美国文学之马克吐温,亨利詹姆士 Mark Twain and Henry James演示课件
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5. Definition of American realism
American realism refers to a literary movement that sprang up in the latter half of the 19th century in the United States. It is considered as a reaction against the romantic idea about the reality and human nature, and an answer to the gloomy picture of American life after the Civil War. American literary realism aims at the interpretation of the actualities of any aspect of American life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. Realistic writers are more concerned with the moral and social effects of their writings than the transcendental symbolic implications of their art. Instead of thinking about the mysteries of life and death and heroic individualism, their focus of attention is now directed to the interesting features of everyday existence, to what is brutal or sordid, and to the open portrayal of class struggle. The three dominant figures of the period are William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James.
3
3. The historical and socio-cultural background of
American Realism
This period is characterized with changes, in relation to every aspect of American life, politically, economically, culturally, and religiously. First of all, politically, the Civil War affected both the social and the value system of the country. America had transformed itse1f into an industria1ized and commercialized society. The industrialization and the urbanization were accompanied by the incalculable sufferings of the laboring people. Therefore, polarization of the wellbeing between the poor and the rich started to show up. Thirdly, as far as the ideology was concerned, people became dubious about the human nature and the benevo1ence of God, which the Transcendentalists cared most. The literary scene after the Civi1 War proved to be quite different a picture. The harsh rea1ities of life as well as the disillusion of heroism resulting from the dark memories of the Civil War had set the nation against the romance. The Americans began to be tired of the sentimental feelings of Romanticism.
I TOPIC: Mark Twain and Henry James
II OBJECTIVES
A) American realism B) Introduction to Mark Twain C) Introduction to Henry James D) The differences between them
4
4.The literary characteristics of the Realistic
Period in American literature
In their works, instead of writing about the polite, well-dressed, grammatica1ly correct middle-class young people who moved in exotic places and remote times, they introduced industrial workers and farmers, ambitious businessmen and vagrants, prostitutes and unheroic soldiers as major characters in fiction. They approached the harsh realities and pressures in the post-Civil War society either by a comprehensive picture of modern life in its various occupations, c1ass stratifications and manners, or by a psychological exploration of man's subconsciousness. The three dominant figures of the period are William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James. Together they brought to fulfillment native trends in the realistic portrayal of the 1andscape and social surfaces, brought to perfection the vernacular style, and explored and exploited the literary possibilities of the interior life.
2
2. The Age of Realism
In American literature, the Civil War brought the Romantic Period to an end. The Age of Realism came into existence. It came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism. Realism turned from an emphasis on the strange toward a faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived. It expresses the concern for commonplace and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience. The period ranging from 1865 to l914 has been referred to as the Age of Realism in the 1iterary history of the United States, which is actually a movement or tendency that dominated the spirit of American literature, especia1ly American fiction, from the 1850s onwards. Realism was a reaction against Romanticism or a move away from the bias towards romance and self-creating fictions, and it paved the way to Modernism. Instead of thinking about the irrational, the imaginative, realists touched upon social and political realities and pressures in the post-Civil war society.
1
Topic 1―American Realism
1. Definition of Realism ◆ Term applied to literary composition that aims to an
interpretation of the actualities of any aspects of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. ◆ In art and literature, Realism refers to an attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures exactly as they act or appear in life. Realism emerged as a literary movement in Europe in the 1850s. In reaction to Romanticism, realistic writers should set down their observations impartially and objectively. They insisted on accurate documentation, sociological insight, and avoidance of poetic diction and idealization. The subjects were to be taken from everyday life, preferably from lower-class life. Realism entered American literature after the Civil War.
5. Definition of American realism
American realism refers to a literary movement that sprang up in the latter half of the 19th century in the United States. It is considered as a reaction against the romantic idea about the reality and human nature, and an answer to the gloomy picture of American life after the Civil War. American literary realism aims at the interpretation of the actualities of any aspect of American life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. Realistic writers are more concerned with the moral and social effects of their writings than the transcendental symbolic implications of their art. Instead of thinking about the mysteries of life and death and heroic individualism, their focus of attention is now directed to the interesting features of everyday existence, to what is brutal or sordid, and to the open portrayal of class struggle. The three dominant figures of the period are William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James.
3
3. The historical and socio-cultural background of
American Realism
This period is characterized with changes, in relation to every aspect of American life, politically, economically, culturally, and religiously. First of all, politically, the Civil War affected both the social and the value system of the country. America had transformed itse1f into an industria1ized and commercialized society. The industrialization and the urbanization were accompanied by the incalculable sufferings of the laboring people. Therefore, polarization of the wellbeing between the poor and the rich started to show up. Thirdly, as far as the ideology was concerned, people became dubious about the human nature and the benevo1ence of God, which the Transcendentalists cared most. The literary scene after the Civi1 War proved to be quite different a picture. The harsh rea1ities of life as well as the disillusion of heroism resulting from the dark memories of the Civil War had set the nation against the romance. The Americans began to be tired of the sentimental feelings of Romanticism.
I TOPIC: Mark Twain and Henry James
II OBJECTIVES
A) American realism B) Introduction to Mark Twain C) Introduction to Henry James D) The differences between them
4
4.The literary characteristics of the Realistic
Period in American literature
In their works, instead of writing about the polite, well-dressed, grammatica1ly correct middle-class young people who moved in exotic places and remote times, they introduced industrial workers and farmers, ambitious businessmen and vagrants, prostitutes and unheroic soldiers as major characters in fiction. They approached the harsh realities and pressures in the post-Civil War society either by a comprehensive picture of modern life in its various occupations, c1ass stratifications and manners, or by a psychological exploration of man's subconsciousness. The three dominant figures of the period are William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James. Together they brought to fulfillment native trends in the realistic portrayal of the 1andscape and social surfaces, brought to perfection the vernacular style, and explored and exploited the literary possibilities of the interior life.
2
2. The Age of Realism
In American literature, the Civil War brought the Romantic Period to an end. The Age of Realism came into existence. It came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism. Realism turned from an emphasis on the strange toward a faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived. It expresses the concern for commonplace and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience. The period ranging from 1865 to l914 has been referred to as the Age of Realism in the 1iterary history of the United States, which is actually a movement or tendency that dominated the spirit of American literature, especia1ly American fiction, from the 1850s onwards. Realism was a reaction against Romanticism or a move away from the bias towards romance and self-creating fictions, and it paved the way to Modernism. Instead of thinking about the irrational, the imaginative, realists touched upon social and political realities and pressures in the post-Civil war society.
1
Topic 1―American Realism
1. Definition of Realism ◆ Term applied to literary composition that aims to an
interpretation of the actualities of any aspects of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. ◆ In art and literature, Realism refers to an attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures exactly as they act or appear in life. Realism emerged as a literary movement in Europe in the 1850s. In reaction to Romanticism, realistic writers should set down their observations impartially and objectively. They insisted on accurate documentation, sociological insight, and avoidance of poetic diction and idealization. The subjects were to be taken from everyday life, preferably from lower-class life. Realism entered American literature after the Civil War.