美国文学名词解释

1 Naturalism: Naturalism is a movement in theater, film, and literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality. Natural istic writers were influenced by the evolution theory of Charles Darwin. (3′)They believed that one's heredity and surroundings decide one's character. ( 2′)

2.The Local Colorism: Hamlin Garland defined local colorism as having quality of texture and background that it could not have been written in any other place or by anyone else than a native.( 3′) Texture refers to the elements which character a local culture, elements such as speech, customs and mores peculiar to one particular place. ( 2′)

3. American Realism: American Realism came in the latter half of the nineteenth century(1′) as a reaction against “the lie” of romanticism and sentimentalism. (1′) It expressed the concern for the world of experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. (3′)

4. Hemingway Hero: The Hemingway hero is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent, a man of action, and one of few words. ( 2′) That is an individualist keeping emotions under control, stoic and self-disciplined in a dreadful place. These people are usually spiritual strong, people of certain skills, and most of them encounter death many times. ( 3′)

5. Harlem Renaissance: Black literature flourished in the 1920s in the Northeast part of New York City called Harlem. ( 2′)Black literature developed into a upsurge which has come to be known as the Harlem Renaissance, which reflects the feelings, the experience, the history and the ambition of the Black people. ( 3′)

6. Puritanism is code of values, the philosophy of life and a point of view. Puritans take religion as the most important thing, (2′)living for glorying God, believing predestination, origin sin, limited atonement, total depravity. They live a frugal , diligent life. ( 2′)

7. Image: An image is defined by Pound as that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex (1′)in an instant of time, “a vortex or cluster of fused ideas” “endowed with energy”. (1) The exact word must bring the effect of the object before the reader as it had presented itself to the poet’s mind at the time of writing. (1)

8. Jewish Literature: Jewish literature refers to published creative writings by American Jews about their American experiences. (2′) This kind of writings is shown in Jewish perspective. (2′)

9. American Realism: American Realism came in the latter half of the nineteenth century(1′) as a reaction against “the lie” of romanticism and sentimentalism. (1′) It expressed the concern for the world of experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. (3′)

10. The Black Humor: It refers to the use of morbid and absurd for darkly comic purpose. (1′) It carries the tone of anger, bitterness in the grotesque situation of suffering, anxiety, and death. (2′)It makes the reader laugh at the blackness of modern life. (1′)