吴定柏《美国文学大纲》(第2版)章节题库(第7章 自然主义——第9章 1945年之前的现代小说)【圣

第7章自然主义

Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks.

1. Jack London’s masterwork _____ is somewhat autobiographical.

【答案】Martin Eden

【解析】杰克·伦敦名作《马丁·伊登》（Martin Eden）是一部带有自传色彩的长篇小说中，在该书中杰克·伦敦倾注了他的全部心血，写下了自己如何在平庸的资产阶级鄙夷下含辛茹苦地读书和写作的经历。

2. Theodore Dreiser visited the Soviet Union in 1927 and published _____ the

following year.

【答案】Dreiser Looks at Russia

【解析】1927年访苏后，德莱塞发表了一些作品，其中重要的有1928年发表的《德莱塞访苏印象记》（Dreiser Looks at Russia）。

Ⅱ. Explain the following term s

1. American Naturalism（北二外2007研；南开大学2008研）

Key: American Naturalism appeared in the late 19th to early 20th century. The movement was inspired by the principles and methods of natural science, especially Darwinism, which were adapted to literature and art. In literature, naturalism extended the tradition of realism, aiming at an even more faithful, pseudoscientific representation of reality, presented without moral judgment.

Characters in naturalistic literature typically illustrate the deterministic role of heredity and environment on human life. Typical American Naturalism is represented by Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, Frank Norris’s McTeague and Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrier.

2. “Trilogy of Desire”（中国人民大学2006研）

Key: It refers to Theodore Dreiser’s three novels: The Financier，The Titan and The Stoic. The trilogy is based on the life of Charles T．Yerkes，an American transportation magnate. In his trilogy Dreiser’s focus shifted from the pathos of the helpless protagonists at the bottom of the society to the power of the American financial tycoons in the late 19th century.

3. Determinism（国际关系学院2007研）

Key: Determinism is the view that every event, including human cognition, behavior, decision, and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. With numerous historical debates, many varieties and philosophical positions on the subject of determinism exist from traditions throughout the world.

4. The Octopus（四川大学2008研）

Key: The Octopus is a novel by Frank Norris. It describes the raising of wheat in California, and conflict between the wheat growers and a railway company.

Inspired by role of the Southern Pacific Railroad, it depicts the tension between the corrupt railroad and the ranchers and the ranchers’ League. The book emphasized the control of “forces” such as wheat and railroads over individuals.

5. Henry Fleming（北航2009研）

Key: Henry Fleming is the protagonist of The Red Badge of Courage, written by American novelist Stephen Crane. Henry Fleming is a young farm boy whose dreams of glorious battle lead him to join in the American Civil War. Upon entering battle, his initial confrontation with true war perplexes him and he flees into the woods and feels like a coward. A fter he receives his “red badge of courage,” a head wound, this shame begins to disappear, and however, he feels guilty. He managed to return to battlefield. In the following battles, Henry becomes one of the best fighters in his battalion as well as the flag bearer, finally proving his courage as a man.

Ⅲ. Read the following quotation and answer the questions.

The advance of the enemy had seemed to the youth like a ruthless hunting. He began to fume with rage and exasperation. He beat his foot upon the ground, and scowled with hate at the swirling smoke that was approaching like a phantom flood. There was a maddening quality in this seeming resolution of the foe to give him no rest, to give him no time to sit down and think. Yesterday he had fought and had