高级英语第七课The+Libido+for+The+Ugly

Chen Huanhong
Mencken's Creeds
• I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run. • I - But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.
Chen Huanhong
Pennsylvania State Profile
State Unique Name Capital City Location Bird Border States
Economy Flower Largest City Land Area Population Statehood Tree
The Keystone State Harrisburg 40.27605 N, 076.88450 W Ruffed Grouse Delaware - Maryland - New Jersey - New York Ohio - West Virginia Agriculture The Mountain Laurel Philadelphia 44,892 sq.mi. 1,20,19,661 December 12, 1787 Hemlock
Chen Huanhong
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
• He was a central figure in American intellectual life during the 1920's. He launched the most cutting attacks of any writer against America's middle class culture. • He invented the word "booboisie", combining the two words "bourgeoisie" and "booby" (an awkward, foolish person).
Chen Huanhong
Henry Louis Mencken
Chen Huanhong
Henry Louis Mencken(1880 - 1956)
• His life
He spent most of his life in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of German immigrant parents. He completed high school but did not attend university, only graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute at 16. He became a reporter on the Baltimore Morning Herald.
Chen Huanhong
"The American Language"
a) It examined the development of the English language in America, b) It contrasted English and American expressions and usage. c) It explained the origin of many American idioms, d) It traced the influence of immigrant languages on American English. • He made a large contribution to the study of language and particularly encouraged scholarly study of the American branch of English.
The Libido for The Ugly
H.L. Mencken
Chen Huanhong
Teaching Objectives
To learn about Henry L. Mencken To learn about the writing technique of description To appreciate the writer’s bombastic style To appreciate the language features
Chen Huanhong
• 1) He hated narrow-minded religion. He believed strongly in intellectual freedom and fought all attempts to censor literature and drama. He felt that the greatest threat of censorship came from the country's religion "fundamentalists", whose opinions were all based on their interpretation of the Bible.
Chen Huanhong
• Bombastic style and acid language –exaggeration –hyperbole –pompous
• Language--- biting \sharp
Chen Huanhong
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh
Chen Huanhong
liberty...
Chen Huanhong
Mencken's Creeds
• I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect. • I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech... • I believe in the reality of progress.
Chen Huanhong
• He was a leading scholar in the field of language. His monumental book "The American Language" is considered an outstanding work of philology.
and exaggeration. His extravagant use of the language was so amusing and startling that even his most violently critical essays became acceptable to his readers.
Chen Huanhong
– He helped to found and edit two literary magazines which were highly influential among intellectuals.
1)The Smart Set 2) The American Mercury
Chen Huanhong
His Style
• He employed a huge vocabulary and liked to insert unusual or unexpected words, for surprise or comic effect, into otherwise normal sentences. • Although his style is occasionally difficult to read, Mencken is still considered one of the best and liveliest essayists of this century.
Chen Huanhong
• A few years later, he joined the staff of its rival newspaper, the Baltimore Sun or Evening Sun, first as a reporter, then as its drama critic and editor, a position which he held until 1941.
Chen Huanhong
Mencken's Creeds
• I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind - that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking. • I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon
Chen Huanhong
• 2) He hated commercialism. • 3) He did not support democracy because he considered the masses too ignorant and greedy to exercise it wisely.
Chen Huanhong
• In caustic, witty essays, he derided (mocked) the institution which supported the middle class. He enjoyed controversy and tried to arouse his antagonists with his direct and devastating attacks.
Chen Huanhong
Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh: a city in Southwest Pennsylvania. It is one of the most important industrial cities of America, and a center of rail and river transportation. Termed the ―Steel City‖ or ―Smoky City‖, it is the center of rich bituminous-coal(生煤) region, producing also natural gas, oil and limestone; a large part of U.S. steel and iron is produced here.
Chen Huanhong
His works
– The American Language 1918 – Prejudices (6 vols) 1919--1927 – Happy days – Newspaper Days 1940--1943 autobiography – Heathen Days – 25 Books and thousands of articles
Chen Huanhong
His Style
– He is well-known for his bombastic style and acid tongue.
Chen Huanhong
His Style
• He wrote with strong feeling, eager enjoyment