearing. She feels cold because it is evening now and dew drops are forming and she is not wearing much, but more probably it is because she is dead and blood circulation in her body has stopped.1.6 What does the poet or the speaker in the poem think of eternity? (2%)The speaker is not quite sure whether there will be eternity after death since she just surmises that “the Horses’ He ads / were toward Eternity —”.。
美国文学复习资料与答案
1.The American Transcendentalists formed a club called _________ .the Transcendental Club2.______ was regarded as the first great prose stylist of American romanticism.Washington Irving3.At nineteen___________ published in his brother’s newspaper, his "JonathanOldstyle" satires of New York life.4.In Washington Irving’s work___________ appeared the first modern shortstories and the first great American juvenile literature. The Sketch Book5.The first important American novelist was____________. James FenimoreCooper6.James Fenimore Cooper’s novel ___________ was a rousing tale about espionageagainst the British during the Revolutionary War. The Spy7.The best of James Fenimore Cooper's sea romances was_____________. ThePilot8."To a Waterfowl" is perhaps the peak of_______________’swork; it has beencalled by an eminent English critic "the most perfect brief poem in the lan-guage.〞 William Cullen Bryant9.__________ was the first American to gain the stature of a major poet in theworld literature.10.Edgar Allan Poe’s poem____________ is perhaps the best e*ample of onomato-poeia in the English language. The Bells11.Edgar Allan Poe's poem____________ was published in 1845 as the title poemof a collection. The Raven12.From Henry David Thoreau’s Concord jail e*perience, came his famous essay______.Civil DisobedienceBy the 1830s Washington Irving was judged the nation' s greatest writer, a lofty position he later shared with James Fenimore Cooper and William Cullen Bryant. In the early nineteenth century, the attitude of American writers was shaped by their New World environment and an array of ideas inherited from the romantic tradition of Europe.As a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematical. The foundation of American national literature was laid by the early American romanticists.At mid-19th century, a cultural reawakening brought a "flowering of New England". Romantic writers in the 19th century placed increasing value on the free e*-pression of emotion and displayed increasing attention to the psychic states of their characters.With a vast group of supporting characters, virtuous or villainous, James Fenimore Cooper made the America conscious of his past, and made the European conscious of America.No other American poet ever surpassed Edgar Allan Poe’s ability in the use of English as a medium of pure musical and rhythmic beauty.The Fall of the House of Usher is one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories. Ralph Waldo Emerson was recognized as the leader of transcendentalist movement, but he never applied the term "Transcendentalist" to himself or to his beliefs and ideas.In 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson published his first book, Nature, which met with a mild reception.Ralph Waldo Emerson's prose style was sometimes as highly individual as his poetry.The harsh rhythms and striking images of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poetry appeal to many modern readers as artful techniques.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s writings belong to the milder aspects of the Romantic Movement.American romanticism was in a way derivative: American romantic writing was some of them modeled on English and European works.Ralph Waldo Emerson’s aesthetics brought about a revolution in American literature in general and in American poetry in particular.Henry David Thoreau was an active Transcendentalist. He was by no means an "escapist" or a recluse, but was intensely involved in the life of his day. The Scarlet Letter is set in the seventeenth century. It is an elaboration ofa fact which the author took out of the life of the Puritan past.2.Transcendentalism took their ideas from___________ .A.the romantic literature in EuropeB.neo-PlatonismC.German idealistic philosophyD.the revelations of oriental mysticismABCD8. Transcendentalists recognized__________ as the "highest power of the soul.〞A. intuition10. Transcendentalism appealed to those who disdained the harsh God of the Puritan ancestors, and it appealed to those who scorned the pale deity of New England A. TranscendentalismB.HumanismC.NaturalismD.UnitarianismD13. The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a perma-nent convention of American literature, evident in _________ .A. James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking TalesB.Henry David Thoreau’s WaldenC.Mark Twain’s Huckleberry FinnD.Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet LetterABC14. A preoccupation with the demonic and the mystery of evil marked the works of _________ , and a host of lesser writers.A. Nathaniel HawthorneB.Edgar Allan PoeC.Herman MelvilleD.Mark TwainABC16. In the nineteenth century America, Romantics often shared certain general characteristics. Choose such characteristics from the following.A.moral enthusiasmB.faith in the value of individualism and intuitive perceptionC.adoration for the natural worldD.presumption about the corrosive effect of human societyABCD17.Choose Washington Irving' s works from the following.A. The Sketch BookB. Bracebridge HallC. Tales of a TravellerD. A History of New YorkABCD18. In James Fenimore Cooper's novels, close after Natty Bumppo in romantic ap-peal , e the two noble red men. Choose them from the following.A. the Mohican Chief ChingachgookB. UncasC. Tom JonesD. Kubla KhanABIn 1817, the stately poem called Thanatopsis introduced the best poet___________ to appear in America up to that time.A. Edward TaylorB. Philip FreneauC. William Cullen BryantD. Edgar Allan PoeC To a WaterfowlThanatopsis21. From the following, choose the poems written by Edgar Allan Poe.A. To HelenB. The RavenC. Annabel LeeD. The BellsABCD23. Edgar Allan Poe's first collection of short stories is___________ .D.Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque24. From the following, choose the characteristics of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poetry.A. being highly individualB. harsh rhythmsC. lack of form and polishD. striking imagesABCD25. Which book is not written by Ralph Waldo Emerson"A. Representative MenB. English TraitsC. NatureD. The RhodoraD26. Which essay is not written by Ralph Waldo Emerson"A. Of StudiesB. Self-RelianceC. The American ScholarD. The Divinity School AddressA30. Nathaniel Hawthorne's ability to create vivid and symbolic images that embody great moral questions also appears strongly in his short stories. Choose his short stories from the following.A.Young Goodman BrownB. The Great Stone FaceC. The Ambitious Guest ABCDD. Ethan BrandE. The Pearl32. Herman Melville called his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne_____________ in Ameri-can literature.A.the largest brain with the largest heart34. __________ was a romanticized account of Herman Melville's stay among the Polynesians. The success of the book soon made Melville well known as the " man who lived among cannibals". Typee37. In the early nineteenth century American moral values were essentially Puritan. Nothing has left a deeper imprint on the character of the people as a whole than did__________ .A. Puritanism"The universe is posed of Nature and the soul... Spirit is present everywhere". This is the voice of the book Nature written by Emerson, which pushed American Romanticism into a new phase, the phase of New England______ Transcendentalism43. Which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism"A. Nature45. _________ is an appalling fictional version of Nathaniel Hawthorne' s belief that "the wrong doing of one generation lives into the successive ones" and that evil will e out of evil though it may take many generations to happen.A. The Marble FaunB. The House of Seven GablesC. The Blithedale RomanceD.Young Goodman BrownBOnce upon a midnight dreary, while i pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—Only this, and nothing more. "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.Eagerly I wished the morrow; —vainly I had tried to borrowFrom my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost.Edgar Allan PoeThe RavenDescribe the mood of this poem:A sense of melancholy over the death of a beloved beautiful young woman pervades the whole poem, the portrayal of a young man grieving for his lost Leno-re, his grief turned to madness under the steady one-word repetition of the talking bird.Work 3: Nuture1.As the leading New England Transcendentalist, Emerson effected a most arti-culate synthesis of the Transcendentalist views. One major element of his philosophy if his firm belief in the transcendence of the "Oversoul". Hisemphasis on the spirit runs through virtually all his writings. "Philosophically considered," he states in Nature, which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism, "the universe is posed of Nature and the Soul. " He sees the world as phenomenal, and emphasizes the need for idealism, for idealism sees the world in God. "It beholds the whole circle of persons and things, of actions and events, of country and religion, as one vast picture which God paints on the eternity for the contemplation of the soul. " He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature. In this connection, Emerson' s emotional e*periences are e*emplary in more ways than one. Alone in the woods one day, for instance, he e*perienced a moment of "ecstasy"which he records thus in his Nature:2.Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air and upliftedinto infinite space, all mean egotism vanishes. I bee a transparent eyeball;I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulatethrough me; I am part or particle of God.3.Now this is a moment of "conversion" when one feels pletely merged withthe outside world, when one has pletely sunk into nature and bee one with it, and when the soul has gone beyond the physical limits of the body to share the omniscience of the Oversoul. In a word, the soul has pletely transcended the limits of individuality and beome part of the Oversoul.Emerson sees spirit pervading everywhere, not only in the soul of man, but behind nature, throughout nature. The world proceeds, as he observes, from the same source as the body of man. "The Universal Being" is in point of fact the Oversoul that he never stopped talking about for the rest of his life. Emerson' s doctrine of the Oversoul is graphically illustrated in such famous statements; "Each mind lives in the Grand mind," "There in one mind mon to all individual men," and "Man is conscious of a universal soul within or behind his individual life. " In his opinion, man is made in the image of God and is just a little less than Him. This is as much as to say that the spiritual and immanent God is operative in the soul of man, and that man is divine. The divinity of man became, incidentally, a favorite subject in his lectures and essays.4.This naturally led to another, equally significant, Transcendentalistthesis, that the individual, not the crowd, is the most important of all.If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself, and brings out the divine in himself, he can hop to bee better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by the "infinitude of the privates man. " He tried to convince people that the possibilities for man to develop and improve himself are infinite.Men should and could be self-reliant. Each man should feel the world as his, and the world e*ists for him alone. He should determine his own e*istence. Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself. " Know then that theworld e*ists for you " he says. "Build therefore your own world. " "Trust thy self!" and "Make thyself!" Trust your own discretion and the world is yours. Thus, as Henry Nash Smith ventures to suggest, "Emerson' s message was eventually (to use a telegraphic abbreviation) self-reliance. "Emerson' s eye was on man as he could be or could bee; he was in the main optimistic about human perfectibility. The regeneration of the individual leads to the regeneration of society. Hence his famous remark, "I ask for the individuals, not the nation. " Emerson ' s self-reliance was an e*pression, on a very high level, of the buoyant spirit of his time, the hope that man can bee the best person he could hope to be. Emerson ' s Transcendentalism, with its emphasis on the democratic individualism, may have provided an ideal e*planation for the conduct and activities of an e*panding capitalist society. His essays such as "Power", "Wealth", and "Napoleon" (in his The Representative Men) reveal his ambivalence toward aggressiveness and self-seeking.5.To Emerson's Transcendentalist eyes, the physical world was vitalistic andevolutionary. Nature was, to him as to his Puritan forebears, emblematic of God. It mediates between man and God, and its voice leads to higher truth." Nature is the vehicle of thought," and " particular natural facts are symbols of particular spiritual facts. " Thus Emerson' s world was one of multiple significance; everything bears a second sense and an ulterior sense. In a word, " Nature is the symbol of spirit." That is probably whyhe called his first philosophical work Nature rather ihan anything else. The sensual man, Emerson feels, conforms thoughts to things, and man' s power to connect his thought with its proper symbol depends upon the simplicity and purity of his character; "The lover of nature is he who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. " To him nature is a wholesome moral influence on man and his character. A natural implication of Emerson' s view on nature is that the world around is symbolic.A lowing river indicates the ceaseless motion of the universe. The seasons correspond to the life span of man. The ant, the little drudge, with a small body and a mighty heart, is the sublime image of man himself.。
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Exercises on Colonial AmericaI. Blank Filling1.The most enduring shaping influence in Americanthought and American literature was ________.(Puritanism)2.The Puritan philosophy known as _________ wasimportant in New England during colonial time, and had a profound influence on the early American mind for several generations.(Puritanism)3.Among all the settlers in the New Continent,_________ settlers were the most influential.(English)4.Among the members of the small band ofJamestown settlers was ______, an English soldier of fortune, whose reports of exploration, published in the early 1600s, have been described as the first distinct American literature written in English. (John Smith)5.The term ―puritan‖ was applied to those settlerswho originally were devout members of the Church of _______. (England)6.General History of Virginia contains ________ ‗smost famous tale of how the Indian princess named Pocahontas saved him from the wrath of her father. (John Smith)7.The first permanent English settlement in NorthAmerica was established at _________, Virginia.(Jamestown)8.Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety, these werethe __________ values that dominated much of the early American writing. (puritan)9._________ was regarded as the first woman poetin American literature. (Anne Bradstreet)10.William Bradford himself used a word ―Pilgrim‖to describe the group of believers who sailed from Southampton England, on the Mayflower and settled in __________, Massachusetts in1620.(Plymouth)11.In 1620, ________________ became the firstGovernor of Plymouth, Massachusetts. (William Bradford)12.Many Puritans wrote verse, but the work of twowriters, Anne Bradstreet and ___________, rose to the level of real poetry. (Edward Tayor)13.The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America is acollection of poems composed by ___________________. (Anne Bradstreet)14.______________ is the most truly American ofthe national holidays in the United States and is the most closely connected with the earliest history. (Thanks Giving Day)15.It is that on Thanksgiving each year, Americansgive thanks to ________ for the grace and mercy He has granted. Years later, president of the United States proclaimed ___________________ as Thanksgiving Day every year. (God; the fourth Thursday of November)16.The ship ___________ carried about one hundredPilgrims and took 66 days to beat its way across the Atlantic. In icy November of 1620, it put the Pilgrims ashore at Plymouth, Massachusetts.(Mayflower)17.The War of Independence lasted eight years till________. (1781)18.The United States of America was foundedin_________. (1776)19.The 18th century American thinking wasdominated by a set of new ideas about the universe, predominant among which is __________. (Deism)20.Thomas Paine, with his natural gift forpamphleteering and revolution, was appropriately born into an age of ___________. (revolution) 21.A series of sixteen pamphlets by Paine wasentitled ____________. (American Crisis)22.One of the most important American thinkersduring the revolutionary period was ______________, who wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac. (Benjamin Franklin)23.In American literature, the eighteenth century wasan Age of ________ and Revolution. (Reason) 24.In Franklin‘s ________________ he asks forhonesty and almost provides instructions, in typical American fa shion, of ―how to‖ succeed.(The Autobiography)25.The Declaration of Independence drafted by__________ , adopted on _____________, announced the birth of a new nation. (Jefferson;July 4, 1776)II. Decide Whether the Statements are True or False1.Having gathered the harvest in the first summer,the puritans decided that a day of thanksgiving be fixed to give thanks to the friendly Indians for their help and friendship. (F)2.American Literature is among the oldest nationalliteratures in the world.(F)3.From 1930-1980, within about half of the century,nine American writers have won the Nobel Prize.(T)4.Captain John Smith usually was regarded as thefirst American writer.(T)5.Smith published eight books in all, A Descriptionof New England is one of them.(T)6.Mayflower in American history is name of aflower. (F)7.The Puritans were originally a group of peoplewho separated from the Church of England in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I.(T) III. Multiple Choice1.English literature in the America is about morethan_____ years old. (C)A. 500B. 400C. 200D.1002.The establisher of Jamestown was the famousexplorer and colonist____. (B)A. John WinthropB. JohnSmithC. William BradfordD. JohnGoodwin3.The early history of __________ Colony was thehistory of William Bradford‘s leadership. (A)A. PlymouthB. JamestownC. NewEngland D. Mayflower4.Jonathan Edwards‘ best and most representativesermon was ______. (B)A. Personal NarrativeB. Sinners in theHands of an Angry GodC. Freedom of the WillD. Images orShadows of Divine Things5.The common thread throughout Americanliterature has been the emphasis on the ___________. (C)A. RevolutionB. ReasonC.Individualism D. Rationalism 6.Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan poet. Her poemsmade such a stir in England that she became known as the _________ who appeared in America.(B)A. Ninth MuseB. Tenth MuseC. BestMuse D. First Muse7. Which statement about Franklin is not true? (A)A.He instructed his countrymen as a printer.B.He was a scientist.C.He was a master of diplomacy.D.He was a Puritan.8. From 1732 –1758, Franklin wrote and published his famous ______________, an annual collection of proverbs.(B)A. The AutobiographyB. Poor Richard‘s AlmanacC. The Common SenseD. The General Magazine9. Which is not written by Thomas Paine? (D)A. Rights of ManB. Common SenseC. The Age of ReasonD. The Federalist10. ―These are the times that try men‘s souls‖, these words was once read to Washington‘s troops and did much to shore up the spirits of the revolutionary soldiers. Who is the author of these words? (C)A. Benjamin FranklinB. Thomas JeffersonC. Thomas PaineD. George Washington11. Who was consi dered as the ―Poet of American Revolution‖? (C)A. Edward TaylorB. Anne BradstreetC. Philip FreneauD. William Cullen Bryant12. It was not until January 1776 that a widely heardpublic voice demanded complete separation from England. The voice was that of _________, whose pamphlet Common Sense, with its heated language, increased the Growing demand for separation. (B)A. Thomas JeffersonB. Thomas PaineC. George WashingtonD. Philip FreneauExercises on Realism and Naturalism Ⅰ. Blank Filling.1.The arbiter of nineteenth century literary realismin America was ______________. (William Dean Howells)2.Henry _______________probed deeply at theindividual psychology of his characters, writing ina rich and intricate style that supported his intensescrutiny of complex human experience. (James) 3.Mark _______________, breaking out of thenarrow limits of local color fiction, described the breadth of American experience as no one had ever done before, or since. (Twain)4.__________________had an evident influence onnaturalism. It seemed to stress the animal man, to suggest that he was dominated by the irresistible forces of evolution. (Darwinism)5.The poetic style Whitman devised is now called________________, that is poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. (free verse)6.In his cluster of poems called Leaves of Grass,________________gave America its first genuine epic poem. (Walt Whitman)7.Mrs. Stowe‘s masterpiece is ______________.( Uncle Tom‘s Cabin)8.Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better known bythe pen name _____________. (Mark Twain)9.One of Clemens‘ best books_______________________is based on his experiences as a steamboat pilot. (Life on the Mississippi)10.The result of Mark Twain‘s European trip was aseries of newspaper articles, later published as a book called ___________. (Innocents Abroad) 11._______________________was the first literarygiant born West of the Mississippi. (Mark Twain) 12.William Sidney Porter, whose pen namewas______________________, was the author of The Cop and the Anthem. (O. Henry)13.Many of O. Henry‘s stories tell about the lives ofpoor people in _______________. (New York) 14.O. Henry sympathized with the poor and hatedthose rich who exploited and despised them. This is especially seen in his story entitled __________________. (An Unfinished Story) 15.It is said that O. Henry imitated De____________________as a model , and there is indeed much in common between these two writers. (Maupassant)16.The title of one of O. Henry‘s books_________________ indicates that he considered all the people of New York city worth writing about, instead of only the upper class. (The Four Millions)17.Henry James‘ first important fiction was__________, which he took up for the first time the theme of The American-in-Europe. (A Passionate Pilgrim)18.In 1881, Henry James published his novel___________________, which is generally considered as his masterpiece. (The Portait of a Lady)19.By emphasizing the inner awareness and inwardmovements of his characters in face of outside occurrences ___________________ is considered the founder of Psychological realism. (Henry James)20.The name of the heroine in The Portrait of a Ladyis _________. (Isabel Archer)21.In 1902, Jack London published his first novel_______________________. (A Daughter of the Snowy)22.______________________ is the novel intowhich Jack London put most of himself. (Martin Eden)23.The first novel of Theodore Dreiser was_______________. (Sister Carrie)24.The identification of potency with money is at theheart of Dreiser‘s masterpiec e_________. (An American Tragedy)25.The protagonist of Dreiser‘s Trilogy of Desire is___________________. (Frank Cowperwood) 26.Dreiser visited the Soviet Union in 1927 andpublished __________________the following year. (Dreiser Looks at Russia)27.Dreiser‘s nov el ___________________, acommercial and critical failure when first published in 1900, was reissued in 1907 and won high praise for its grim, naturalistic portrayal of American society. (Sisoer Carrie)28.Mark Twain‘s first novel,_________________________was an artistic failure, but it gave its name to the America of the post-bellum period which it attempts to satirize.(The Gilded Age)29.Three years‘ life on the Mississippi left such afond memory with Mark Twain that he returned to the theme more than once in his writing career, his book ___________relates it in a vivid, moving way. (Life on the Mississippi)30.__________ was Mark twain‘s masterwork fromwhich, as Hemingway noted , ―all modern American literature comes‖. (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)31.The best work that Mark Twain ever produced is_________________, which was a success from its first publication in 1884, and has always been regarded as one of the great books of western literature and western civilization. (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)32.________________ is the pioneer who wrote inthe naturalistic tradition.(Stephen Crane)33.Crane‘s novel ____________________relates thestory of a good woman‘s downfall and destruction in a slum environment. (Maggi: A Girl of the Streets)34.War in the novel by Crane __________________is a plain slaughter-house. There is nothing like valor or heroism on the battlefield, and if there is anything, it is the fear of death, cowardice, the natural instinct of man to run from danger. (The Red Badge of Courage)35.Norr is‘s novel ____________________________has been called ―the first full bodied naturalistic American novel ‖ and ―a consciously naturalistic manifesto‖. (Mcteague)36.Jack London‘s masterwork ______________ issomewhat autobiographical. (Martin Eden)37.O. Henry‘s ______________________ is a verymoving story of a young couple who sell their best possessions in order to get money for a Christmas present for each other. (The Gift of the Magi)38.Three novels, ______, _________, ________,were considered as the summit of Henry James‘s artistry. (The Golden Bowl, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove) 39.Norris‘s ―Trilogy of Wheat‖ includes______,_________, and The Wolf. ( The Octopus, The Pit) 40.The appearance of ________by Bret Harte in1868 pushed the development of local colorism in America greatly. (The Luck of Roaring Camp) Ⅱ. Multiple Choice.1.Howells defined realism as ―nothing more andnothing less than the truthful treatment of material‖, and he best exemplified his theories in three novels. Choose them from the following .(ABC)A.The Modern InstanceB.The rise of Silas LaphanC. A Hazard of New FortunesD.The Prince and the Pauper2.Mark Twain created, in ________________, amasterpiece of American realism that is also one of the great books of world literature. (A)A.Huckleberry FinnB.Tom SawyerC.The Man That Corrupted HadleyburgD.The Gilded Age3.The pessimism and deterministic ideas ofnaturalism pervaded the works of such American writers as ________________. (ABCDE)A.Stephen CraneB.Frank NorrisC.Jack LondonD.Henry JamesE.Theodore Dreiser4.Although realism and naturalism were products ofthe nineteenth century, their final triumph came in the twentieth century, with the popular and critical success of such writers as _______________.(ABCDE)A.Edwin Arlington RobinsonB.Willa CatherC.Sherwood AndersonD.Robert FrostE.William Faulkner5.American literature produced only one femalepoet during the nineteenth century. This was _______.(E)A.Anne BradstreetB.Jane AustenC.Emily DickinsonD.Harriet Beecher6.Which of the following is not written by MarkTwain? (A)A.The Modern InstanceB.Innocents AbroadC.Life on the MississippiD.The Tragedy of Pudd‘nhead WilsonE.The Prince and the Pauper7.The publication of the novel_____________stired a great nation to its depths and hurried on a great war. (D)A.My Bondage and My FreedomB.Stanzas on FreedomC.V oices of FreedomD.Uncle Tom‘s Cabin8.Which statements about O. Henry are right?(ABCDE)A.He wrote about the poor people.B.His stories are usually short and humorous.C.The plots of his stories are exceedinglyclever and interesting.D.Many of his stories contain a great deal ofslang and colloquial expressions.E.The ends of his stories are always surprising.9.Where Mark Twain and William Dean Howellssatirized European manners at times, __________was an admirer. (B)A. O. HenryB. Henry JamesC. Walt WhitmanD. Jack London11. Choose the well-known short stories written byWilliam Sidney Porter. (ABCDEF)A.The Gift of the MagiB.An Unfinished StoryC.The Furnished RoomD.The Open BoatE.The V oice of the cityF.The cop and the Anthem12.Choose the novel which is not written by Henry James.(E)A.The AmbassadorB.Daisy MillerC.The Wings of the DoveD.The Golden BowlE.The Mysterious Stranger 13. While embracing the socialism of Marx, London also believed in the triumph of the strongest individuals. This contradiction is most vividly projected in the patently autobiographical novel ________. (C)A.The Call of the WildB.The Sea WolfC.Martin EdenD.The Iron Heel14. In 1900, London published his first collection of short stories, named ____________________. (A)A.The Son of the WolfB.The Sea WolfC.The Law of LifeD.White Fang15. Dr eiser‘s Trilogy of Desire includes three novels. Find them from the following. (ABD)A.The FinancierB.The TitanC.The GeniusD.The StoicE.Jannie Gerhardt16. The main theme of ________________The Art of Fiction reveals his literary theory that representation of life should be the main object of the novel. (A)A.Henry James‘B.William Dean Howells‘C.Mark Twain‘sD.O. Henry‘s17.With Howells, James, and Mark Twain active on the scene, __________ became the major trend in the seventies and eighties of the nineteenth century.(C)A.sentimentalismB.romanticismC.realismD.naturalism18. Choose the works by Mark Twain which contain bitter attacks on the human race.(ABCD)A. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur‘s CourtB. The man That Corrupted HadleyburgC. The Mysterious StrangerD. The autobiography19. Mark Twain stood on the side of China in its struggle against foreign invasions. His __________and _____________ are two notable examples of his vigorous attacks on the imperialist behavior of the United States and other foreign countries in China. (AB)A.The Treaty With ChinaB.To the Person Sitting in DarknessC.Disgraceful Persecution of a BoyD.Goldsmith‘s Friend Abroad Again20.Stephen Crane‘s best short stories include ________, and __________, all reinforcing the basic Crane motif of environment and heredity overwhelming man.(ABC)A.The Open BoatB.The Blue HotelC.An Experiment in MiseryD.The Red Badge of Courage21. Dreiser was left-oriented in his views. He visited Russia and wrote ____________and _______to express his new faith, and shortly before his death , he joined the Communist party. (AB)A.Dreiser Looks at RussiaB.Tragic AmericaC.An American TragedyD.The Titan22.Choose Jack London‘s works from the following.(ABCD)A.The Call of the WildB.White FangC.The Sea WolfD.Martin Eden23.To Dreiser, li fe is ―so sad, so strange, so mysterious and so inexplicable.‖ No wonder the characters in his books are often subject to the control of the natural forces, especially those of ________ and heredity. (A)A. environmentB. moralityC. social conventionsD. fate24. Dreiser‘s Trilogy of Desire includes three novels.They are The Financier,The Titan and _____. (C)A. The GeniusB. The Last TycoonC. TheStoic D. The Giant25. Henry James deals with ―_______‖ in his fiction.(A)A. the international themeB. violent events in historyC. small town life in backward regionsD. sufferings of the agedⅢ.Identification of Fragments.E.Passage 1Tom Sawyer stepped forward with conceited confidence and soared into the unquenchable and indestructible ―Give me liberty or give me death‖ speech, with fine fury and frantic gesticulation, and broke down in the middle of it. A ghastly stage fright seized him, his legs quaked under him, and he was like to choke. True, he had the manifest sympathy of the house ----but he had the house‘s silence, too, which was even worse than its sympathy. The master frowned, and this completed the disaster. Tom struggled awhile and then retired, defeated. Questions:1.Which novel is this passage taken from?The Advantures of Tom Sawyer2.Who is the author?Mark Twain3.Describe Tom in your own words.F.Passage 2I took the sack of corn meal and took it to where the canoe was hid, and shoved the vines and branches apart and put it in; then I done the same with the side of bacon ; then the whisky –jug. I took all the coffee and sugar there was, and all the ammunition; I took the wadding ; I took the bucket and gourd ; took a dipper and a tin cup, and my old saw and two blankets, and the skillet and the coffee-pot. I took fish-lines and matches and other things-everything that was worth a cent. I cleaned out the place. I wanted an axe, but there wasn‘t any, only the one out at the woodpile, and I knowed why I was going to leave that. I fetched out the gun, and now I was done.Questions:1.Which novel is this passage taken from?The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn2.Who is the author?Mark Twain3.Analyse the language style of this passage. Passage 3Isabel always felt an impulse to pull out the pins; not that she imagined they inflicted any damage on the tough old parchment, but because it seemed to herher aunt might make better use of her sharpness.She was very critical herself ----it was incidental to her sex, and antionalit but she was very sentimental as well, and there was something in Mrs Touchett‘s dryness that set her own moral fountains flowing.―Now what‘s your point of view?‖ she asked of her aunt. ―when you criticize everything here you should have a point of view . Yours doesn‘t seem to be American you thought everything over there so disagreeable . When I have mine;it‘s thoroughly American!‖―My dear young lady‖, said Mrs Touchett, ―there are as many points of view in the world as there are people of sense to take them. You may say that doesn‘t mak e them very numerous.American? Never in the world; that‘s shockingly narrow. My point of view, thank God, is personal!‖Isabel thought this a better answer than she admitted; it was a tolerable description of her own manner of judging, but it would not have sounded well for her to say so.Questions:1.This passage is taken from a well-knownnovel. What is the name of the novel?The Portraint of a Lady2.Who is the author of this novel?Henry James3.Make a brief comment on the heroine IsabelArcher.4.What is Jamesian theme?The international themeII.Passage 4On his bench in Madison Square, Soapy moved uneasily. When wild geese honk high of nights, and when women without sealskin coats grow kind to their husbands, and when Soapy moves uneasily on his bench in the park, you may know that winter is near at hand.Questions:1.This passage is taken from a short storyentitled ____________.The Cop and the Anthem2.The author‘s name is William Sidney Porter.What is his pen name?O. Henry3.What are the features of his stories?IV. Term ExplanationA.American RealismB.Local ColorismC.American NaturalismD.Jamesian ThemeE.James‘s Point of ViewV. Summary and analysis of the worksA.The Portrait of a LadyB.The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnC.Maggie, A Girl of the StreetsD.The Red Badge of CourageE.The Cop and the AnthemF.Martin EdenG.Sister CarrieH.An American TragedyVI. Questions1.What is the favorite theme of Henry James?Why is Isabel Archer regarded as a typicalJamesian woman character?2.What are the differences between Howells,James and Twain?3.Discuss Twain‘s art of fiction: the setting, thelanguage and the chacraters, based on hisnovel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.4.Make a comment on Carrie Meeber andHustwood in Sister Carrie.5.The Call of the Wild : A dog story reveals theessence of the American society in the early20th century. Discuss with reference to thesurvival of the fittest.6.What are the features of O.Henry‘s shortstories?The 20th Century LiteratureI. Blank Filling1. ___________ stands as a great dividing line between the nineteenth century and thecontemporary American literature.(The First World War)2. The publication of The Waste Land, written by _____________, helped to establish a modern tradition of literature rich with learning and allusive thought. (T.S.Eliot)3. Fitzgerald summarized the experiences and attitudes of the 1920s decade in his masterpiece novel ________________. (The Great Gatsby)4. _______________of the 1930s greatly weakened the American nation‘s self-confidence. (The Great Depression)5. The 1950s American writers often used the narrative techniques derived from William _____________. (Faulkner)6. An American woman writer named ________________who had lived in Paris since 1903, welcomed the young expatriates to her literary salon, and gave th em a name ―the Lost Generation‖. (Gertrude Stein)7. ____________ wrote about the disintegration of the old social system in the American Southern states, and its effect on the lives of modern people , both black and white. (William Faulkner)8. Pound was the most important leader of a new movement in poetry which was known as the ____________ movement. (Imagist)9. Ezra Pound‘s major work of poetry is the longpoem called ____________. (The Cantos)10. Robert Frost‘s first book____________________ brought him to the attention of influential critics, such as Ezra Pound , who praised him as an authentic poet. (A Boy‘s Will)11. Frost‘s second volume of poems was______________. (North of Bosten)12. ―The Road Not Taken‖ is a well-known poemwritten by _________________. (RobertFrost)13. _________ was considered as an American epicWilliam Carlos Williams attempted to create.(Paterson)14. As T. S. Eliot declared, he followed strictly the advice of his close friend ____________ _in cutting and concentrating The Waste Land. (Ezra Pound) 15. Eliot wrote seven plays, the best of which is ___________, a verse play on an ancient historicalsubject, written in 1935. (Murder in the Cathedral) 16. In 1925, Fitzgerald wrote his best novel_______________. It is the story of an idealist who was destroyed by the influence of the wealthy, pleasure-seeking people around him.(The Great Gatsby)17. In American history, the 1920s is known as the roaring twenties or ____________. ―__________________‖ by Fitzgerald gives the name of age(The Jazz Age; Tales of The Jazz Age)18. Fitzgerald‘s last novel __________remainedunfinished. (The Last Tycoon)19. With the publication of The Sun Also Rises,________ became the spokesman for what Gertrude Stein had called ―a Lost Gener ation‖.(Ernest Hemingway)20. Hemingway‘s stature as a writer was confirmedwith the publication of his novel _________________ in 1929. The novel portrayeda farewell both to war and to love. (A Farewell toArms)21. Set in Spain during the Civil War, the novel ____________ by Hemingway emphasizes the theme of human brotherhood. (For Whom the Bell Tolls)22. In the novel The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway portrayed an old fisherman named ________, who shows triumphant even in defeat. (Santiago)23. In 1954, ____________was awarded the Nobel Prize for his ―mastery of the art of modern narration‖. (Ernese Hemingway)24. In 1952, Hemingway published a successful novel called _____________, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and occasioned the award of the Nobel Prize in 1954. (The Old Man and the Sea) 25. In the same way that Fitzgerald‘s ―Tales of the Jazz Age‖ became the symbol for an age, Hemingway‘s novel ________________ painted the image of a whole generation, the Lost Generation. (The Sun Also Rises)26. ________________ was the foremost novelist of the American Depression of the 1930s. (John Steinbeck)27.In the short novel ____________, Steinbeckportrayed the tragic friendship between two migrant workers. (Of Mice and Men)28. __________is generally regarded as Steinbeck‘s masterpiece. (The Grapes ofWrath)29. Quentin is a character in Faulkner‘snovel____________. (The Sound and the Fury) 30. Thomas Sutpen is a character in Faulkner‘s novel________. (Absalom, Absalom!)31. The works written by _______________may be viewed as a culmination of the development of twentieth-century southern fiction. (William Faulkner)32. In one sense Hemingway wrote all his life about one theme, which is neatly summed up in the famous phrase, ―_____________________,‖ and created one hero who acts that theme out. (grace under pressure)33. Hemingway hero possesses a kind of ―_________________‖. It is this courage that enables a man to behave like a man, to assert his dignity in face of adversity. (despairing courage) 34. The best Faulkner‘s works concern the life of the American Deep South . Here the Deep South is portrayed in minute detail. The series of the works have been termed __________. (the Yoknapatawph saga)35. Three novels, ______, _________, ________, were considered as masterpieces by any literary standards in Faulkner‘s Yoknapatawpha saga. (The Sound and the Fury; Absalom, Absalom! Go Down, Moses)35. Tennessee Williams‘ play ___________ presents a pathetic story of the Wingfields.( Glass Menagerie) Ⅱ.Multiple Choice.1.Early in the 20th-century, ______published worksthat would change the nature of American poetry.A.Ezra PoundB.T.S. EliotC.Robert FrostD.Both A and B2.―The apparition of these faces in the crowd ;Petals on a wet, black bough.‖This is an imagist poem written by________________.A.T.S. EliotB.Robert FrostC.Ezra PoundD. E.E. Cummings3. __________showed great interest in Chinese literature and translated the poetry of Li Po into English , and was influenced by Confucian ideas.A.Ezra PoundB.Robert FrostC.T.S. EliotD.E.E. Cummings4. Ezra Pound‘s long poem ___________contained more than one hundred poems loosely connected.A.The Waste LandB.The CantosC.Don JuanD.Queen Mab6. Frost is famous for his lyric poems, which of the following lyric poems was not written by Frost?Stopping by Woods in a Snowy EveningFire and IceThe Road Not TakenFog7. As a poet, Sandburg was associated with the Imagists and wrote well-known Imagist poems such as:A.FogB.LostC.The harborD.All of the above8. Thomas Sutpen is a character in Fa ulkner‘s novel _____________.A.Absalom, Absalom!B.Light in AugustC.Go Down, MosesD.The Sound and the Fury9. The first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature was a sharp social critic, whose name was ___________.A.Sinclair LewisB.T.S. EliotC.Ernest HemingwayD.William Faulkner10. T.S. Eliot was not a _______.A.poetB.playwrightC.literary critic。