英美文学史期末考试资料

Comment on Walden

In 1845, Thoreau decided to conduct an experiment of self-sufficiency by building his own house on the shores of Walden Pond and living off the food he grew on his farm.

He sought to reduce his physical needs to a minimum, in order to free himself for study, thought, and observation of nature, himself.

Walden can be many things and can be read on more than one level. But it is, first and foremost, a book about man, what he is, and what he should be and must be.

Considered one of the all-time great books, Walden is a record of Thoreau's two year experiment of living at Walden Pond. The writer's chief emphasis is on the simplifications and enjoyment of life now. It is regarded as 1. a nature book.2. a do-it-yourself guide to simple life. 3. a satirical criticism of modern life and living. 4. a belletristic achievement 5. a spiritual book. The Scarlet Letter

Symbolic meaning of the letter “A” :1.The scarlet letter “A” is the central symbol of the novel. At the beginning it symbolized the sin of Hester—“adultery”, 2.then gradually when Hester became accepted by the community, it stands for Hester’s intelligence and diligence—“able”. 3.At the end of the novel the symbol has evolved to represent the high virtues of Hester Prynne—“angel”. Comments on The Scarlet Letter:1.The theme of the story should be the moral, emotional and psychological effects of the sin on people. 2.Scarlet Letter is a cultural allegory, in which the author indirectly tells the future of Puritanism.3.Scarlet Letter is a sample in which American Romanticism adapted itself to American Puritanism.(Because of the strong influence of Puritanism in American society, Hawthorne only expressed his ideas on the sin indirectly by employing symbolism.)

Symbolism in the novel Moby Dick

A. the voyage itself is a metaphor for “search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience.”

B. the Pequod is the ship of the American soul and consciousness.

C. Moby Dick is a symbol of evil to some, of goodness to others, and of both to still others.

D. The whiteness of Moby Dick is a paradoxical color, signifying death and corruption as well as purity, innocence and youth; it represents the final mystery of the universe.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Setting: unpopulated wildness an a dense forest along Mississippi River Characters:1.Ignorant uneducated black slave Jim2.Uneducated outcast white boy Huck Finn。Theme: Huck’s inner waving struggle between what he was taught and what he thought out of good-heart and humanity.Its Features：1.Profound portrait of Huckleberry Finn 2.Magic power with language, the use of vernacular. 3. Humor

In a Station of the Metro1

by Ezra Pound The apparition of these faces in the crowd: Petals on a wet, black bough.

Note: 1。a Paris subway station

Analysis of this poem

The poem’s form is similar to Japanese haiku, with considering its title as a verse-line.

The word “apparition” has double meaning:1. “appearance”, something which can be clearly observed;2. something which seems real but perhaps is not real; something ghostly which cannot be clearly observed.

Petals may refer to the faces in the crowd, while bough may refer to the railway in the Metro.