美国文学课后习题

美国文学课后习题

集团文件版本号：（M928-T898-M248-WU2669-I2896-DQ586-M1988）

U n i t2E d g a r A l l a n P o e 1)Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?

It is Montresor. Fortunato has given Montresor thousands of injuries that he has to bear before he has this opportunity of taking revenge.

2)What is the pretext Montresor uses to lure Fortunado to his

wine cellar?

He claims that he has just got a cask of Amontilado and stores it in the wine cellar before he may find a connoisseur to

testify to its authenticity.

3)What happens to Fortunado in the end?

The deceived Fortunado is killed because of his inability of getting out of the catacomb.

4)Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Mortresor and

Fortunado as contrasts.

Poe characterizes Mortresor and Fortunado as seemingly contrasting characters chiefly by presenting their identical habit in wine and their different manners towards each other, but actually he intends to show some similarly defective aspects in their nature. The similarity in their nature is also suggested by their names as synonyms in Italian: Mortresor means “fortune” while Fortunado “treasure”. Their defective

nature is highlighted when the revenger Mortresor, who is fully prepared on psychological and operating levels, throws the hardly prepared but totally deceived wrong-doer Fortunado into the deep and damp catacomb and blocks up its entrance with huge rocks.

Unit 7 19th Century American Poets

1.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(1)I Shot an Arrow…

1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?

The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.

2.In what circumstances did he find them again?

He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.

3.What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?

The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.

(2) A Psalm of Life

1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?

The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.

2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?

We should work harder and live happier.

3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).

The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.

2. Walt Whitman

(1)One's Self I Sing

1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?

It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical

of American people.

2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy? Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art

of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.

3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?

He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.

(3)O Captain! My Captain!

1.Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?

In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.