美国文学复习重点

一、The Adventures of the Huckleberry Finn ，Mark Twain选段：Once I said to myself it would be a thousand times better for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was, as long as he'd GOT to be a slave, and so I'd better write a letter to Tom Sawyer and tell him to tell Miss Watson where he was. But I soon give up that notion for two things: she'd be mad and disgusted at his rascality and ungratefulness for leaving her, and so she'd sell him straight down the river again; and if she didn't, everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger, and they'd make Jim feel it all the time, and so he'd feel ornery and disgraced. And then think of ME! It would get all around that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom; and if I was ever to see anybody from that town again I'd be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame. (an excerpt from chapter 31)1、Introduction：(1). It is a Sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but much deeper and more mature in them and technique. It has always been regarded as one of the greatest books of western literature and western civilization. Hemingway described it as the book from which “all modern American literature comes”(2). The book tells a story about the U.S. before the Civil War, and takes place along the Mississippi River. It relates the story of the escape of Jim from slavery and how Huck Finn, floating along with him and helping him as best he could, changes his mind, his prejudice about Black people, and comes to accept Jim as a man and as a close friend as well.(3). It is a veritable recreation of living models. Most of the major characters had prototypes in real life. The portrayal of individual incidents and characters achieved intense verisimilitude of detail. Serious problems are being discussed through the narration of a little illiterate boy. The fact of the wilderness juxtaposed with civilization. Though a local and particular book, it touches upon the human condition in general indeed universal way: Humanism ultimately triumphs.(4). Another notable feature of the novel is its language. The book is written in the colloquial style, in the general standard speech of uneducated American. Mark Twain made colloquial speech an accepted respectable literary medium in the American literature.2、The characters analysis and social meaning of The Adventures of the Huckleberry Finn:Huck is a typical American boy with “a sound heart and a deformed conscience”.vulgar in language and in manner,honest and decent in essence.Huck is the son of nature ,a symbol for freedom and earthly pragmatism and an innocent and reluctant rebel.His remarkable raft’s journey down on the Mississippi river can be regarded as his process of education and his way to grow up. At first, he stands by slavery, for he clings to the idea that if he lets go the slave, he will be damned to go to hell.And when the “King”sells Jim for money, Huck decides to inform Jim’s master.After he thinks of the past good time when Jim and he are on the raft where Jim shows great care and deep affection for him, he decide to rescue Jim.And Huck still thinks he is wrong while he is doing the right thing.Through the eye of Huck, the pre-Civil War American society is fully exposed.3、Themes of The novel：Freedom，Friendship，Maturation and Development，Hypocrisy of “civilized”society vs. the innocence of Nature，Love，Racism and slavery,humanism,serious social problems and social satire.4、Features of the language:short, concrete and direct in effect,simple or compound sentence structure,repetition of words,ungrammatical elements.二、The Great Gatsby ，F. Scott Fitzgerald：选段：THERE was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths amongthe whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week ends his Rolls Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing brushes and hammers and garden shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.1、Introduction：The setting is New York City and Long Island during the 1920s. Nick Carraway, the narrator, is a young Princeton man, who works as a bond broker in Manhattan. He becomes involved in the life of his neighbor at Long Island , Jay Gatsby, shady and mysterious financier, who is entertaining hundreds of guests at lavish parties. Gatsby reveals to Nick, that he and Nick's cousin Daisy Fay Buchanan, had a brief affair before the war. However, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, a rich but boring man of social position. Gatsby lost Daisy because he had no money, but he is still in love with her. He persuades Nick to bring him and Daisy together again. Gatsby tries to convince Daisy to leave Tom, who, in turn, reveals that Gatsby has made his money from bootlegging（贩私酒）. Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, hits and kills Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson, unaware of her identity. Gatsby remains silent to protect Daisy. Tom tells Myrtle's husband it was Gatsby who killed his wife. Wilson murders Gatsby and then commits suicide. Nick is left to arrange Gatsby's funeral, attended only Gatsby's father and one former guest.2、Major Characters：Nick Carraway - The narrator of the novel; moves from the Midwest to New York to learn the bond business. Jay Gatsby - Lives next to Nick in a mansion（豪宅）; throws huge parties, complete with catered food, open bars, and orchestras; people come from everywhere to attend these parties, but no one seems to know much about the host. Daisy Buchanan –Shallow（肤浅的）girl who is the emodiment（体现）of Gatsby's dreams; she was going to marry Gatsby but he went off to war. Tom Buchanan- Husband of Daisy; a cruel man who lives life irresponsibly. Jordan Baker - A cynical and conceited woman who cheats in golf; wants Nick to go out with her. Myrtle Wilson - Tom has an affair with this married woman, and then abandons her after he become bored with her. George Wilson- Myrtle Wilson ‘s husband, who killed Gatsby and committed suicide after his wife’s death.3、Themes :The decline of the American Dream,The hollowness of the upper class ,Culture clash .4、Why Gatsby is great ?(reference)His perseverance in the pursuit of his dreamGatsby is a determined man who tries his best to fulfill his dream. Even in the adverse circumstance, he never gives in . Although his dream is corrupted by adopting materialist means, his dream for beauty and love is invaluable among the empty-minded people in the waste land. In this sense he is great.5、Characterization：Gatsby has an indefinable grace and charm.He cherishes a romantic ideal that there is clean and honest love within the upper-class society and he views wealth only as something external.Though he is vulgar and ostentatious, his dedication to his purpose, a profound virtue precious especially in the frenzied haze of the Jazz Age, differentiates him from other self-made men.His tragedy lies in his illusions which render him vulnerable to delusion and the disdain of others, and which make him willingly sacrifice himself for a wrong dream.6、Comments:(1). Fitzgerald is representative of the 1920s. (2). a spokesman for the Jazz Age, oneof the “lost generation”writers. (3). He was an able writer who recorded the changing manners, morals, and social environment of his time, but mostly about himself and his own problems. (4). He expressed what the young people believed in the 1920s, that that they could wipe out the past and rebuild the world into something much better, free from the ideas of the older generation. ( 5). One of his distinguishing features is that he lived among his characters yet was able to retain a sufficient degree of detachment to be an observer of the drama in which he acted such a vigorous role. (6). He dealt most with the double theme of love and money.(7). The fascination for wealth is one of the most important characteristics of his writing.7、The American Dream and The Great Gatsby：（1）Whilst The Great Gatsby explores a number of themes, none is more prevalent than that of the corruption of the American dream. Gatsby appears to be the embodiment of this dream-he has risen from being a poor farm boy with no prospects, to being rich, having a big house, servants, and a large social circle attending his numerous functions . He has achieved all this in only a few short years, having returned from the war penniless. However, Gatsby is never truly one of the elite- his dream is just a façade (表面）（2）However, Fitzgerald explores much more than the failure of the American dream- he is more deeply concerned with its total corruption. Gatsby has not achieved his wealth through honest hard work, but through bootlegging and crime. His money is not simply “new ”money- it is dirty money, earned through dishonesty and crime. His wealthy lifestyle is little more than a façade, as is the whole person Jay Gatsby. （3）The society in which the novel takes place is one of moral decadence. Whether their money is inherited or earned , its inhabitant are morally decadent, living life in quest of cheap thrills and with no seeming moral purpose of their lives. Any person who attempts to move up through the social classes becomes corrupt in the process.三、The Sound and The Fury,William Faulkner1、Introduction：It is a story of deterioration from the past to the present .The past is idealized to form a striking contrast with the loveless present.There is in the book an acute feeling of nostalgia toward the happy past.Quentin`suicide offers an example of a complete negation of the present In a sense,Quentin`s value system may represent Faulkner`s own idea of an ideal way of life,that of an antebellum society .Benjy`section dramatizes the theme of loss from the very beginning of the story .The triumph of rationalism over feeling and compassion is best illustrated in the sterile and loveless individual Jason.2、Character List：Jason Compson III - The head of the Compson household until his death from alcoholism in 1912. Mr. Compson is the father of Quentin, Caddy, Jason IV, and Benjy, and the husband of Caroline.Caroline Compson - The self-pitying and self-absorbed wife of Mr. Compson and mother of the four Compson children. Caroline’s hypochondria（忧郁症）preoccupies her and contributes to her inability to care properly for her children.Quentin Compson - The oldest of the Compson children and the narrator of the novel's second chapter. A sensitive and intelligent boy, Quentin is preoccupied with his love for his sister Caddy and his notion of the Compson family's honor. He commits suicide by drowning himself just before the end of his first year at Harvard.Caddy Compson - The second oldest of the Compson children and the only daughter. Actually named Candace, Caddy is very close to her brother Quentin. She becomes promiscuous, gets pregnant out of wedlock, and eventually marries and divorces Herbert Head in 1910.Jason Compson IV - The second youngest of the Compson children and the narrator of the novel's third chapter. Jason is mean-spirited, petty, and very cynical.Benjy Compson - The youngest of the Compson children and narrator of the novel's first chapter. Born Maury Compson, his name is changed to Benjamin in 1900, when he is discovered to be severely mentally retarded.3、Narrative: stream of consciousnessThe first three chapters of the novel consist of the convoluted(复杂的）thoughts, voices, and memories of the three Compson brothers, captured on three different days.--- Benjy, a severely retarded thirty-three-year-old man, speaking in April, 1928;--- Quentin, a young Harvard student, speaking in June, 1910;--- Jason, a bitter farm-supply store worker, speaking again in April, 1928.--- Faulkner tells the fourth chapter in his own narrative voice, but focuses on Dilsey, the Compson family's devoted “Negro”cook who has played a great part in raising the children.4、Brief analysis（1）It is a story of deterioration.（2）the novel depicts a “tragedy,”the decline of the Compson family.（3）much of the novel is told in a stream-of- consciousness style, in which a character’s unadorned thoughts are conveyed in a manner roughly equivalent to the way our minds actually work. Brief analysis（4）Themes that critics continuously note in the novel are order, honor, sin, history and race （5）nearly all critics consider it a technical masterpiece for the way Faulkner incorporates four distinct narrative modes in telling the story of a little girl with muddy drawers.5、Themes of The Sound and the FuryThe decline of a familyThe South vs. the NorthThe past vs. the present、。