美国文学期末考试复习
美国文学期末考试复习必备(精)
美国文学期末考试复习必备（精）1. What’s Puritanism?A religious and political movement which appeals to the right of the individual to political & religious independence. It includes three parts: a code of values, a point of view & a philosophy of life2. What are the basic Puritan beliefs?1). Total Depravity 2). Unconditional Election 3). Limited Atonement 4). Irresistible Grace 5). Perseverance of the "saints"3. What are American Puritan values?Sobriety thrift, Self-reliance Diligence, Struggle, simple tastes4. What are the features of American literature in the Colonial Period?A. Humble origins: diaries, journals, histories, letters. Its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature of the early colonial period.B. in content: serving either god or colonial expansion or bothC. in form: imitating English literary traditions.D. in style: tight and logic structure, precise and compact expression, avoidance of rhetorical decoration, adoption of homely imagery and simplicity of diction.E. Symbolism formed in this period ------To the pious Puritan, the physical, phenomenal world was nothing but a symbol of God.F. Simple, fresh and direct styleG. the Puritanism formed in this period was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.5.What are the features of Washington Irving’s works?(1) Gentility, urbanity, pleasantness (2) Avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining (3) Enveloping stories in an atmosphere (4) Vivid and true characters (5) Humor – smiling while reading (6) Musical language6. What is theme of “Rip Van Winkle”?①it reveals conservative attitude of Irving. ②it might be an illustration of Irving’s argument that revolution upset the natural order of things.A. The story of man who has difficulties facing his advancing age;B.The contradictory impulses in America toward work-the puritan attitude as opposed to America desire for leisure;C .The theme of escape from one's responsibilities and even one's history;D .The loss of identity.7. What are the author’s attitude changes?It reveals conservative attitude of Irving and he is Unwilling to accept a modern democratic America and prefers the past & a dream-like world 8. What’s New England Transcendentalism?Transcendentalism is the summit of the Romantic Movement in the history of American literature in the 19th century. Transcendentalism has been defined philosophically as “the recognition（认知）in man of thecapacity of knowing truth intuitively（直觉地）”. Transcendentalists place emphasis on the importance of the Over-soul, the individual and Nature.9. What are its basic assumptions?The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational or sensical, became the means for a conscious union of the individual psyche with the world psyche also known as the Over soul, life-force, prime mover and God 10. What are Allan Poe’s poetics theories?The poetry should appeal only to the sense of beauty, not truth, and sets himself against realistic details in poetry. He makes good use of a number of poetic devices to create a mood appropriate to the theme of his poems.11. Why was Nathaniel Hawthorne a master of symbolism?He uses concrete objects as well as characters to serve as his symbols. He likes to uses masks, veils, shadows to give dramatic forms to the universal dilemmas of humanity12. What is the theme of Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter?It Condemned the Puritan philosophy of life.Sin, knowledge and human condition; the nature of evil; identity and society4. What is the symbolic me aning of the Scarlet Letter “A”?A.” Adultery", a token of shameB. a sign of Hester's "ability“C. "Angel" appearing in the skyD.”Adamic", since the sin is prehistoric and human E .the rising “America"13. What story is told in Moby-Dick?It is a thrilling adventure story which is the realistic about a whaling voyage within which is set a symbolic account of the conflict between man and his fate.14. What is the symbolic meaning of Moby-Dick?1) Mystery of the universe, 2) power of grant nature, 3) evil of the world 4) Its whiteness-paradoxical color: death and corruption, purity, innocence and youth.15. What are the popular themes of Emily Dickinson’s poetry? Death, love, friendship, nature, immortality.ment on the image of Huckleberry Finn?He is loyal, cheerful, fair-minded boy with “a sound heart and a deformed conscience, with the eventual victory of his moral conscience over his social awareness, Huck grows. Huck is not only a lovely boy in the novel, but also a portrait standing for the young America. Huck is not only a lovely boy in the novel, but also a portrait standing for the young America.17. What’s the social significance of him?Huck develops a different view of blacks through the story. It is not an instant change, but a gradual process. Huck himself undergoes a change; he stops accepting the social norms and instead follows his own beliefs. He acquires these beliefs after many adventures with the slave Jim. In thisway, Twain encourages people to be like Huck and not to accept the racism just because society accepts it.18. Why are naturalists inevitably pessimistic in their view?A. Naturalism was greatly influenced by Darwin's evolutionary theory and French literatureB. Naturalists accepted the more negative implications of Darwin's theory and used it to count for the behavior of those characters in literary works who are conceived as more or less complex combinations of inherited attributes, their habits conditioned by social and economic forces.C. Naturalism is evolved from realism when the author's tone in writing becomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more pessimistic.19.What are the features of Frost’s poetry?1. Frost’s poetry mainly reflects life in rural New England2. His poems often shift dramatically from humorous tones to tragic ones3. Much of his poetry is concerned with how people interact with their environment4. Frost disliked free verse; He often wrote in the standard meter of blank verse20. What is the theme of “The Road Not taken” Individualism, Caution, Commitment, Accepting a ChallengeAnd “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”?The poem isprimarily oriented towards the pleasures of the scene and the responsibility of life.21.What are the features of modernist literature?A. Its strong and conscious break with traditional forms, perceptions and techniques of expression.B. Its great concern with language and aspects of its medium.22. What is “Lost generation”?Literally, it is the generation of people born between 1883 and 1900.They were disillusioned by World War I and displeased with American social values, sexual and aesthetic conventions, and established morality. They first fled to cities such as Chicago & San Francisco; then to Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome. They were full of youthful idealism and pioneered new ways of writing; they were devoid of faith and alienated from civilization.23. What is a typical Hemingway Code Hero?The Code Hero believes in “Nada,” meaning nothing. There is also no after life.•The Code Hero is an individualist and free-willed. He believes in courage and honor and has his own set of morals and principles based on his beliefs in honor, courage and endurance.• A code hero never shows emotions.• A code hero does not commit to women.• A code hero shows qualities such as bravery, adventure, and love of travel.• A code hero dislikes darkness. It symbolizes death and is a source of fear. The rite of manhood for the code hero is facing death.24.What is the theme of the short story “A Clean Well-LightedPlace”?Nothing (or nada) through the old man's unsuccessful suicide and the middle-aged man's soliloquy.25.What is the theme of The Great Gatsby?A sensitive and symbolic treatment of the themes of contemporary life related with irony and pathos to the legend of the "America dream" What kind of person is Gatsby?He is a poor youth from the Midwest and at last became a self-made wealthy man. Gatsby is the last romantic heroes and he is a mysterious figure whose intensity of dream partakes of a mind that embodies America itself.26.What are Faulkner’s famous novels? What are the features of his novels? "The sound and the Fury", "As I Lay Dying", "Light in the August", "Absalom, Absalom!" 2) On history and the problem of race; on folk human of the south; on horror, violence and abnormal to arouse moral outrage.1.Discuss Twain’s art of fiction2.A. Mark Twain uses the Mississippi alley as his fictional kingdom,writing about the landscape and people, the customs and the dialects of one particular region, and is therefore known as a local colorist. B. He creates life-like characters, especially the unconventional Huckleberry Finn, who runs away from civilization and stands opposite to conventional village morality. C. He uses a simple, direct vernacular language, totally different from any precious literary language. It is the kind of colloquial belonging to the lower class, the living local American English.D. He has created a special humor to satirize and the decayed convention.2 1). The story takes place along the Mississippi River before the Civil War in the United States, around 1850. Along the river floats a small raft, with two people on it: One is an ignorant, uneducated black slave named Jim and the other is little uneducated outcast white boy, Huck Finn. The novel relates the story of the escape of Jim from slavery and, more important, how Huck Finn, floating along with Jim and helping him as best as 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.2.) (theme)1) The Theme of the novel may be best summed in a word “freedom”: Huck wants to escape from the bond of civilization and Jim wants to escape from the yoke of slavery. 2) The novel is a criticism of social injustice, hypocrisy, conservativeness and narrow-mindedness of the American small town society.3.Make a brief comment on Mark Twain’s achievements in this novel in 200-250 words.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, first published in 1876, is a child’s adventure story; it is also, however, the story of a young boy’s transition into a young man. In some ways, it is a bildungsroman, a novel whose principle subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a youthful main character. It is not a true bildungsroman, however, because Twain did not take Tom into full1. The hero of the novel through adventures with lively style to satirize the American hypocrisy of social custom, vulgar hypocrisy of religious rituals and inflexible stale school education2. "Tom Sawyer--with its strong deep local characteristics of humor and keen observation of the character, had become the greatest of the children's literature works, is a United States rural " golden era "4. 1)The Pequod-a symbol of doom（death);named after a Native American tribe in Massachusetts, did not survive the arrival of white men (extincted), is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones 2) Moby Dick-unknown and unknowable truths, inscrutable, mysterious, mirrors its environment, only the surface of the ocean is available for human observation and interpretation, the depths conceal unknown truths--A metaphor for the human relationship with the Christian God: God is unknown and cannot be pinned down (defined). to the pequod’screw, Moby Dick is a concept onto which they can display their anxiety about dangerous and frightening jobs, to Ahab Moby Dick is a manifestation of all that is wrong with the world, It is his destiny to get rid of this symbolic evil 3)Queequeg’s Coffin sy mbolizes life and death.5. Try to discuss the theme of “The Minister’s Black Veil”.A. Sin and EvilB. History and AntiquityC. Alienation - a character is in a state of isolation because of self-cause, or societal cause, or a combination of both.D. Puritan New England - used as a background and setting in many tales.E. Other themes include individual vs. society, self-fulfillment vs. frustration, hypocrisy vs. integrity, love vs. hate, and fate vs. free will, etc.。
美国文学期末考试复习
美国文学期末考试复习Part one: Multiple choices. (25题，每题2分，共50分)1 "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" is a famous quote from __D__’s writings.A. Walt WhitmanB. Henry David ThoreauC. Herman MelvilleD. Ralph Waldo Emerson2 Which of Hemingway’s novels describes the drifting漂流life of American exiles流亡者in Europe? BA. The Sun Also Rises.B. A Farewell to Arms.C. For Whom the Bell Tolls.D. The Old Man and the Sea.3 The theme of ___C____ may be well stated as "It sings of nationalism and of the nature of the self inrelation to the cosmos and the meaning and purpose of birth and death."A. Edgar Allan Poe’s "To Helen"B. Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken"C. Walt Whitman’s "Song of Myself" 惠特曼〔1819-1892，美国诗人〕。
D. Emily Dickenson’s "Because I could not stop for Death"4 The American Puritanism清教as a cultural heritage遗产benefited the Americans in ___A____.A. strengthening their moral valuesB. weakening their religious faithC. knowing truth intuitivelyD. developing their science and technology5 Mark Twain, one of the greatest 19th century American writers, is well known for his ___C___.A. international themeB. waste-land imageryC. local colorD. symbolism6 "Strange names were over the doors -strange faces at the windows -every thing was strange. His mindnow began to misgive使害怕him, that both he and the world around him were bewitched. Surely this was his native village, which he had left but the day before." The above passage is taken from __A____.A. Irving’s "Rip Van Winkle"B. Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown"C. James’ "Daisy Miller"D. Hemingway’s "Indian Camp"7 According to Hawthorne, the scarlet letter "A" which originally stood for "___A____" finally obtainedthe meaning of "able" or "angel" through Hester’s efforts.A. adulteryB. arroganceC. accomplishmentD. agony8 As a naturalist writer, Theodore Dreiser was greatly influenced by ___B____.A. Nathaniel HawthorneB. Charles DarwinC. Henry JamesD. Ralph Waldo Emerson9 In Sister Carrie, Hurstwood, extremely hopeless and totally devastated荒废, ends his life by turning on the gas, while at the same time Carrie is rocking comfortably in her luxurious豪华的hotel room before she boards a ship for ___B____.A. New YorkB. LondonC. ParisD, Geneva10 Which of the following is the masterpiece of Mark Twain? CA. The Call of the WildB. The Adventures of Tom SawyerC.The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnD. Jumping Frog11 “”was a term created by the French novelist, Emile Zola. BA. RealismB. NaturalismC. TranscendentalismD. Impressionism12 The Cop and the Anthem is written by . AA. O. HenryB. Henry JamesC. Jack LondonD. Mark Twain13 An American Dictionary of the English Language waspublished in 1828 by . BA. Samuel JohnsonB. Noah WebsterC. Daniel WebsterD. Daniel Defoe14 Walden is written by . BA. EmersonB. ThoreauC. PoeD. Hawthorne15 American writers of the first postwar era who were devoid缺乏of faith and alienated疏远from the 。
美国文学期末复习
作家作品Naturalism1、Stephen Crane斯蒂芬·克莱恩1871-1900 战争小说之父Maggie: A Girl of the Streets《街头女郎麦琪》（美国文学史上首次站在同情立场上描写受辱妇女的悲惨命运）, a pioneering work of sociological naturalism；关于南北战争的The Red Badge of Courage《红色英勇勋章》，奠定了他在美国文坛上不可动摇的地位；优秀短篇小说集The Open Boat《海上扁舟》和blue hotel 《蓝色旅馆》; wounds in the rain 《雨中的伤痕》The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky《新娘来到黄天镇》2、Theodore Dreiser西奥多·德莱塞1871-1945美国文学史上最杰出的现实主义小说家，一位以探索充满磨难的现实生活着称的美国自然主义作家.Sister Carrie《嘉莉妹妹》，真实再现了当时美国社会;Jennie Gerhardt《珍妮姑娘》，被称为《嘉莉妹妹》的姐妹篇;Trilogy of Desire欲望三部曲（Financer金融家,The Titan巨人,The Stoic斯多噶）;An American Tragedy《美国悲剧》是德莱赛成就最高的作品，是人们清晰地看到了美国社会的真实情况，“至今依然具有巨大的现实意义”在《美国悲剧》中，Dreiser intended to tell us that it is the social pressure that makes Clyde's downfall inevitable. Clyde's tragedy is a tragedy that depends upon the American social system which encouraged people to pursue the "dream of success" at all costs.1、Naturalism emphasized heredity and environment as important deterministic forces shaping individualized characters who were presented in special and detailed circumstances.2. The effect of Darwinist idea of "survival of the fittest" was shattering. It is not surprising to find in Dreiser's fiction a world of jungle, where “kill or to be killed” was the law.Dreiser's Writing Features:✓As a naturalist writer, Dreiser stressed determinism in his novels which deals with everyday life, often with its sordid side.✓As a naturalist, he developed the capacity for photographic and relentless (无情的) observation, thereby truthfully reflecting the society and people of his time.✓His narrative method is natural and free from artifice.Modern Poetry3、Robert Frost罗伯特·弗罗斯特1874-196320世纪最受欢迎的美国诗人, 美国文学中的桂冠诗人田园诗；自然诗☐He used symbols from everyday country life to express his deep ideas. His graceful and traditional poetic style is highly appreciated in the country.A Boy's Will少年心愿and North of Boston波士顿之北were published and highly acclaimed in England. Mending Wall修墙,After Apple-picking摘苹果之后;Mountain Interval山间The Road Not taken没有选择的道路;New Hampshire 《新罕布什尔West-running Brook西流的溪涧;A Further Range 又一片牧场;A Witness Tree一株作证的树a masque of reason《理智的假面具》a masque of mercy慈悲的假面具complete poems诗歌全集a steeple bush尖塔丛林The Analysis of “The Road Not Taken”1.when confronted with important decisions which one must make in life, one must accept theconsequences, for he will not have a chance to go back.2.He encourages people to try things new and choose the road less traveled by. At the same time,he expresses the regrets that one can not choose two at the same time.3.The poem is written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAAB4.Symbolism is used as a very effective writing technique.4、Ezra Pound艾兹拉·庞德1885-1972Imagism1) With a spirit of revolt against conventions, imagism was anti-romantic and anti-Victorian.2) Imagism produced free verse without imposing a rhythmical pattern.3) Imagism tried to record objective observations of an object or a situation without interpretation or comment by the poet (creating an image). It calls for brief language, and pinpoints the precise picture in as few words as possible.美国著名诗人，意象派的代表人物。
美国文学期末复习.docx
作家作品Naturalism1、Stephen Crane斯蒂芬•克莱恩1871-1900战争小说之父Maggie: A Girl of the Streets《街头女郎麦琪》（美国文学史上首次站在同情立场上描写受辱妇女的悲惨命运），a pioneering work of sociological naturalism；关于南北战争的The Red Badge of Courage《红色英勇勋章》,奠定了他在美国文坛上不可动摇的地位；优秀短篇小说集The Open Boat《海上扁舟》和blue hotel《蓝色旅馆》;wounds in the rain 《雨中的伤痕》The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky《新娘来到黄天镇》2、Theodore Dreiser西奥多•德莱塞1871-1945美国文学史上最杰出的现实主义小说家，一位以探索充满磨难的现实生活着称的美国口然主义作家.Sister Carrie ＜嘉莉妹妹》,真实再现了当时羌国社会Jennie Gerhardt ｛珍妮姑娘》, 被称为《嘉莉妹妹》的姐妹篇;Trilogy of Desire欲望三部曲（Financer金融家,The Titan巨人,The Stoic斯多喝）;An American Tragedy《美国悲剧》是徳莱赛成就最高的作品，是人们清晰地看到了美国社会的真实悄况，“至今依然具有巨大的现实意义"在《美国悲剧》中，Dreiser intended to tell us that it is the social pressure that makes Clyde's downfall inevitable. Clyde's tragedy is a tragedy that depends upon the American social system which encouraged people to pursue the n dream of success" at all costs. 1、Naturalism emphasized heredity and environment as important deterministic forces shaping individualized characters who were presented in special and detailed circumstances-2.The effect of Darwinist idea of n survival of the fittest H was shattering. It is not surprising to find in Dreiser's fiction a world of jungle, where “k ill or to be killed^ was the law・Dreiser's Writing Features:/ As a naturalist writer, Dreiser stressed determinism in his novels which deals with everyday life, often with its sordid side・丁As a naturalist, he developed the capacity for photographic and relentless （无情0勺）observation, thereby truthfully reflecting the society and people of his time・/ His naiTative method is natural and free from artifice・Modern Poetry3、Robert Frost 罗伯特•弗罗斯特1874-196320世纪最受欢迎的美国诗人，美国文学屮的桂冠诗人出园诗；自然诗□ He used symbols from everyday country life to express his deep ideas. His graceful and traditional poetic style is highly appreciated in the country.A Boy's Will 少年心愿and North of Boston 波士顿Z北were published and highly acclaimed in England. Mending Wall 修墙,After Apple-picking 摘苹果Z后;Mountain Interval 山间The Road Not taken 没有选择的道路；New Hampshire《新罕布什尔West-running Brook 曲流的溪涧;A Further Range 又一片牧场；A Witness Tree—株作证的树a masque of reason《理智的假面具》a masque of mercy慈芯的假面具complete poems诗歌全集a steeple bush尖塔丛林The Analysis of "The Road Not Taken"L when confronted with important decisions which one must make in life, one must accept the consequences, for he will not have a chance to go back・2.He encourages people to try things new and choose the road less traveled by. At the same lime, heexpresses the regrets that one can not choose two al the same time.3.The poem is written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme AB A AB4.Symbolism is used as a very effective writing technique.4、Ezra Pound 艾兹拉•庞徳1885-1972Imagism1)With a spirit of revolt against conventions, imagism was anti-romantic and anti-Victori a n.2)Imagism produced free verse without imposing a rhythmical pattern・3)Imagism tried to record objective observations of an object or a situation without inteipretation or comment by the poet (creating an image). It calls for brief language, and pinpoints the precise picture in as few words as possible・美国著名诗人，意象派的代表人物。
美国文学复习提纲(呕心沥血完全版)
美国文学复习提纲平时35。
期末65。
1．Match the literary work in column B with the author in the column A. (20 points)2. Decide the following statements true or false. (10 points)3. Define the following literary terms (20 points)一、时间（1分）；二、代表人物（1分）；三；主要特征（2分）；四、文学文化意义（1分）Hemingway’s “iceberg theory” and “the code hero”Iceberg theory:It was firstly proposed by Ernest Hemingway, the representative writer of the Lost Generation, in Death In the Afternoon (1932) which has such a description “The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water.”The theory suggests that the writer include in the text only a small portion of what he knows, leaving about ninety percent of the content a mystery that grows beneath the surface of the writing. It‟s influence as a stylist was nearly expressed in the praise of the Nobel Prize Committee about “his powerful style-forming mastery of the art” of writing modern fiction.The code hero: Term Coined by Philip Young in 1952 to refer to Hemingway characters that have learned to control the chaos in their lives, chaos in the form of physical or mental stress, sometimes both. As Bertrand Russell comments, Hemingway‟s heroes have such kind of courage that enables a man to behave like a man, to assert this dignity in face of diversity. A code hero could be destroyed but not defeated.Modernism:Modernism is an omnibus term for a number of tendencies in the arts which were prominent in the first half of the 20th c.; In English literature it includes symbolism, futurism, expressionism, imagism, dada, and surrealism. It is particularly associated with the writings of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce etc. Broadly, Modernism reflects the impact upon literature of the psychology of Freud and the anthropology of Sir J. Frazer, as expressed in The Golden Bough (1890-1915). A sense of cultural relativism is pervasive in much modernist writing, as is an awareness of the irrational and the workings of the unconscious mind. Modernist literature is a literature of discontinuity, both historically, being based upon a sharp rejection of the procedures and values of the immediate past, to which it adopts an adversary stance; and aesthetically.The Lost Generation:The "Lost Generation" is a term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway in his novel, "The Sun Also Rises" used to refer to his generation; those who experienced alienation and the loss of ideals yet unable to come to terms with the new era when civilization had gone mad resulting from World War I .This generation included distinguished artists such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. EliotThe beat generation:The Beat Generation is a term for a group of American writers who came into prominence during the 1950s and offered a radical critique of middle class American values. The beats celebrated individual freedom, Zen Buddhism, and the free use of drugs;they attacked the conformity, complacency, and commercialism of the “tranquilized fifties.” The most prominent members of the group were the poet Allen Ginsberg and the novelist Jack Kerouac.New Criticism:The New Criticism is a movement in American literary criticism from the 1930s to the 1960s, which name comes from John Crowe Ransom‟s book The New Criticism (1941).The basic principle of New Criticism was to locate the meaning of a literary work not in the intention of the author nor in the experience of the reader, but in “the text itself,”the internal relations of language that constitute a “poem.”Also to be avoided, or at least subordinated to close reading, were “extrinsic” (that is, not dealing exclusively with the language of the text) approaches to the study of literature: social, psychological, economic, political, or historical.When it was at its peak, New Criticism greatly influenced both literary critics in their evaluation of literary works and poets in their writing of poems.Postmodernism:In literature, Postmodernism is a term used to describe characteristics of some contemporary literature that distinguish it from the literature of modernism. Where modernist literature was characterized by its commitment to the value of a unified, coherent work of art employing symbol and myth, exhibiting alienation from ordinary life, postmodernism celebrates incoherence, discontinuity, parody, popular culture, and the principle of metafiction. Postmodernism has combined formal experimentalism with powerful social and cultural criticism.Stream of Consciousness:The term was originally a psychological term to refer to the continuous flow of sense-perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories in the human mind. In literature it refers to a literary method of representing such a blending of mental processes in fictional characters, usually in an unpunctuated or disjointed form of interior monologue. As an important device of modernist fiction and its later imitators, the technique was pioneered by Dorothy Richardson in Pilgrimage (1915-35) and by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922), and further developed by Virginia Woolf in Mrs Dalloway (1925) and William Faulkner in The Sound and the Fury (1928).4. text analysis: 6选3 (30 points)In a Station of the Metro:1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians “apparition”?Pound contrasts the factual, mundane image that he actually witnessed with a metaphor from nature and thus infuses this “apparition” with visual beauty. There is a quick transition from the statement of the first line to the second line‟s vivid metaphor; this …super-pository‟ technique exemplifies the Japanese haiku style. The word “apparition” is considered crucial as it evokes a mystical and supernatural sense of imprecision which is then reinforced by the metaphor of the second line.2. What do “petals” and “bough” stand for?The plosive word …Petals‟ conjures ideas of delicate, feminine beauty which contrasts with the bleakness of the …wet, black bough‟.The Red Wheelbarrow:1. How does the first two lines differ from the other pairs of lines?There is no exact thing presented in the 1st two lines. But, by adding those first four words the meanings of the poem just explode into a million different possible meanings.2. What is the meaning of “depends upon” in the 1st pair of lines?“Hardness and aesthetics of life.”One’s-self I singThe 1855 "Song of Myself" had announced that the "word of the modern" was "a word en masse," and eventually Whitman would revise this 1867 Inscription to affirm that "En-Masse" was also "the word Democratic." In a modern, democratic society, as Tocqueville had said, no intermediate allegiances stand between the individual citizen and the entire body politic. The Self is indeed separate, isolated; it has renounced party and creed and local custom, all mediating bodies that provide a system of preference or exclusion."One‟s-Self I sing, a simple separate person," run the opening lines of Leaves of Grass from 1871 on, "Yet utter the word Democratic." A poetic universe of productive tension is hinted by that "Yet"; the tense equipoise between individualism and democracy, this poem suggests, is the foundational theme of Whitman‟s book. The poem then goes on to introduce the site and symbol for this reconciliation of individual to mass: the body, "physiology from top to toe." We receive individual identity through our body, . . . yet at the same time, physicality, and especially physical affection, are universal, binding us together in common humanity. Much of the boldly progressive politics of Whitman‟s poetry will follow from this emphasis on the body; thus his introduction of the theme of "physiology" is followed by his (then quite radical) insistence on the political equality of male and female.The poet he imagines in the 1855 preface is, like his ideal republic, balanced between self and other: "The soul has that measureless pride which consists in never acknowledging any lessons but its own. But it has sympathy as measureless as its pride and the one balances the other and neither can stretch too far while it stretches in company with the other. The inmost secrets of art sleep with the twain. The greatest poet has lain close betwixt both and they are vital to his style and thoughts."This vision of a poet stretching within a universe bounded by pride and sympathy had as its political analogue the paradox of an American republic poised between self-interest and public virtue, liberty and union, the interests of the many and the good of the one. The secretof Whitman's art and the American Union, the paradox of many in one, eventually became the opening inscription and balancing frame of Leaves of Grass:One's-Self I sing, a simple separate person,Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse.Balanced between the separate person and the en masse, the politics of Leaves of Grass is neither liberal nor bourgeois in the classical sense of the terms; rather, the poems represent the republican ideals of early-nineteenth-century artisan radicalism, emphasizing the interlinked values of independence and community, personal wealth and commonwealth.The open boatNature’s Indifference to ManDespite the narrator‟s profusion of animistic (animal-like), humanistic (manlike), and deistic (godlike) characterizations of nature, Crane makes clear that nature is ultimately indifferent to the plight of man, possessing no consciousness that we can understand. As the stranded men progress through the story, the reality of nature‟s lack of concern for them becomes increasingly clear. The narrator highlights this development by changing the way he describes the sea. Early in the story, the sea snarls, hisses, and bucks like a bronco; later, it merely “paces to and fro,” no longer an actor in the men‟s drama. In reality, the sea does not change at all; onl y the men‟s perception of the sea changes. The unaltered activity of the gulls, clouds, and tides illustrates that nature does not behave any differently in light of the men‟s struggle to survive.Crane strengthens the idea that nature is indifferent to man by showing that it is as randomly helpful as it is hurtful. For every malevolent whim that the men suffer, they experience an unexpected good turn in the form of a favorable wind or calm night. The fact that the men almost seem to get assistance from nature destroys the notion of nature as an entirely hostile force. Nothing highlights this point so much as the correspondent‟s final rescue. Plowed to shore and saved by a freak wave, the correspondent must embrace the fact that the very thing that has put him in harm‟s way has saved him. This freak wave, however, may also be responsible for killing the much hardier oiler, a turn of events that demonstrates two ideas: nature is as much a harsh punisher as it is a benefactor, and nature does not act out of any motivation that can be understood in human terms.Man’s Insignificance in the Universe“The Open Boat” conveys a feeling of loneliness that comes from man‟s understanding that he is alone in the universe and insignificant in its workings. Underneath the men‟s and narrator‟s collective rants at fate and the universe is the fear of nothingness. They have an egotistical belief that they should have a role in the universe, that their existence should mean something. When the correspondent realizes by section VI that fate will not answer his pleas, he settles into despair. His subsequent recollection of the poem about the soldier who lies dying in Algiers reflects his feelings of alienation at being displaced from his position in the universe. Like the soldier who dies in alien territory, the correspondent fears that he too will perish without a connection to whatever gives him his sense of self.Throughout “The Open Boat,” the correspondent understands pain to be the necessary byproduct of his efforts to overcome nature, the willful enemy. He comes to value hissuffering because it is nobly derived; in the earlier sections, the correspondent, whom the narrator says is cynical, is often cheerful and talkative in his descriptions of the physical pain he experien ces. By the end of the story, however, the correspondent‟s new awareness that the universe is unconcerned with the situation‟s outcome makes him physically and spiritually weary. He decides that there is no higher purpose to surviving other than prolonging a life that is meaningless. His comment in section VII that the coldness of the water is simply “sad” underscores this despair. At this point, all sensations of pain and pleasure are merely physical and have no spiritual meaning.A clean well-lighted placeLife as NothingnessIn “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” Hemingway suggests that life has no meaning and that man is an insignificant speck in a great sea of nothingness. The older waiter makes this idea as clear as he can when he says, “It was all a nothing and man was a no thing too.” When he substitutes the Spanish word nada (nothing) into the prayers he recites, he indicates that religion, to which many people turn to find meaning and purpose, is also just nothingness. Rather than pray with the actual words, “Our Father wh o art in heaven,” the older waiter says, “Our nada who art in nada”—effectively wiping out both God and the idea of heaven in one breath. Not everyone is aware of the nothingness, however. For example, the younger waiter hurtles through his life hastily and happily, unaware of any reason why he should lament. For the old man, the older waiter, and the other people who need late-night cafés, however, the idea of nothingness is overwhelming and leads to despair.The Struggle to Deal with DespairThe old man and older waiter in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” struggle to find a way to deal with their despair, but even their best method simply subdues the despair rather than cures it. The old man has tried to stave off despair in several unsuccessful ways. We learn that he has money, but money has not helped. We learn that he was once married, but he no longer has a wife. We also learn that he has unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide in a desperate attempt to quell the despair for good. The only way the old man can deal with his despair now is to sit for hours in a clean, well-lit café. Deaf, he can feel the quietness of the nighttime and the café, and although he is essentially in his own private world, sitting by himself in the café is not the same as being alone.The older waiter, in his mocking prayers filled with the word nada, shows that religion is not a viable method of dealing with despair, and his solution is the same as the old man‟s: he waits out the nighttime in cafés. He is particular about the type of café he likes: the café must be well lit and clean. Bars and bodegas, although many are open all night, do not lessen despair because they are not clean, and patrons often must stand at the bar rather than sit at a table. The old man and the older waiter also glean solace from routine. The ritualistic café-sitting and drinking help them deal with despair because it makes life predictable. Routine is something they can control and manage, unlike the vast nothingness that surrounds them.A rose for EmilyTradition versus ChangeThrough the mysterious figure of Emily Grierson, Faulkner conveys the struggle that comes from trying to maintain tradition in the face of widespread, radical change. Jefferson is at a crossroads, embracing a modern, more commercial future while still perched on the edge of the past, from the faded glory of the Grierson home to the town cemetery where anonymous Civil War soldiers have been laid to rest. Emily herself is a tradition, steadfastly staying the same over the years despite many changes in her community. She is in many ways a mixed blessing. As a living monument to the past, she represents the traditions that people wish to respect and honor; however, she is also a burden and entirely cut off from the outside world, nursing eccentricities that others cannot understand.Emily lives in a timeless vacuum and world of her own making. Refusing to have metallic numbers affixed to the side of her house when the town receives modern mail service, she is out of touch with the reality that constantly threatens to break through her carefully sealed perimeters. Garages and cotton gins have replaced the grand antebellum homes. The aldermen try to break with the unofficial agreement about taxes once forged between Colonel Sartoris and Emily. This new and younger generation of leaders brings in Homer‟s company to pave the sidewalks. Although Jefferson still highly regards traditional notions of honor and reputation, the narrator is critical of the old men in their Confederate uniforms who ga ther for Emily‟s funeral. For them as for her, time is relative. The past is not a faint glimmer but an ever-present, idealized realm. Emily‟s macabre bridal chamber is an extreme attempt to stop time and prevent change, although doing so comes at the expense of human life.The Power of DeathDeath hangs over “A Rose for Emily,” from the narrator‟s mention of Emily‟s death at the beginning of the story through the description of Emily‟s death-haunted life to the foundering of tradition in the face of modern changes. In every case, death prevails over every attempt to master it. Emily, a fixture in the community, gives in to death slowly. The narrator compares her to a drowned woman, a bloated and pale figure left too long in the water. In the same description, he refers to her small, spare skeleton—she is practically dead on her feet. Emily stands as an emblem of the Old South, a grand lady whose respectability and charm rapidly decline through the years, much like the outdated sensibilities the Griersons represent. The death of the old social order will prevail, despite many townspeople‟s attempts to stay true to the old ways.Emily attempts to exert power over death by denying the fact of death itself. Her bizarre relationship to the dead bodies of the men she has loved—her necrophilia—is revealed first when her father dies. Unable to admit that he has died, Emily clings to the controlling paternal figure whose denial and control became the only—yet extreme—form of love she knew. She gives up his body only reluctantly. When Homer dies, Emily refuses to acknowledge it once again—although this time, she herself was responsible for bringing about the death. In killing Homer, she was able to keep him near her. However, Homer‟s lifelessness rendered him permanently distant. Emily and Homer‟s grotesque marriage reveals Emily‟s disturbing attempt to fuse life and death. However, death ultimately triumphs.5. Writing: focus on the main characters in the following texts. 5选2。
美国文学期末考试复习大纲
美国文学期末考试复习大纲Ⅰ. 文学史1.American Puritanism (美国请教主义):Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century.I.Background: Puritanism1.features of Puritanism(1)Predestination: God decided everything before things occurred.(2)Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation.(3)Total depravity(4)Limited atonement: Only the ―elect‖ can be saved.2.Influence(1)A group of good qualities –hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature.(2)It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden.(3)Symbolism: the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calli ng into beinga literary symbolism which is distinctly American.(4)With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible.II.Overview of the literature1.types of writing: diaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermons2.writers of colonial period(1)Anne Bradstreet(2)Edward Taylor(3)Roger Williams(4)John Woolman(5)Thomas Paine(6)Philip Freneau(7)Jonathan Edwards(8)Benjamin Franklin2.American Enlightenment (美国启蒙运动):Enlightenment is a philosophical movement of the 18th century that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and that brought about many humanitarian reforms.The American Enlightenment is a term sometimes employed to describe the intellectual culture of the British North American colonies and the early United States (as they became following the American Revolution).It is commonly dated from 1750—1820.Among the leading intellectual figures of this period are Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers, 1776—18201.Background: American Revolution——historicalEuropean Enlightenment2.Basic Assumptions:(1)Reg ard ―enlightenment‖ or ―education‖ as the principle means for development of society(2)Show concern for civil rights, democracy in government and tolerance rather than earlier religious mysticism(3)Reconsider the relationship between man & God. Brief-Deism (natural religion)3.Transcendentalism (超验主义):Transcendentalism is literature, philosophical and literary movement that flourished in New England from about1836 to 1860.It originated among a small group of intellectuals who were reacting against the orthodoxy of Calvinism and the rationalism of the Unitarian Church, developing instead their own faith centering on the divinity of humanity and the natural world.The ideas of transcendentalism were most eloquently expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson in such essays as Nature (1836) and Self-reliance and by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden (1854).I.Background: four sources1.Unitarianism(1)Fatherhood of God(2)Brotherhood of men(3)Leadership of Jesus(4)Salvation by character (perfection of one’s character)(5)Continued progress of mankind(6)Divinity of mankind(7)Depravity of mankind2.Romantic Idealism: Center of the world is spirit, absolute spirit (Kant)3.Oriental mysticism: Center of the world is ―oversoul‖4.Puritanism: Eloquent expression in transcendentalismII.Appearance1836, ―Nature‖ by EmersonIII.Features1.spirit/oversoul2.importance of individualism3.nature – symbol of spirit/God; garment of the oversoul4.focus in intuition (irrationalism and subconsciousness)IV.Influence1.It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought about the idea that human can be perfected by nature.It stressed religious tolerance, called to throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new and distinctly American culture.2.It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy where opportunity often becameopportunism, and the desire to ―get on‖ obscured the moral necessity for rising to spiritual height.It helped to create the first American renaissance – one of the most prolific period in American literature.4.Dark Romanticism1.Dark Romanticism & Gothic FictionSimilarities: darkness, supernatural, featuring charactersDifferences: sheer horror——Gothic Fiction’s purposedark mystery & skepticism of man——Dark Romance’s purpose2.Dark Romanticism——reaction against transcendentalismDark Romanticism is a literary subgenre that emerged from the transcendental philosophical movement popular in 19th century America. Some writers, including Poe, Hawthorne and Melville, found transcendental belief far too optimistic and egotistical and reacted by modifying.3.Dark Romanticism & Transcendentalism:Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion that perfection is an innate equality of mankind, as believed by transcendentalists. Dark Romantics present individuals as prone to sin and self-destruction, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom.While both groups believe nature is a deep spiritual force, Dark Romanticism views it in a much more sinister light than does transcendentalism, which sees nature as a divine & universal organic mediator. For Dark Romantics, the natural world is dark, decaying, and mysterious, when it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil.Transcendentalists advocate social reform when appropriate, works of Dark Romanticism frequently show individuals, falling in their attempts to make changes for the better.4.Fiction:⑪ General term for invented storiesNovel, short story, novellas, romance, fable etc.《堂吉诃德》——the first novel of European⑫ Types of novel:①.Kunstlerroman 成长小说Bildungroman——《麦田守望者》②.Spy novel③.Historical novel④.Campus novel 校园小说⑤.Gothic novel⑥.Epistolary novel⑦.Picaresque novel⑧.Detective novel⑨.Sociological novel⑩.Psychological novel⑬ Elements of fiction:①.Setting (time, place, environment)②.Plot (selected events, cause & effect, structure)——conflict (exposition, rising action/complication, climax, falling action, resolution)③.Character (animal, inanimate things)④.Point of view (first person, third person, multiple)⑤.Theme (different from ―subject‖)⑥.Style (diction, syntax, figure of speech)⑦.Symbol & IronyⅡ. 文学概念1. Allegory (寓言)：Allegory is a story with a symbolic meaning used to teach a moral principle.Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.Thus, an allegory is a story with two meanings: a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.Many of Hawthorne’s stories are allegories dealing with pride, isolation, love and betray. For example, Y oung Goodman Brown tells Brown’s journey in the forest. After the journey, Brown changed a lot. In fact the story shows Brown’s struggle between goodness and evil and re veals the processes of losing one’s innocence.2. Romance:―Romance‖ is now frequently used as s term to designate a kind of fiction that differs from the novel in being more freely. It is the product of the author’s imagination than the product of an effo rt to represent the actual world with verisimilitude.Romance is a heightened, emotional, and symbolic form of the novel. Romances are not love stories, but serious novels that use special techniques to communicate complex and subtle meanings.Nathaniel Hawthorne is a representative of dark romance, most of his works reveals the dark side of human beings.3. Lyric(抒情诗)：In the modern sense, it is any fairly short poem expressing the personal mood, feeling, or meditation of a single speaker. Lyric poetry is the most extensive category of verse. Lyrics may be composed in almost any meter and on almost every subject, although the most usual emotions presented are those of love and grief. Among the common lyric forms are the sonnet, ode, elegy, and the more personal kinds of hymn.Lyric poetry is genre that does not attempt to tell a story but instead of a more personal nature. It portrays the poet’s own feelings, states of mind, and perceptions.While the genre’s name derived from ―lyre‖, implies that it is intended to be sung, much lyric poetry is meant purely for reading.The most popular form for western lyric poetry to take may be the 14-line sonnet, as practiced by Petrarch and Shakespeare. Lyric poetry shows a bewildering variety of forms, including, increasingly in the 20th century, unrhymed ones.Lyric poetry is the most common type of poetry.5.Allusion:It is one of the figures of speech.An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication.For example, in literature, the snake often represents the evil. It’s an allusion of Bible. In Bible, the snake allured Eve to eat the apple. Thus, they were punished by God.5. T rickster:Trickster always appears in mythology, it’s a kind of literary character.In mythology, and in the study of folklore and relig ion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior.Trickster is the ―rebellion‖ that challenges authority.The trickster is a very important archetype in the history of human kind.H e is the ―wise fool‖.It is he, through his creations that destroy the authority.He exists to question and to cause us to question.He is the Destroyer of the world and at the same time the Savior of us all.For example, Robin Hood, he is a thief, who steals the rich to help the poor. On one hand, a thief is supposed to be punished, but on another hand, he steals the money not for himself but to help others. Thus, we call him a trickster.6.Gothic Fiction:Gothic fiction rises in the late of 18th century.The Gothic relates the individual to the infinite universe.Gothic literature pictures the human condition as an ambiguous mixture of good and evil power that cannot be understood completely by human reason.The Gothic novel or short story is any story which can be describe as dark, mysterious, and grotesque. A Gothic story often has supernatural elements that give it a hint of horror/ terror.Gothic fiction is often psychological (from the villain’s perspective)It has romantic elements: the damsel in distress, the ghost of a loverCreates suspense: never sure what is going to happenIt adopts the use of doppelganger theme.The most familiar Gothic fiction to me is The V ampire Diaries. Similar to the Twilight, it tells a love story between the V ampire and a human being. There are many terror scenes with suspense and a doppelganger in the story. Now The V ampire Diaries is made into TV series. In the TV series, a vampire called Damon is my favorite one.7. Kunstlerroman8. Quest:―quest‖ means search, pursue, go on adventure. The Quest myth/ Quest story, similar to Romance is a genre of literature.The background, such as an imbalanced society, is often challenging.The hero leaves the society. His goals are always noble. He is always on the side of goodness, and his enemies are always evil.The hero must undergoes trials: physical tests—slaying a dragon, battling powerful opponents, rescuing maidens in distress etc.Having completed his quest, the hero returns to society to bring about spiritual transformation and restore the perfect human community.The Captain Ahab in Moby Dick is a hero of quest but not a traditional one, he is a villain hero who tries to conquer the nature.9. Iambic Pentameter:10. Point of View(视角)：It is the relationship of the storyteller or narrator, to the story.A story has a first-person point of view if one of the characters, referred to as ―I‖, tells the story.A story has a limited third-person point of view if the narrator reveals the thoughts of only one character but refers to that character as ―he‖ or ―she‖.A narrator who tells the thoughts of all the characters and who tells things that no one character could know uses the omniscient (all-knowing), or third-person, point of view.For example, in Moby Dick, Melville adopted the first-person narrator, Ishmael was the observer who saw the events of the story and played s minor role in the action.Ⅲ. 重要作家及作品Nathanial Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔·霍桑)1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life, ―that blackness in Hawthorne‖(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic美学的ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity. To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows to fruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was the predestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yetnot to offend: That was what Hawthorne had in mind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teach a lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty – multiple point of viewThe Scarlet Letter, （adultery）1.About the story:(1)The story of Hester Prynne Set: the 17th century(2)What is situated immediately outside the door of the prison in which Hester is kept: A rosebush(3)How does Hester support herself financially: as a seamstress(4)She always wears: black(5)―A‖ represents: adultery2.Major characters in the story:(1)Hester Prynne: wears ―A‖; ―A‖ defines her identity(2)Arthur Dimmesdale: wears ―A‖ in his heart; his soul never in peace (invisible wearer)(3)Roger Chillingworth: the maker of scarlet letter(4)Pearl: the p roduct/result of ―A‖3.Symbolism: (special movement in literature; the use of symbols)In ―The Scarlet Letter‖:(1)The rosebush: passion(2)The forest: an ungovernable place(3)The scarlet letter: adultery; sin(4)Pearl: wildness; passion(5)The meteor: community4.Refuse to take off ―A‖:(1)For Hester, to remove scarlet letter would be to acknowledge the power it has in determining who she is(2)She is determined to transform its meaning and her identity(3)She wants to be the one who controls its meaning(4)She stands as a self-appointed reminder of the evils society can commitYoung Goodman Brown1. Psychological interpretation——Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychology):(1)superego——consciousness——the principle of morality 超我(2)ego——subconsciousness——the principle of reality 自我(3)id——unconsciousness——the principle of pleasure 本我Brown’s journey is psychological as well as physical:Village, a place of light and order——Forest, a place of darkness and wildnessconsciousness——unconsciousnessvillage——superego——FaithBrown——egoforest——id——SatanHawthorne saw the dangers of an overactive suppression of libido and the consequent development of tyrannous superego.2. Men, Women, and the loss of Faith:Despite the literary sexism of his day, Hawthorne portrays women as powerful moral agents.Although Faith is not a three-dimensional character, the story centers on her husband’s rejection of her. Women are victimized.Women——angle in the house——do not have desires, rights and needsFallen women——prostitutes, witches, and mad womenFaith to Brown is female sexuality; Satan to Brown is patriarchal authority3. Female images:Innocents vs. Temptresses:(1)Governor’s wife, Goody Cloyse, prostitutes, maidens, witches, Quaker women, Faith(2)Sex is seen as alluring and dangerous(3)Brown is an empty and failed husband and fatherHerman Melville (赫尔曼·麦尔维尔)1.life(1)Typee 《泰皮》(2)Omio 《殴穆》(3)Mardi 《玛地》(4)Redburn 《雷德本》(5)White Jacket 《白外衣》(6)Moby Dick(7)Pierre 《皮埃尔》(8)Billy Budd 《比利·巴德》3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of ―Everlasting Nay‖ (negative attitudetowards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multipleview of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background or description of what goes on board the ship or onthe route (Moby Dick)Moby Dick《白鲸》：Moby-Dick, often considered the greatest American novel, is a masterpiece with many layers. It is a sea adventure, an exciting chase after a destructive and mysterious creature. The enormous white whale Moby-Dick torments Captain Ahab, who is obsessed with finding and killing Moby-Dick, having lost a leg in a previous encounter with the whale, and Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really is the center of the story. At the novel’s end, Ahab finds and attacks Moby-Dick, but the terrible whale takes Ahab, his ship Pequod, and nearly all its crew down to a watery grave with him.1. An encyclopedia of everythingA Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates (extreme individualism)2. Image of ship: ship on the sea is the human soul search the meaning in the universe.3. Purpose——noble: he think Moby Dick as an evilHero: he is a hero but not a traditional hero (he does not stand for goodness); a villain hero4. Byronic hero (create by Byron): mad, bad, dangerous to know, obsessive——rebellions: challenge the authority; unconventional; right the wrongSatanic: revengeful; rebellious; the fight between God & Satan5. The Pequod——a symbol of doom(named after a native American tribe in Massachusetts; did not long survived of white men(extincted); is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones)The sailors are of different ethics——all people in American (individual)Queequeg’s Coffin——life boat; life6. Theme of Moby Dick:(1)Melville’s bleak view (negative attitude) the sense of futility and meaninglessness of the w orld. His attitude to life is―Everlasting Nay‖. Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futility.The adventure of killing Moby Dick is meaningless. Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his doom.Modern life——the loss of faith, the sense of futility——well expressed in Moby Dick(2)Alienation (far away from each other): exists between man & man, man & society, and man & nature.(3)Loneliness and suicidal individualism——the basic pattern of 19th century American life(individualism causing disaster and death)——Moby Dick is a negative reflection upon Transcendentalism.(4)Rejection and quest:V oyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and valuesHenry David Thoreau1.life(1)A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River(2)Walden(3)A Plea for John Brown (an essay)3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw natur e as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritualwell-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)―Simplicity…simplify!‖(7)He was sorely disgusted with ―the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society‖.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.WaldenEdgar Allen PoeI.LifeII.Works1.short stories(1)ratiocinative storiesa.Ms Found in a Bottleb.The Murders in the Rue Morguec.The Purloined Letter(2)Revenge, death and rebirtha.The Fall of the House of Usherb.Ligeiac.The Masque of the Red Death(3)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death – predominant t heme in Poe’s writing―Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.‖2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.A esthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. Hecalls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to readVI.R eputation: ―the jingle man‖ (Emerson)VII.His influencesWalt Whitman1.life2.work: Leaves of Grass (9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic V istas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –―Catalogue of American and European thought‖He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts: enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things and beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death, beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations in the world)●pursuit of love and happiness4.style: ―free verse‖(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun ―I‖(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated andEuropeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence.Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫·华尔多·爱默生)1.life (American philosopher, poet and essayist; the most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism)2.works(1)Nature——his first book expressing the main principle of Transcendentalism. It is regarded as ―American’sDeclaration of Intellec tual Independence‖(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the ―oversoul‖.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of aspiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become betterand even perfect. This is what Emerson means by ―the infinitude of man‖.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by makinghimself.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.his influenceWashington Irving1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the old world(3)father of American literature2.life3.works(1)A History of New Y ork from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (He won a measure of international recognition with the publication ofthis.)(3)The History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher Columbus(4)A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada(5)The Alhambra4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageJames Fenimore Cooper1.life (―father of American novelists‖; the creation of the west frontier and its heroes)2.works(1)Precaution (1820, his first novel, imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy (his second novel and great success)(3)Leatherstocking Tales (his masterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie3.point of viewThe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law, order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature.Benjamin Franklin1.life (printer, enlightener, inventor, scientist, statesman, diplomat)2.works(9)Poor Richard’s Almanac(10)Autobiography——form: the first autobiography of Americanmeaning: American dream & individualismself-improvement; business (contents); prototype of American success (significance); Puritanism and enlightenment spirits 3.contribution(11)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(12)He was called ―the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case) from heaven‖.(13)Everything seems to meet in this one man –―Jack of all trades‖. Herman Melville thus described him ―master of each and mas tered by none‖.(14)Aid Jefferson in writing The Declaration of IndependenceThomas Paine1.father of the American Revolution2.propagandist, pamphleteer, a master of persuasion who understands the power of language to move a man to action3.main works:(1)The American Crisis(2)Common Sense(3)The Right of Man(4)The Age of Reason。
美国文学史期末考试复习资料
一、作者-作品1.Eugene O’Neill 尤金·奥尼尔Desire under the Elms榆树下的欲望2.Washington Irving华盛顿.欧文The Sketch Book见闻札记The Legend of Sleepy Hollow睡谷的传说3.Nathaniel Hawthorne霍桑The Scarlet Letter红字4.Herman Melville麦尔维尔Moby Dick白鲸5.Edgar Allan Poe艾伦.坡The Raven乌鸦6.Walt Whitman惠特曼Leaves of Grass草叶集7. Harriet Beecher Stowe 哈丽雅特.比彻.斯托Uncle Tom’s Cabin汤姆叔叔的小屋8. Henry James 亨利.詹姆斯in the Portrait of a Lady一位女士的肖像9.Mark Twain 马克.吐温TheAdventures ofHuckleberry Finn哈克贝里.费恩历险The Gilded Age镀金时代10. O. Henry 欧.亨利The Gift of the Magi麦琪的礼物11. Stephen Crane：史蒂芬.克莱恩The Red Badge of Courage红色英勇勋章12.Theodore Dreiser 西奥多.德莱塞Sister Carrie嘉莉妹妹13.Jack London 杰克.伦敦The Call of the Wild野性的呼唤14. John Steinbeck 约翰.斯坦贝克The Grapes of Wrath愤怒的葡萄15.F. Scott Fitzgerald弗斯.菲茨杰拉德The Great Gatsby了不起的盖茨比16.Ernest Hemingway 海明威The Sun Also Rises太阳照样升起17.Katherine Anne Porter 凯瑟琳.安.波特Flowing Judas and other Stories犹大之花18. Ezra Pound 埃兹拉.庞德 Imagism 意象派The Cantos 诗章19.William Carlos Williams: 威廉.威廉姆斯The Red Wheelbarrow红色手推车20. Joseph Heller约瑟夫海勒：Catch-22 第22条军规21.Thomas Stearns Eliot爱略特The Waste Land荒原22.Zora Neal Hurston 佐拉.赫斯顿Their eyes were watching God 他们眼望上苍二、名词解释1.Transcendentalism超验主义:(1)As a philosophical and literary movement, American Transcendentalis m (also known as “ American Renaissance”) flourshed in New England fr om the 1830s to the Civil War. It is the high tide of American romanticism and its doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in Emerson and Thoreau. Transcendentalists spoke for the cultural rejuvenation and agai nst the materialism of American society.(2)The major features of Transcendentalism:① The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe. 思想超灵宇宙② The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. To t hem, the individual is the most important element of Society. 个体+社会③ The Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbol ic of the Spirit or God. Nature was not purely matter. It was alive, filled w ith God’s overwhelming presence. 自然+上帝代表人物：Emerson, Thoreau2.The Gilded Age镀金时代：an age of excess and extremes, of decline and progress, of poverty and dazzling wealth, of gloom and buoyant hope. Although Americans continued to read the works of Irving, Cooper, Hawthorne, and Poe, the great age of American romanticism had ended. By the 1870s the New England Renaissance had waned. 无节制、走极端，倒退和进步、贫困和富有并存，既令人沮丧又让人有希望的时代。
美国文学期末重点复习资料
美国文学一．术语解释1，Transcendentalism(超验主义):简略版：It started in 1830s in US; which emphasis on spirit or oversoul and stressing importance of the individual; regarding nature as symbols of the spirit or God. It took idea from the romantic literatures of Europe, from Neo-Platonism and so on. Emerson was its representative.深层次版：American Transcendentalism: the emergence of the Transcendentalists as an identifiable movement took place during the late 1820s and 1830s, but the roots of their religious philosophy extended much farther back into American religious history. Transcendentalism and evangelical Protestantism followed separate evolutionary branches from American Puritanism, taking as their common ancestor the Calvinism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They spoke for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of American spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the Universe. They stressed the importance of the individual. To them, the individual was the most important element of society. They offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. Nature was, to them, alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. Transcendentalism is based on the belief that the most fundamental truths about life and death can be reached only by going beyond the world of the senses. Emerson’s Nature has been called the “Manifesto of American Transcendentalism” and his The American Scholar has been rightly regarded as America’s “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”.美国超验主义：美国超验主义出现的19世纪20年代末期到三十年代，但是它的根源在宗教史上要远得多。
美国文学期末复习
美国文学期末复习美国文学期末复习要点What are the historical divisions of British literature?1.Anglo-Saxon Period (449-1066)2. Middle English Period (1066-1485)3. English Renaissance (1485-1603)4. The 17th century(1603-1660)5.The Period of 18th century (Neo-Classicism) (1660-1789)6.The Romantic Period (1798-1832)7.The Victorian Period (1832-1901)8.The Twentieth CenturyThe periods of American literature1. Literature before the civil war1). The colonial period (约1607 - 1765)2)The literature of Reason and Revolution:(The period of enlightenment )Benjamin Franklin3)The romantic period (1800 - 1865)a. The early romanticism: Washington IrvingJames Fenimore Cooperb. “New England Transcendentalism”or “American Renaissance (1836 - 1855)”Emerson ThoreauWhitman DickinsonHawthorneMelvilleAllan Poec. “New England Poets”: LowellBryantLongfellow2. The realistic period (1865 - 1914)Midwestern RealismWilliam Dean HowellsCosmopolitan NovelistHenry JamesLocal ColorismNaturalismStephen CraneJack LondonTheodore DreiserMark Twain3. Between the two wars(1914 - 1945)Modern poetry: experiments in form (Imagism)Ezra PoundT.S.EliotWallace StevensRobert FrostCarlos WilliamsProse Writing: modern realism (the Lost Generation)F.Scott FitzgeraldErnest HemingwayWilliam FaulknerNovels of Social Awareness Sinclair LewisDos PassosJohn SteinbeckRichard Wright4)The 20th Century American DramaEugene O’Neil4.The Contemporary Literature (1945 -)1)African American literature2) Chinese American literature3) Drama: Arthur Miller4) Black humorToni MorrisonJoseph HellerMaxine Hong KingstonAlice WalkerA list for further reading:Washington Irving The Sketch BookNathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet LetterMelville Moby DickHarriet Beecher Stowe:Uncle Tom’s CabinHenry James:The Portrait of A LadyMark Twain:The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnTheodore Dreiser:Sister CarrieAmerican tragedy:Jack London Martin EdenThe Call of the Wild,Willa Cather My Antonia Kate Chopin The AwakeningStephen Crane The Red Badge of CourageRalph Ellison Invisible ManWilliam Faulkner Go Down, Moses, The Sound and the FuryF. Scott Fitzgerald The Great GatsbyAlex Haley RootsJoseph Heller Catch-22Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the SeaMaxine Hong Kingston Woman WarriorMargaret Mitchell Gone with the WindToni Morrison The Bluest Eye, BelovedVladimir Nabokov LolitaJ. D. Salinger The Catcher in the RyeJohn Steinbeck The Grapes of WrathAlice Walker The Color PurpleRichard Wright Native SonWriters and writings:John Smith约翰·史密斯：美国文学史上第一个作家Benjamin Franklin本杰明·富兰克林：Poor Richard’s Almanac 穷查理历书The Autobiography自传(记录作者从穷到成功的经历，“美国梦”反映，体现启蒙倡导的理性主义和有序、教育的观点)Thomas Paine 托马斯·潘恩:Common Sense常识American Crisis 美国危机Washington IrvingA History of New York 纽约外史The Sketch Book 见闻札记（Rip Van Winkle, The Legend ofSleepy Hollow）James Cooper 库珀:（“美国小说之父”）Leatherstocking tales皮袜子故事集The Deerslayer《猎鹿者》The Last of the Mohicans《最后的莫西干人》The Pathfinder《探路者》The Pioneers《拓荒者》The Prairie《草原》Ralph Waldo Emerson:the spokesman of New England Transcendentalism（超验主义）movement "The American Scholar"论美国学者,"Self - Reliance"论自助,"The Over-Soul" Henry David Thoreau梭罗: "Walden"瓦尔登湖Nathaniel Hawthorne: (四部长篇)The Scarlet Letter (1850)红字A “adultery", "able" and "angel".The House of the Seven Gables (1851)带有七个尖角阁的房子The Blithedale Romance (1852) 福谷传奇The Marble Faun (1860) 玉石雕像Nathaniel Hawthorne:(短篇小说集)Twice-Told Tales (1837, 1851)重讲一遍的故事>Mosses from an Old Manse (1846, 1854) 古屋青苔“Rappaccini’s Daughter”医生的女儿“The Birth-mark”胎记“Young Goodman Brown”年轻的布朗“The Minister’s Black Veil”教长的黑纱Edgar Allan Poe:Stories:“Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque”怪诞故事集“The Purloined Letter”失窃的信“The Fall of the House of Usher”厄舍屋的倒塌Poems:“Annabel Lee”“To Helen”“Sonnet—T o Science”“The Raven”Herman Melville:Moby-Dick白鲸Walt Whitman:Leaves of Grass草叶集“Song of myself”“O Captain! My Captain!”Free verseEmily Dickinson:自然、爱情，死亡/永生三大类The Literature of Realism &Mark TwainI.Introduction to realismgrounded in the faithful reporting of all facets of everyday American life "Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material" --William Dean Howells from the year 1865 to 1914II. Backgroundthe Civil War (1861—1864)“The Gilded Age”: “an age of extremes”—“of decline and progress, of poverty and dazzling wealth, of gloom and buoyant hope”.Gold rushthe railroadIII. Diversity of literature1. local colorism: Mark Twain2. psychological realism: Henry James3. naturalism : Stephan Crane, Frank Norris, Jack London, Theodore DreiserLocal colorisma trend became dominant in American literature in the late 1860sand early 1870sa variation of American literary realism.concerned with the life of a small, well-defined region or provincesetting :the isolated small townLocal colorists: nostalgic historians of a vanishing way of life, recorders of a present that faded before their eyesdedicated themselves to minutely accurate descriptions of the life of their regionsSome local colorists and works:Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s CabinKate Chopin, The AwakeningMark TwainIV Mark Twain (1835—1910)1. lifePen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens,American writer, journalist, and humorist;a licensed Mississippi river-boat pilot (1857-61);a gold-miner;worked in San Francisco as a reporter in 1864.2．Literary achievementsThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches (1867)---the beginning of Twain's literary career.The Innocent Abroad (1869)The Gilded Age : A Tale of Today(1873).The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)The Prince and the Pauper (1881)Life on the Mississippi (1883)The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”--- Ernest Hemingway ).“Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.”-- Mark Twain车票马克吐温一次乘车外出，火车开得很慢。
美国文学史及选读期末复习
美国文学史及选读期末复习.美国文学史复习1（colonialism)第一部分殖民主义时期的文学一、时期综述1、清教徒采用的文学体裁：a、narratives 日记b、journals 游记2、清教徒在美国的写作容：1）their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3) About dealing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit3、清教徒的思想：1）puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 净化信仰和行为方式2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology. 重建教堂，提供简单服务，建立神圣地位3）look upon themselves as chosen people, and it follow logically that anyone whochallenged their way of life is opposing God's will and is not to be accepted. 认为自己是上帝选民，对他们的生活有异议就是反对上帝4）puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts sometimes has been exaggerated. 反对对快乐和艺术的追求到了十分荒唐的地步5）religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.强调上帝严厉的一面，忽视上帝仁慈的一面。
美国文学史期末复习
I.Multiple choice. Please choose the best answer among the fouritems.1.In American literature, the 18th century was the age of Enlightenment.2.The short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is taken from Irving’s work3.4.5.6.7.8.9.1-5，BBACD 6-10 BADCDII.Multiple choice. Please choose the best answer among the four items.(10 x 1’= 10’)12._____ is a fantasy tale about a man who somehow stepped outside the main15.From Thoreau’s jail experience, came his famous essay, _____ which stateshis belief that no man should violate his conscience at the command of agovernment.A. WaldenB. NatureC. Civil DisobedienceD. Common Sense20.For Melville, as well as for the reader and ____, the narrator, Moby Dick is1-5 D A B C C 6-10 A C C D CII. Identify Works as Described Below (1’×15 =15’):1.The novel has a sole black protagonist who tells his own story but whosename in unknown to us.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It onthe Mountains2.The main conflict of the play is the protagonist’s false value of fineappearance and popularity with people and the cruel reality of the society inwhich money is everything.a.A Street Car Named Desireb. The Hairy Apec.Long Day’s Journeyinto Night d. Death of Salesman3.It is an autobiographical play and Edmund in the play is based on theplaywright himself.a. Long Day’s Journey into Nightb. Henderson the Rain Kingc. The Hairy Aped. The Glass Menageries4.The novel tells of how a black man kills a white woman by accident and howthe society is responsible for the murder.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It onthe Mountains5._________ is one of the best works in American literature about the SecondWorld War.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Catcher in the Ryec.The Red Badge ofCourage d. The Naked and the Dead6. The novel by Hemingway is the best of its kind about World War I.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Sun Also Risesc.The Old Man and the Sead. The Naked and the Dead7.The novel is about how a family of farmers cannot survive in Oklahoma andtravel to California to seek a living and how they suffer hunger in California.a.T he Grapes of Wrathb. U.S. A.c.Babbittd. The Adventures of Augie March8.It is a trilogy including The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money, withsuch techniques as biographies, newsreels and camera eye.a.B abbittb. Light in Augustc. U.S.A.d. The Grapes of Wrath9.It is a novel which uses the stream of consciousness technique and whosetitle is taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.a. Absolom, Absolom!b. The Sound and the Furyc.A Farewell to Armsd. The Great Gatsby10. It is a naturalistic work about how a country girl is seduced and how shebecomes a famous actress and how her lover falls into a beggar and finally commits suicide.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec. McTeagued.Maggie, A Girlof the Streets11. The novel is set on the Mississippi with the protagonist telling us the story inthe local dialect. It is a representative work of local colorism.a.Sister Carrieb.The Adventures of Tom Sawyerc. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnd.The Portrait of a Lady12.The novel is a psychological study of a soldier (Henry Fleming)’s reactions inthe Civil War.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec.The Red Badge of Couraged. McTeague13. The poem is written in free verse in 52 cantos with the theme of theuniversality and equality in value of all people and all things.a.Cantosb. The Ravenc. Song of Myselfd.Chicago14. The novel is about how a group of people on a whaling ship kill a greatwhale but themselves are killed by the whale, with the conflict between man and his fate.a.The Octopusb. Moby-Dickc. The Rise of Silas Laphamd. Leaves of Grass15. It is a philosophical essay in 8 chapters plus an introduction mainlyconcerned with the four uses of nature.a. Waldenb. Naturec. The Scarlet Letterd. The American Scholar1-5.cdaad 6-10.aacbb cbbI.Choose the Best Answer for Each of the Following (1’×15=15’):1.An English ship brought 102 people from Plymouth, England on September 16, 1620 and arrived in the present Provincetown harbor on November 21 in the same year. This ship was named ____________.a. The Pilgrimsb. Mayflowerc. Americad. Titanic2._________ is father of American drama and in his dramatic career he wrote 49 plays.a. Tennessee Williamsb. Eugene O’Neillc. Arthur Millerd. Elmer Rice3._________ was the first American writer to write entirely American literature.a. Anne Bradstreetb. Washington Irvingc. Mark Twaind. Ernest Hemingway4. _______ was the leader of American transcendentalism.a. Benjamin Franklinb. Washington Irvingc. Ralph Waldo Emersond. Henry David Thoreau5._______was the greatest woman poet in American literature and she wroteabout 1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Pearl S. Buckb.Harriet Bicher Stowec. Emily Dickensond.Walter Whitman6._________ is father of the detective story and of psychoanalytic criticism.a. Washington Irvingb. Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walt Whitmand. Edgar Allan Poe7.William Dean Howells is concerned with the middle class life; ______ writes about the upper class society, and Mark Twain deals with the lower class reality.a. Stephen Craneb. Frank Norrisc. Theodore Dreiserd. Henry James8. Which of the following is a naturalistic writer?a. William Dean Howellsb. Mark Twainc. Ernest Hemingwayd.Theodore Dreiser9. His writings are characterized by simple, colloquial language and deep thoughts. He is______.a. Ernest Hemingwayb. William Faulknerc. F. Scott Fitzgeraldd. Mark Twain10. He wrote 18 novels all set in Jefferson Town, Yoknapatwapha County in thedeep south. He is ______.a. William Faulknerb. John Steinbeckc. Ernest Hemingwayd. Mark Twain11. ________is Jewish in origin and in many of his novels the American Jewsare major characters.a. Sinclair Lewisb. Saul Bellowc. Norman Mailerd. Jerome David Salinger12._________ is often regarded as the greatest American woman poet and she wrote over 1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Anne Bradstreetb. Robert Frostc. H.D.d. Emily Dickinson13.________ is father of American drama and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936.a. John Steinbeckb. William Faulknerc. Eugene O’Neilld. Arthur Miller14. He was the first black American to write a book about black life with greatimpact on the consciousness of the nation and his masterpiece is one of the three classics about black Americans. Who is he?a.Richard Wrightb. Harriet Beecher Stowec. Langston Hughesd.Ralph Ellison15. Hemingway wrote about American compatriots in Europe whereas ________wrote about the Jazz age, life in American society.a.William Carlos Williamsb. William Faulknerc. John Steinbeckd. F.Scott Fitzgerald1-5 bbccc 6-10.dddaa 11-15.bdcadI.Choose the Best Answer for Each of the Following (1×15 %):2.The American Civil War broke out in 1861 between the Northern states and the South states, which are known respectively as the ______and the______.a. N, Sb. Revolutionaries, Reactionariesc. Union, Confederacyd. Slavery, Anti-Slavery2._____________was praised by the British as the “Tenth Muse in America”.a.Anne Bradstreetb. Edward Taylorc. Thomas Pained. Philip Freneau3.Mark Twain was a representative of ________ in American literature.a. transcendentalismb. naturalismc. local colorismd. imagism4. _______ was the leader of American transcendentalism.a. Benjamin Franklinb. Washington Irvingc. Ralph Waldo Emersond. Henry David Thoreau5.The greatest American poet and the first writer of free verse is ____________.a. Washington Irvingb.Ezra Poundc. Walt Whitmand. Emily Dickinson6._________ is father of the detective story and of psychoanalytic criticism.a. Washington Irvingb. Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walt Whitmand. Edgar Allan Poe7.Henry James is concerned with the upper class life; ______ writes about the middle class society, and Mark Twain deals with the lower class reality.a. Stephen Craneb. Frank Norrisc. Theodore Dreiserd. William Dean Howells8. Which of the following is a naturalistic writer?a. William Dean Howellsb. Mark Twainc. Ernest Hemingwayd.Theodore Dreiser9. ________’s writings are characterized by simple, colloquial language and deep thoughts.a. Ernest Hemingwayb. William Faulknerc. F. Scott Fitzgeraldd. Mark Twain10. ______ wrote 18 novels all set in Jefferson Town, Yoknapatwapha Countyin the deep south. .a. William Faulknerb. John Steinbeckc. Ernest Hemingwayd.Mark Twain11. ________is Jewish in origin and in many of his novels the American Jewsare major characters.a. Sinclair Lewisb. Saul Bellowc. Norman Mailerd. Jerome David Salinger12._________ is often regarded as the greatest American woman poet and she wrote over 1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Anne Bradstreetb. Robert Frostc. H.D.d. Emily Dickinson13.________ is father of American drama and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936.a. John Steinbeckb. William Faulknerc. Eugene O’Neilld. Arthur Miller14. _______ was the first black American to write a book about black life withgreat impact on the consciousness of the nation and his masterpiece is one of the three classics about black Americans.b.Richard Wright b. Harriet Beecher Stowec. Langston Hughesd. Ralph Ellison15. ________ first used the “Jazz age” as the title of a collection of short storiesa. F. Scott Fitzgeraldb. William Faulknerc. John Steinbeckd. ErnestHemingway1-5.caccc 6-10.dddaa 11-15.bdcbaII.Identify Works as Described Below (1×15 %):1. The play is about a stoker whose identity as a human being is not recognized by his fellow human beings and who tries to find affinity with a monkey in the zoo and is finally killed by the animal.a. The Hairy Apeb. Henderson the Rain Kingc. Long Day’s Journey into Nightd. The Glass Menageries2.The protagonist in this play is a crippled girl named Amanda.a.A Street Car Named Desireb. The Hairy Apec.Long Day’s Journeyinto Night d.The Glass Menageries3.The hero of this novel tells about his own story to us but his name is unknown.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It on the Mountains4. It is an autobiographical play and Edmund in the play is based on theplaywright himself.a. Long Day’s Journey into Nightb. Henderson the Rain Kingc. The Hairy Aped. The Glass Menageries5.The novel tells of how a black man kills a white woman by accident and how he is finally arrested and tried and sentenced to death.a.Native Sonb.Uncle Tom’s Cabinc.Invisible Mand. Go Tell It onthe Mountains6. The novel by Hemingway is the best of its kind about World War I.a.A Farewell to Armsb.The Sun Also Risesc.The Old Man and the Sead. The Naked and the Dead7.The novel is about how a family of farmers cannot survive in Oklahoma and travel to California to seek a living and how they suffer hunger in California.a.The Grapes of Wrathb. U.S. A.b.Babbitt d. The Adventures of Augie March8.It is a trilogy including The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money, with such techniques as biographies, newsreels and camera eye.b.Babbitt b. Light in Augustc. U.S.A.d. The Grapes of Wrath9.It is a novel which uses the stream of consciousness technique and whose title is taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.a. Absolom, Absolom!b. The Sound and the Furyc.A Farewell to Armsd. The Great Gatsby10. It is a naturalistic work about how a country girl is seduced and elopes withHurstwood and how she becomes a famous actress and how her lover falls into beggary and finally commits suicide.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec. McTeagued.Maggie, A Girl of the Streets11. It is a novel with 135 chapters plus an epilog; in it a group of people on awhaling ship kill a great whale but they themselves are killed by the whale in the end, except Ishmael the narrator who survives by adhering to a coffin.b.Sister Carrie b.The Adventures of Tom Sawyerc. Moby Dickd. The Portrait of a Lady12.The novel is a psychological study of a soldier (Henry Fleming)’s reactions inthe Civil War, in which wound is called the red badge which symbolizes courage.a.An American Tragedyb. Sister Carriec.The Red Badge of Couraged. McTeague13. The poem is written in free verse in 52 cantos with the theme of theuniversality and equality in value of all people and all things.a.Cantosb. The Ravenc. Song of Myselfd.Chicago14. The novel is about how a man falls economically and socially but who risesmorally because he gives up the opportunity to sell his factory to an English Syndicate, which would otherwise mean a ruin to that syndicate.a.The Octopusb. The Rise of Silas Laphamc. Moby-Dickd. Leaves of Grass15. It is a speech delivered at Harvard University. It is often hailed as the“declaration of intellectual independence” in America.a. The American Scholarb. Naturec. The Scarlet Letterd. Walden1-5.adcad 6-10.aacbb cba。
美国文学史期末考试复习题
美国文学史期末考试复习题(使用书本为童明的《美国文学史修订版》)一、名词解释（交代背景、内容/特点、代表人物/作品）1. American 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 representative writers and its features should be also added.)2. Black Humor :1）In the 1960s, in literature, drama, and film, black humor refers to grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world.2）Black humor often uses low comedy farce and low comedy to make clear that individuals are helpless victims of fate and character.3）Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is an example of this school3. Henry James’s international theme: 书p1594. Beat Generation：1) American poets, 1950s-1960s, a rebellion ,counterculture, romantic, drugs and uninhibited sex.2)Best and most influential poem: “Howl”:denounces the life-denying effects of American culture.5.American Puritanism：it comes from the American puritans, who were the first immigrants moved to American continent in the 17th century. Original sin, predestination and salvation were the basic ideas of American Puritanism. And, hard-working, piousness，thrift and sobriety were praised.书p176. Transcendentalism: is a philosophic and literary movement that flourished in New England, particular at Concord, as a reaction against Rationalism and Calvinism. Mainly it stressed intuitive understanding of God, without the help of the church, and advocated independence of the mind. The representative writers are Emerson andThoreau.7. Themes of Henry James’s writing: 书p1588.The Lost Generation:it refers to a group of young intellectuals who came back from war，were injured both physically and mentally. They lived by indulging themselves in the Bohemian way of life. Their American dream was disillusioned. The best representative of the lost generation was Ernest Hemingway.二、回答问题1. What are the characteristics of American romanticism？（书本p68. 3点+ P69.5点）2. How is the Darwinian belief in naturalism opposed to the Christian creationist view? 书p166What is the determinist view of existence that informs naturalism? What are the implications of this view on ethics?3. What are the philosophical foundations and characteristics of American naturalism? 书p1664. What are the important point s for Hawthorne’s sty le?5. What is the predominant mood in Poe’s poetry? Discuss with two poems as examples.6. What are the parameters of American Realism?书P1457. How is Thoreau revolt manifested both in his social actions and his writing?书p99What is the nature of his revolt?书p100( and nature in Civil Disobedience should be added)8. The age of American realism is divided into two more periods. What are the periods called? What are the characteristics and who are the representatives of each period?。
(完整版)美国文学期末复习资料(完美版)
（美国文学期末复习资料(完美版）Imagism （意向主义）(1)Imagism came into being in Britain and US around 1910 as a reaction to the traditional English poetry to express the sense of fragmentation and dislocation。
（2）The Imagists， with Ezra Pound leading the way, hold that the most effective means to express these momentary impressions is through the use of one dominant image。
（3) Imagism is characterized by the following three poetic principles： i） direct treatment of subject matter； ii） economy of expression; iii） as regards rhythm, to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of metronome; iv) Ezra Pound’s In a Station of the Metro is a well—known imagist poem。
Ezra Pound (爱兹拉·庞德）Cathay （1915）《中国》a volume of Chinese translation.He blue—penciled The Waste Land《荒原》 the most significant American poem of the twentieth century.Cantos 《诗章》，a modern epic Pound’s major work of poetry。
美国文学期末总复习
I.选择题及问答题UNIT 2 Edgar Allan Poe简答题1) Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?2) What is the pretext Montresor uses to lure Fortunado to his wine cellar?3) What happens to Fortunado in the end?4) Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Mortresor and Fortunado as contrasts.参考答案1)It is Montresor. Fortunato has given Montresor thousands of injuries that he has to bear before he has this opportunity of taking revenge.2)He claims that he has just got a cask of Amontilado and stores it in the wine cellar before he may find a connoisseur to testify to its authenticity.3)The deceived Fortunado is killed because of his inability of getting out of the catacomb.4)Poe characterizes Mortresor and Fortunado as seemingly contrasting characters chiefly by presenting their identical habit in wine and their different manners towards each other, but actually he intends to show some similarly defective aspects in their nature. The similarity in their nature is also suggested by their names as synonyms in Italian: Mortresor means “fortune” while Fortunado “treasure”. Their defective nature is highlighted when the revenger Mortresor, who is fully prepared on psychological and operating levels, throws the hardly prepared but totally deceived wrong-doer Fortunado into the deep and damp catacomb and blocks up its entrance with huge rocks.选择题1) To Montresor, the fatal weakness of Fortunato is his _______ for his connoisseurship in wine.A) knowledgeB) arroganceC) faithD) seeming ignorance2) Montresor wants to take revenge on Fortunato during the carnival because _______ .A) almost all the people would habitually celebrate the festival, excessively drinking and dancing in delight and giving less attention to other activities beyond celebration.B) Fortunato would be too busy as a wine connoisseur during the festival so that he might not see through the tricky plan of Montresor to put an end to his life.C) he would work together with Fortunato during the festival so as to have chance to kill him.D) he chooses the time at random instead of a deliberate scheme.3) In the story Amontillado is known as the good wine whose _______ , as Montresor deceptively claims, has strong appeal to Fortunato.A) taste and smellB) reputation and tasteC) reputation and quantityD) recommendations by Italian virtuosos4) Who is Luchresi ?A) a boy in the barB) a arrogant neighborC) a wine connoisseurD) a Sherry producer5) As Montresor and Fortunato walk further into the catacomb, the latter keeps coughing becauseA) the nitre hanging like moss upon the vaults increases to strongly provoke him.B) he pretends so in order to encourage himself.C) he takes "Nemo me impune lacessit".D) the nitre distills the rheum of intoxication.6) Before taking his last breath, Fortunato still seems unable to perceive the intention of Montresor, mistaking what Montresor does to him as " a very good joke, indeed —an excellent jest". Why does he react so slowly?A) Fortunato has drunk too much to see his coming death.B) Poe intends to use Fortunato's slow comprehension as a foil to the blackness of Montresor 's well-planned revenge.C) Fortunato wants to get Montresor's mercy by fooling him this way so that he may free himself from the threshold of death.D) It is only Montresor's illusion because Fortunato has been dead when the former builds up the eleven tiers of the stone wall.7) Where does the story take place?A) It is only a psychological experience without the setting in reality.B) Poe never intends to give any information about the setting.C) It couldn't be identified.D) Italy as the setting of the story is only hinted in such as the names of characters and those of wines.8) Montresor and Fortunato mean "wealth " and "treasure" in the Italian language, symbolically mirroring _______ .A) their identical parentageB) something hidden as their mutual weaknessC) their mutual love of goldD) their mutual mania for material possession9) As it is suggestive of the Italian culture where the story is set, the word Palazzo means_______ .A) a fancy restaurant serving good winesB) a large, splendid residence or building such as a palace or museum for public activitiesC) a dreamy place as paradiseD) a place as storage of wine10) The story end with a Latin quotation "In pace requiescat", by which Poe hints that _______ .A) Montresor thinks he will die soonB) Montresor seems to be sorry for the death of FortunatoC) Montresor's hatred for Fortunato is still so strong that he couldn't get it over even when he murdered the latter half a century agoD) Montresor eventually regrets for what has done to Fortunato and implores God to give peace to the latter参考答案BACCA BDBBCUNIT 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne简答题1) Why is the prison the setting of Chapter II?2) Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people toward her.3) What has happened to Hester? Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate? How does this tell us about her character?参考答案1)The prison is used as the setting of the story because the execution of Hester Prynne as an infamous culprit is expected to take place here and the sentence of a legal tribunal on her has but confirmed the verdict of public sentiment. In addition, the setting also suggests the tragic fate of the protagonist.2)Hester Prynne is a young and tall woman with dark and abundant hair that is so glossy that it may throws off the sunshine with a gleam. She has a beautiful face with the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes. With a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale, she is ladylike with such character as characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace. Besides, the attitudes of the people toward her are diverse, but mostly negative and unsympathetic largely from the conventional moral stand of the times.3)As a married woman, Hester falls in love with Dimmesdale, a reverend minister of the local community, and their love affair is discovered after she gives birth to a baby daughter. She makes the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate in the hope that the letter may embody her affirmative attitude toward the dilemma in her life, and that it may have the effect of a powerful spell to take her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclose her in a sphere by herself. This detail also mirrors her idea of love and moral value, which is explicitly different from the cowardice and hypocrisy of Dimmesdale.选择题1) The story is set in Boston because this town as one of the largest communities of European immigrants of the time could stand in many ways for ________.A) the Puritan culture;B) the Continental culture;C) the typical culture of the native Indians;D) the trend of immigration.2) Generally speaking, the Puritan culture is characterized by ________.A) its moral rigor and its hostility to social pleasures and indulgences.B) a stress on education and simplicity of life.C) a stress on human creation and free will.D) its concern for the afterlife of man.3) Antinomian refers to a person who believes ________.A) that all the laws are harmful to human freedom.B) that Puritanism is the key to all social problems.C) that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil,or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.D) that moral power is the strongest and most useful for man’s self-perfection and social development.4) Why do people call Hester Prynne “Madam Hester”or “Mistress Prynne”, respectively?A) It reflects their habitual use of the English language.B) It makes no difference.C) It hints their social status.D) It shows their different attitudes toward her.5) Why doesn’t Hawthorne explicitly tell his audience the weaver of the scarlet letter upon the bosom of Hester Prynne, though its image he presents is “so fantastically embroidered and illuminated”?A) It means that no one knows the identity of the weaver.B) It means that he wants to increase the suspension of the story.C) He is reluctant to tell it because the weaver is the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, who is seemingly free from the scandal at the moment.D) He just hints that Hester Prynne is the weaver of the meaningful letter by way of the positive comment of a spectator on her skills at needlework, because he seems to think that such an indirect narrative helps mirror how much she has tried to reclaim herself without the public knowledge.6) The grim beadle loudly orders Hester Prynne to show her scarlet letter to all the spectators in the market place, as he desires to ________.A) make all the spectators know the power he has in the community.B) fulfill his duty there.C) humiliate her as an adulterous woman.D) gratify the demand of the spectators.7) As it is compared to “the guillotine among the terrorists of France”, the scaffold, in the front of which Hester Prynne and her daughter are humiliated, symbolizes ________.A) the severity of the social punishment on her.B) the long history of humiliating the convict in the market place.C) her courage in face of dilemma.D) the on-going influence of the European law in America.8) Whom does “the image of Divine Maternity”refer to?A) Hester Prynne.B) Blessed V irgin Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ.C) Hester Prynne’s mother living in England.D) the mother of a papist.9) It is by associating the figure of Hester Prynne to “the image of Divine Maternity”that Hawthorne intends to show that ________.A) he is sympathetic with Hester Prynne.B) he looks down on the cowardice of Dimmesdale.C) Hester Prynne’s visage resembles that of the V irgin Mary.D) as V irgin Mary is sinless, so is Hester Prynne.10) Standing on the scaffold and looking downwards at the assembly, Hester Prynne suddenly clutches her daughter so fiercely to her breast that it sends forth a cry, because she wants to________.A) distract herself from the dreadful gaze of the assembly.B) assure herself that her daughter is still with her.C) wake herself up from somewhat incontroable illusion about her early life.D) wake up her daughter.参考答案AACDD CABDCUNIT 13 Katherine Anne Porter简答题1. Does Granny Weatherall like Doctor Harry? Why or why not?2. Granny intends to do a lot "tomorrow." What is the most important thing? Can she do it?3. What advice does Granny give her family?4. What happened 60 years ago? Who is George? How does Granny feel about him?5. Who is John? How does Granny feel about him?6. What is it that she would like to tell George?7. What is it that she would like to tell John?8. Who does Granny want to see most before her death? Who is this person? Is Granny's wish realized?9. What is Granny's attitude towards death?10. When does Granny realize that she is going to die?11. What is the sign she looks forward to at the end of her life? Does it appear?参考答案1)Granny does not like Doctor Harry. First, she does not think she is ill and has to see the doctor. Second, she thinks the doctor treats her as if she were a child. He is not respectful to her.2)The most important thing is to go through George's letters and John's letters and her letters to them both. She cannot do this because she is now sick and has to stay in bed.3)She gives advice to Lydia about how to bring up children, to Jimmy about how to do business, even how to move the furniture to Cornelia.4)She was jilted by George, the man she was to marry. He did not come to the wedding. Granny is psychologically much wounded by George's jilting. She tries very hard to forget the event and suppresses her grief. However, just before her death, the agony surfaces and she cannot forget him 5)John is the man Granny marries eventually. They have several children during their marriage. Granny is thankful that John is sympathetic to her being jilted. She feels that, with John, there is nothing to worry about any more. But John dies when he is still rather young. She misses him from time to time, hoping to see him again in order to show him that she does not do badly without a husband.6)She, like any other woman, had a husband, fine children and a house. She is given back everything he takes away. However, the agony he causes her is 'unbelievable,' so great that she tries to think of it as that of having a baby.7)She has brought up their children, kept a good house and taken good care of the farm. She has changed, becoming tough by overcoming all the difficulties.8)It is Hapsy. She is Granny's daughter and she dies in childbirth. In her semi-consciousness,Granny feels as if she had to go through many rooms to find Hapsy with her baby. She even hears Hapsy say “I thought you'd never come,” and “Y ou haven't changed a bit!” Even at the time of death, she is concerned with the question “ What if I don't find her?”9)She thinks that she is well prepared for death. Twenty years ago, she felt very old and finished. So she went around making farewell trips to her children. Later she made her will and came down with a long fever. Then she got over the idea of dying for a long time. However, she becomes surprised when the real time comes and thinks it is not time yet and that she cannot go. Eventually, she accepts death by blowing out the light herself.10)It is when she realizes that her children have come a long way and are there by her bed to say good-bye to her.11)It is the sign of Jesus in the form of a bridegroom coming to take her to Heaven. But it does not appear. So she is jilted again.讨论题1. What are the qualities Granny Weatherall possesses that help her to live a successful life? Give examples from the story.2. Why are the events of the story not presented in chronological order? List the important events in chronological order.3. Does Granny Weatherall have any weaknesses?参考答案1。
美国文学期末复习
一、填空1.The central movement in American literature in the period between the end of the Civil War in1865 and the dawn of the 20th century was the development of realism.2.Howell’s straightforward definition of realism is ―nothing more and nothing less than thetruthful treatment of material.‖3.Howells, James and Twain showed obvious differences in their writings. Howells was noted forhis presentation of middle-class American life. Jame s’ topics were taken mainly from the upper class of the society. As for Mark Twain, his interest lay in people of the lower class.4.Mark Twain is the pen-name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens.5.Hemingway praised the adventures of Huckleberry fin as one from which ―all modern Americanliterature comes.‖6.Mark Twain wrote in a humorous and colloquial style.7.Mark Twain is remembered as a great literary artist and a social critic as well.8.The early years of the career of Henry James produced a number of novels, among which themost important are The American, Daisy Miller, The portrait of a lady. In those novels he deals with his major fictional theme, ―the international theme‖, the meeting of America and Europe.Americans often appears to stand for morality and Europeans for manners.9.Henry James is considered the founder of psychological realism. He believed that reality existedin the impressions made by life on the spectator, and not in any facts of which the spectator is aware.10.Naturalism 的代表作家Stephen Crane, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser11.Literary Naturalism depends upon a biological model, seeing man as victim of heredity and hisimmediate environment. It is essentially mechanistic in its view of matter and deterministic in its attitude toward human will.12.Determinism, survival, violence, sex and disease became the major themes of naturalism. 记三个就OK13.The American tragedy reveals a last stage in Dreiser’s thinking: social consciousness. Muchmore then in Sister Carrie, he sees his characters as victims of society.14.the most important literary development was the modernistic trend in which a new group ofwriters called the ―Lost Generation‖ rebelled for ideals and values.15.Of several descriptions of the culture of the twenties, two—Gertrude Stein’s ―lost generation‖and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ―Jazz Age‖ have proved most durable.16.Novelists like Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, e ecummings, and Ezra Pound are generally regarded as writers of the lost generation. 必考（记三个人名就好）17.Three Imagist poetic principles: direct treatment, economy of expression and rhyme.18.An image is a literal and concrete representation of a sensory experience of an object.19.―In a station of the metro‖ is a good example of an imagist poem. ―the apparition of these facesin the crowd; petals on a wet black bough‖20.the influence of Chinese poetry on eminent Imagist poets like Pound, Amy Lowell is especiallynoteworthy.21.Pound’s major work of poetry is the Cantos, his epic of fifty years’making. It contains 117poems and is a formidable piece of high modernist poetry.22.The waste land is a vision of the western world at the end of the First World War. It shows itsspiritual crisis at the time and also Eliot’s wish for the regeneration for the human race.23.Hemingway’s public image is one of a tough guy. He liked sports and bullfight, big-gamehunting and deep-sea fishing. He regards the world as ―all a nothing‖ or ―all nada‖ They try hard to find their way, to win the battle, and to show grace and dignity under pressure.24.The creation of Hemingway is guided by his ―iceberg‖ principle.25.The sound and the fury is Faulkner’s response to the old south myth and the new southernsituation.26.Faulkner is first and foremost a southern regionalist who spent his entire life chronicling hisown region. The major theme of Faulkner’s important works is the decadence of Southern character and society following the civil war.名词解释1.the law of jungleThe British philosopher Herbert Spencer employs Darwin’s doctrine of Natural selection and the survival of the fittest to human society. Spencer held that human beings, like animals, were forced to act as they did because of the appetites and urges formed by heredity and environment.The stronger and more intelligent would win.2.the international themeIt is the major fictional theme of Henry James which is about the meeting of America and Europe, American innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence, and its moral and psychological complications.3.realismIt is a literary movement in America between the end of the civil war and the dawn of the 20th century. It is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material. The realistic writers truthfully depicted life around them, identified their characters with their surroundings, and sometimes achieved psychological penetration.4.naturalismIt is a literary movement that originates in France. It sees man as victim of heredity and his immediate environment. It is essentially mechanistic in its view of matter and deterministic in its attitude toward human will.5.the lost generationThe term is coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of youth who are disillusioned by the First World War. They witness the economic growth after the war, in sharp contrast with the spiritual emptiness. They are cut off from the tradition and feel lost about their future.6.ImagismIt is a literary movement that flourishes in American poetry in the first years of the 20th century.The three imagist poetic principles are direct treatment, economy of expression and that no unnecessary words may be included in order to make meter or a rhyme.7.the Jazz AgeIt is a term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald to describe the extravagant but meaningless life in America between the 1920s and 1930s. It was a generation grown up to find all gods dead, all wars fought, all faith in man shaken.8.iceberg principleIt is the guiding writing principle of Earnest Hemingway. He holds that like an iceberg, a story should be ―seven eighths under water for every part that shows.‖ It gives implications to the highly suggestive and connotative simplicity of Hemingway’s writing style.9.tough guyIt is the public image of Hemingway. He is a man of action, not of thoughts, who shows grace and dignity under pressure.三identify 2’*10 应该每个都会考到，有的可能要出现两次The adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark TwainDaisy Miller –Henry JamesTo build a fire—Jack LondonSister Carrie –Theodore DreiserHugh Selwyn Mauberley –Ezra PoundThe love song of J. Alfred Prufrock – T. S. EliotBig Two-hearted river—Earnest HemingwayA rose for Emily—William Faulkner四comment on character1. Huckleberry FinnHe is the hero of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain.六、简答A rose for Emily1. Emily, as the last member of the glorious aristocratic family, died. Her death is a mark of the end of the traditional southern culture. In addition, she is a ―fallen‖woman because she has a relationship with a northerner and a laborer which is prohibited.Because she was born in an aristocratic family, she didn’t have the freedom to choose her own marriage. Her father thought no young man was good enough for her. As a result, after her father’s death, she had to lead a lonely life on her own.2. The old mayor remitted Emily’s taxes, in the pretext that her father had made contribution to the town. He was considerate of the lady who lived alone. However, the new generation called Emily to pay the tax.The young generation is money-oriented. They lose their sense of morality and propriety.3. On the one hand, Faulkner loves the land of his nativity. On the other hand, he is aware of the defects of the southern civilization and foresees its decline.Big two-hearted river1.the burnt-over country, and the black grasshoppers living in the burnt-over land.2.He is physically totally engaged in the physical activities and do them step by step like rituals.The purpose of his journey is to heal the wound caused by war.3.yes. He is a man of action, not of thoughts. He is skillful in doing physical activities and seldomthinks.4.He language is simple and prefers to use repeated words and expressions.P291.they are too wise and intelligent to take action. as a result, they are timid and useless.They could talk about Michelangelo, but don’t dare to confess their love.2.He portrays them as measuring out their life with coffee spoons. They idle away theirextravagant life, which is in fact, empty and meaningless. They have no courage to change the world nor take action.P171.the modern world is full of disillusionment. The traditional western culture is dead.As the poet says, ―he strove to resuscitate the dead art of poetry, to maintain the sublime in theold sense.‖上册P 2141. The forces refer to the forces of nature and society. Men should go with these forces, ratherthan against them. Men are not able to defeat the environment and society.3. The motives are her selfish desire for her own benefits and desires.P1971.man is powerless in the face of nature. He could live only within certain narrow limits ofheat and cold.2.the dog is the fittest, because it has the instincts to be aware of the danger. In addition, it isborn with the thick fur to survive in the coldness. All these are gotten from heredity.3.the author has a pessimistic opinion about human civilization. Although the animal instinctsare less educated, they are wiser than human beings. The dog knows the cold, he knows it is not a good time for travel. However, the man did not know cold, possibly all the generations of his ancestors had been ignorant of cold.P1601.Daisy Miller, who represents the American culture has a dispute with Mrs. Walker, whorepresents the European culture. When Daisy has a walk with two young men, Mrs. Walker tries to persuade her to get into the carriage, because this behavior is against the European conventions. However, Daisy refuses to get on and continues her walking with the two men. 5.It symbolizes the western tradition and conventions.P1331.At the very beginning, Huck tries to make joke of Jim, and treats him as a person lower thanhimself. However, after their journey together, he finds that Jim is his best friend, and treats him equally as a man rather than a slave.2.On the one hand, his common sense and deformed conscience call on him to tell the owner ofJim. On the other hand, his sound heart tells him to save Jim and keep him free. He writes a letter to Miss Watson. After severe mental conflicts, he tears up the letter, and decides to save Jim.。
美国文学期末复习
College of Foreign Languages, CTGU
HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
Life experience (3)
5 voracious reader;prolific for 8 years after his return from the sea; 6 later in his life wrote other books and some long stories; 7 worked in the Custom House in New York for the last 20 years of his life; 8 died at 72 in oblivion.
2. worked early: bank clerk;
salesman; farm-hand; school teacher;
3.The boy was forced to leave school.Unable to find a profession, he became a sailor. He went to sea at about 20 as a
whaler;
College of Foreign Languages, CTGU
HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
Life experience
(2)
4.Three things deserve mention about his life: a.going out to sea b. marriage c. friendship with Hawthorne His sailing tears gave him the background Of ships and islands that served him well in his early successes,Typee(1846).His masterpiece Moby Dick, a whaling story took almost a century before the novel was recognized by readers. Herman Melville soon became known as the “man who lived among cannibals.”His commercial failure of the works made his death unnoticed by the public in 1891.
美国文学期末考试复习
Ⅲ. 重要作家及作品Nathanial Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔·霍桑)1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun(5)The Blithedale Romance(6)―Rappaccini’s Daughter‖(7)―The Birth-ma rk‖(8)―Young Goodman Brown‖3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life, ―that blackness in Hawthorne‖(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic美学的ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity.To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows tofruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was thepredestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend: That was whatHawthorne had in mind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teacha lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the worldof uncertainty – multiple point of view6.Hawthorne’s Literary View:(1)He repeatedly complains about ―the poverty of materials‖ in America.(2)He believes that romance is the predestined form of American narrative. He makes a distinction between novel and r omance in his Preface to ―The House of the Seven Gables‖.(3)He is haunted by his sense of sin and evil in life, therefore we see ―black vision‖ in his works.7.―The Minister’s Black Veil‖:Parable: allegoryMr. Hooper: a Christ figure; moral ambiguitythe veil: a symbol of sin, separationthemes: isolation of the individual from society; guilt of sinThe Scarlet Letter, （adultery）1.About the story:(1)The story of Hester Prynne Set: the 17th century(2)What is situated immediately outside the door ofthe prison in which Hester is kept: A rosebush(3)How does Hester support herself financially: as aseamstress(4)She always wears: black(5)―A‖ represents: adultery2.Major characters in the story:(1)Hester Prynne: wears ―A‖; ―A‖ defines her identity(2)Arthur Dimmesdale: wears ―A‖ in his heart; hissoul never in peace (invisible wearer)(3)Roger Chillingworth: the maker of scarlet letter(4)Pearl: the p roduct/result of ―A‖3.Symbolism: (special movement in literature; the use of symbols)In ―The Scarlet Letter‖:(1)The rosebush: passion(2)The forest: an ungovernable place(3)The scarlet letter: adultery; sin(4)Pearl: wildness; passion(5)The meteor: community4.Refuse to take off ―A‖:(1)For Hester, to remove scarlet letter would be toacknowledge the power it has in determining who she is(2)She is determined to transform its meaning andher identity(3)She wants to be the one who controls its meaning(4)She stands as a self-appointed reminder of theevils society can commitYoung Goodman Brown1. Psychological interpretation——Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychology):(1)superego——consciousness——the principle ofmorality 超我(2)ego——subconsciousness——the principle ofreality 自我(3)id——unconsciousness——the principle of pleasure本我Brown’s journey is psychological as well as physical:Village, a place of light and order——Forest, a place of darkness and wildnessconsciousness——unconsciousnessvillage——superego——FaithBrown——egoforest——id——SatanHawthorne saw the dangers of an overactive suppression of libido and the consequent development of tyrannous superego.2. Men, Women, and the loss of Faith:Despite the literary sexism of his day, Hawthorne portrays women as powerful moral agents.Although Faith is not a three-dimensional character, the story centers on her husband’s rejection of her. Women are victimized.Women——angle in the house——do not have desires, rights and needsFallen women——prostitutes, witches, and mad womenFaith to Brown is female sexuality; Satan to Brown is patriarchal authority3. Female images:Innocents vs. Temptresses:(1)Governor’s wife, Goody Cloyse, prostitutes,maidens, witches, Quaker women, Faith(2)Sex is seen as alluring and dangerous(3)Brown is an empty and failed husband and fatherHerman Melville (赫尔曼·麦尔维尔)1.life2.works(1)Typee 《泰皮》(2)Omio 《殴穆》(3)Mardi 《玛地》(4)Redburn 《雷德本》(5)White Jacket 《白外衣》(6)Moby Dick 《白鲸》(7)Pierre 《皮埃尔》(8)Billy Budd 《比利·巴德》3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of ―Everlasting Nay‖ (negative attitude towards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique ofmultiple view of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic powerhave been profusely commented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters offactual background or description of what goes on board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick)Moby Dick《白鲸》：Moby-Dick, often considered the greatest American novel, is a masterpiece with many layers. It is a sea adventure, an exciting chase after a destructive and mysterious creature. The enormous white whale Moby-Dick torments Captain Ahab, who is obsessed with finding and killing Moby-Dick, having lost a leg in a previous encounter with the whale, and Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really is the center of the story. At the novel’s end, Ahab finds and attacks Moby-Dick, but the terrible whale takes Ahab, his ship Pequod, and nearly all its crew down to a watery grave with him.1. An encyclopedia of everythingA Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates (extreme individualism)2. Image of ship: ship on the sea is the human soul search the meaning in the universe.3. Purpose——noble: he think Moby Dick as an evilHero: he is a hero but not a traditional hero (he does not stand for goodness); a villain hero4. Byronic hero (create by Byron): mad, bad, dangerous to know, obsessive——rebellions: challenge the authority; unconventional; right the wrongSatanic: revengeful; rebellious; the fight between God & Satan5. The Pequod——a symbol of doom(named after a native American tribe in Massachusetts; did not long survived of white men(extincted); is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones)The sailors are of different ethics——all people in American (individual)Queequeg’s Coffin——life boat; life6. Theme of Moby Dick:(1)Melville’s bleak view (negative attitude) the senseof futility and meaninglessness of the world. His attitude to life is ―Everlasting Nay‖. Man in this universe lives ameaningless and futility.The adventure of killing Moby Dick is meaningless. Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his doom.Modern life——the loss of faith, the sense of futility——well expressed in Moby Dick(2)Alienation (far away from each other): exists between man & man, man & society, and man & nature.(3)Loneliness and suicidal individualism——the basic pattern of 19th century American life(individualism causing disaster and death)——Moby Dick isa negative reflection upon Transcendentalism.(4)Rejection and quest:Voyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and valuesHenry David Thoreau （亨利·戴维·梭罗）1.life2.works(1) A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River康《科德河和梅里麦克河上的一个星期》(2)Walden《瓦尔登湖》(3)Civil Disobedience 《论公民的不服从权利，又译作消极反抗》(4)Life Without Principle3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nature as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)―Simplicity…simplify!‖(7)He was sorely disgusted with ―the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society‖.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.WaldenEdgar Allen Poe (埃德加·爱伦·坡)I.Life诗人、小说家和文学评论家II.Works(1)Ms Found in a BottleThe Purloined LetterThe Fall of the House of UsherThe Masque of the Red DeathAnnabel LeeTo HelenSonnet—To ScienceThe Raven(2)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death –predominant theme in Poe’s writing―Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.‖2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.Aesthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. He calls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to readVI.Reputation: ―the jingle man‖ (Emerson)VII.His influencesWalt Whitman(沃尔特·惠特曼)1.life诗人、人文主义者2.work: Leaves of Grass 草叶集(9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic Vistas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –―Catalogue of American and European thought‖He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts: enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things and beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death, beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations inthe world)pursuit of love and happiness4.style: ―free verse‖(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun ―I‖(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever schoolor form, bears witness to his great influence.Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫·华尔多·爱默生)1.life (American philosopher, poet and essayist; the most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism)2.works(1)Nature——his first book expressing the main principle of Transcendentalism. It is regarded as―American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence‖(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet(3)Self-Reliance(4)Each and All(5)Rhodora3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the ―oversoul‖.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by ―the infinitude of man‖.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himselfby making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself.老尹：(1)the transcendence of the Oversoul. His Nature records his ―moment of ecstasy‖, the moment of losing one’s individuality.(2)the infinitude of man and human perfectibility. Emerson believes that the possibilities for man to develop and improve himself are infinite.(3)nature as symbolic of God. In the eyes of Emerson,―nature is the vehicle of thought,‖ and ―particular natural facts are symbols of particular spiritual facts‖.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon Americanauthors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.How important is Emerson in history?He embodied a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period.His aesthetics marked the birth of true American poetry.He called for an independent culture, which representedthe desire of the whole nation to develop a culture of its own.His reputation declined somewhat in recent years because of his cheerful optimism.Washington Irving（华盛顿·欧文）1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the oldworld(3)father of American literature2.life作家3.works(1) A History of New York 《纽约外史》(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. 《见闻札记》）(He won a measure of international recognition with the publication of this.)(3)The History of the Life and Voyages ofChristopher Columbus《哥伦布传》(4) A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada《攻克格拉纳达》(5)The Alhambra《阿尔罕伯拉》4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageJames Fenimore Cooper（詹姆斯·费尼莫尔·库柏）1.life (―father of American novelists‖; the creation of the west frontier and its heroes)2.works(1)The Precaution (《戒备》（1820, his first novel,imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy 《间谍》(his second novel and greatsuccess)(3)Leather stocking Tales 皮袜子故事集(hismasterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie3.point of viewThe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law,order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature.Benjamin Franklin1.life (printer, enlightener, inventor, scientist, statesman, diplomat)2.works(1)Poor Richard’s Almanac(2)Autobiography——form: the first autobiography of Americanmeaning: American dream & individualismself-improvement; business (contents); prototype of American success (significance); Puritanism and enlightenment spirits3.contribution(3)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(4)He was called ―the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case) from heaven‖.(5)Everything seems to meet in this one man –―Jack of all trades‖. Herman Melville thus described him ―master of each and mastered by none‖.(6)Aid Jefferson in writing The Declaration of IndependenceThomas Paine托马斯·潘恩1.father of the American Revolution2.propagandist, pamphleteer, a master of persuasion who understands the power of language to move a man to action3.main works:(1)The American Crisis(2)Common Sense(3)The Right of Man(4)The Age of ReasonPoetry:1.Genre:Narrative Poetry 叙事诗Epic Poetry 史诗Dramatic Poetry 戏剧诗Satirical Poetry 讽刺诗Lyric Poetry 抒情诗2.Basic Elements of Poetry:(1)R hythm: the beat created by the sounds of the poem(2)Meter: a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllablesa)Foot: unit of meter 有几个重音就有几个footb)Types of Feet: Iambic——unstressed, stressed抑扬格（最常见）Trochaic——扬抑格Anapestic——抑抑扬格Dactylic——扬抑抑格Kinds of Metrical lines: monometer (1 foot on a line), dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, octameter(3)Rhyme3.Free Verse Poetry:(1)D oes not have repeating patterns of stressed & unstressed syllables(2)Very conversational: sounds like someone talking with you(3) A modern type of poetry: does not have rhyme4.Blank Verse Poetry:Written in lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter but does not use end rhymeUnrhymed iambic pentameter5.End Rhyme尾韵: a word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line6.Alliteration头韵: consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words7.Consonance一致: similar to alliteration except the repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words8.Internal Rhyme: in the same line9.Figures of speech修辞: simile明喻, metaphor暗喻，隐喻, personification拟人, onomatopoeia拟声, parallelism排比, allusion引喻。
美国文学期末复习资料
美国文学期末复习资料美国文学作为一个重要的学科，涉及的内容很广，题材也很多。
为了帮助大家更好地进行期末复习，本文将为大家提供一些有用的资料和复习方法。
一、美国文学的历史概述美国文学的历史可以分为几个时期：殖民时期、启蒙时期、浪漫主义时期、现实主义时期、自然主义时期、现代主义时期等。
每个时期都有不同的题材和文学流派，需要我们进行详细的了解和掌握。
二、重要的美国文学作品在美国文学中，有很多重要的作品，如《飘》、《百年孤独》、《了不起的盖茨比》、《老人与海》、《麦田里的守望者》等。
这些作品的作者都是文学史上的巨匠，他们的作品对之后的文学创作产生了很大的影响，也是重要的考题。
三、主要的美国文学流派美国文学中有很多流派，如现代主义、后现代主义、现实主义、自然主义、浪漫主义等。
每个流派都有不同的特点和代表作品，需要我们对其进行深入的了解，从而更好地掌握美国文学的发展历程。
四、美国文学中的重要人物美国文学历史上有很多重要的人物，如沃尔特·惠特曼、马克·吐温、欧内斯特·海明威、海伦·凯勒等。
这些人物都是文学史上的重要人物，他们的作品对于美国文学的发展产生了深远的影响。
五、复习方法在复习美国文学的时候，我们可以采取以下几种方法：1. 将美国文学的历史概述、重要作品、主要流派、重要人物等内容进行系统的总结，形成属于自己的笔记。
2. 阅读相关作品，在了解作品的同时，结合自己的理解，形成自己的见解和思考。
3. 参加相关讲座和研讨会，向专业人士请教，深入了解美国文学的相关知识和技能。
4. 做好考试的准备，根据历年考题，进行模拟练习，找到自己的薄弱环节，进行针对性的复习。
总之，在进行美国文学的复习时，我们需要深入了解相关内容，同时养成良好的阅读习惯和思考习惯，不断加强对美国文学的理解和掌握，从而有效提高自己的成绩。
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Ⅲ. 重要作家及作品Nathanial Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔·霍桑)1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun(5)The Blithedale Romance(6)―Rappaccini’s Daughter‖(7)―The Birth-ma rk‖(8)―Young Goodman Brown‖3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life, ―that blackness in Hawthorne‖(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic美学的ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity.To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows tofruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was thepredestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend: That was whatHawthorne had in mind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teacha lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the worldof uncertainty – multiple point of view6.Hawthorne’s Literary View:(1)He repeatedly complains about ―the poverty of materials‖ in America.(2)He believes that romance is the predestined form of American narrative. He makes a distinction between novel and r omance in his Preface to ―The House of the Seven Gables‖.(3)He is haunted by his sense of sin and evil in life, therefore we see ―black vision‖ in his works.7.―The Minister’s Black Veil‖:Parable: allegoryMr. Hooper: a Christ figure; moral ambiguitythe veil: a symbol of sin, separationthemes: isolation of the individual from society; guilt of sinThe Scarlet Letter, （adultery）1.About the story:(1)The story of Hester Prynne Set: the 17th century(2)What is situated immediately outside the door ofthe prison in which Hester is kept: A rosebush(3)How does Hester support herself financially: as aseamstress(4)She always wears: black(5)―A‖ represents: adultery2.Major characters in the story:(1)Hester Prynne: wears ―A‖; ―A‖ defines her identity(2)Arthur Dimmesdale: wears ―A‖ in his heart; hissoul never in peace (invisible wearer)(3)Roger Chillingworth: the maker of scarlet letter(4)Pearl: the p roduct/result of ―A‖3.Symbolism: (special movement in literature; the use of symbols)In ―The Scarlet Letter‖:(1)The rosebush: passion(2)The forest: an ungovernable place(3)The scarlet letter: adultery; sin(4)Pearl: wildness; passion(5)The meteor: community4.Refuse to take off ―A‖:(1)For Hester, to remove scarlet letter would be toacknowledge the power it has in determining who she is(2)She is determined to transform its meaning andher identity(3)She wants to be the one who controls its meaning(4)She stands as a self-appointed reminder of theevils society can commitYoung Goodman Brown1. Psychological interpretation——Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychology):(1)superego——consciousness——the principle ofmorality 超我(2)ego——subconsciousness——the principle ofreality 自我(3)id——unconsciousness——the principle of pleasure本我Brown’s journey is psychological as well as physical:Village, a place of light and order——Forest, a place of darkness and wildnessconsciousness——unconsciousnessvillage——superego——FaithBrown——egoforest——id——SatanHawthorne saw the dangers of an overactive suppression of libido and the consequent development of tyrannous superego.2. Men, Women, and the loss of Faith:Despite the literary sexism of his day, Hawthorne portrays women as powerful moral agents.Although Faith is not a three-dimensional character, the story centers on her husband’s rejection of her. Women are victimized.Women——angle in the house——do not have desires, rights and needsFallen women——prostitutes, witches, and mad womenFaith to Brown is female sexuality; Satan to Brown is patriarchal authority3. Female images:Innocents vs. Temptresses:(1)Governor’s wife, Goody Cloyse, prostitutes,maidens, witches, Quaker women, Faith(2)Sex is seen as alluring and dangerous(3)Brown is an empty and failed husband and fatherHerman Melville (赫尔曼·麦尔维尔)1.life2.works(1)Typee 《泰皮》(2)Omio 《殴穆》(3)Mardi 《玛地》(4)Redburn 《雷德本》(5)White Jacket 《白外衣》(6)Moby Dick 《白鲸》(7)Pierre 《皮埃尔》(8)Billy Budd 《比利·巴德》3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of ―Everlasting Nay‖ (negative attitude towards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique ofmultiple view of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic powerhave been profusely commented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters offactual background or description of what goes on board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick)Moby Dick《白鲸》：Moby-Dick, often considered the greatest American novel, is a masterpiece with many layers. It is a sea adventure, an exciting chase after a destructive and mysterious creature. The enormous white whale Moby-Dick torments Captain Ahab, who is obsessed with finding and killing Moby-Dick, having lost a leg in a previous encounter with the whale, and Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really is the center of the story. At the novel’s end, Ahab finds and attacks Moby-Dick, but the terrible whale takes Ahab, his ship Pequod, and nearly all its crew down to a watery grave with him.1. An encyclopedia of everythingA Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates (extreme individualism)2. Image of ship: ship on the sea is the human soul search the meaning in the universe.3. Purpose——noble: he think Moby Dick as an evilHero: he is a hero but not a traditional hero (he does not stand for goodness); a villain hero4. Byronic hero (create by Byron): mad, bad, dangerous to know, obsessive——rebellions: challenge the authority; unconventional; right the wrongSatanic: revengeful; rebellious; the fight between God & Satan5. The Pequod——a symbol of doom(named after a native American tribe in Massachusetts; did not long survived of white men(extincted); is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones)The sailors are of different ethics——all people in American (individual)Queequeg’s Coffin——life boat; life6. Theme of Moby Dick:(1)Melville’s bleak view (negative attitude) the senseof futility and meaninglessness of the world. His attitude to life is ―Everlasting Nay‖. Man in this universe lives ameaningless and futility.The adventure of killing Moby Dick is meaningless. Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his doom.Modern life——the loss of faith, the sense of futility——well expressed in Moby Dick(2)Alienation (far away from each other): exists between man & man, man & society, and man & nature.(3)Loneliness and suicidal individualism——the basic pattern of 19th century American life(individualism causing disaster and death)——Moby Dick isa negative reflection upon Transcendentalism.(4)Rejection and quest:Voyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and valuesHenry David Thoreau （亨利·戴维·梭罗）1.life2.works(1) A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River康《科德河和梅里麦克河上的一个星期》(2)Walden《瓦尔登湖》(3)Civil Disobedience 《论公民的不服从权利，又译作消极反抗》(4)Life Without Principle3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nature as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)―Simplicity…simplify!‖(7)He was sorely disgusted with ―the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society‖.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.WaldenEdgar Allen Poe (埃德加·爱伦·坡)I.Life诗人、小说家和文学评论家II.Works(1)Ms Found in a BottleThe Purloined LetterThe Fall of the House of UsherThe Masque of the Red DeathAnnabel LeeTo HelenSonnet—To ScienceThe Raven(2)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death –predominant theme in Poe’s writing―Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.‖2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.Aesthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. He calls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to readVI.Reputation: ―the jingle man‖ (Emerson)VII.His influencesWalt Whitman(沃尔特·惠特曼)1.life诗人、人文主义者2.work: Leaves of Grass 草叶集(9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic Vistas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –―Catalogue of American and European thought‖He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts: enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things and beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death, beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations inthe world)pursuit of love and happiness4.style: ―free verse‖(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun ―I‖(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever schoolor form, bears witness to his great influence.Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫·华尔多·爱默生)1.life (American philosopher, poet and essayist; the most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism)2.works(1)Nature——his first book expressing the main principle of Transcendentalism. It is regarded as―American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence‖(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet(3)Self-Reliance(4)Each and All(5)Rhodora3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the ―oversoul‖.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by ―the infinitude of man‖.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himselfby making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself.老尹：(1)the transcendence of the Oversoul. His Nature records his ―moment of ecstasy‖, the moment of losing one’s individuality.(2)the infinitude of man and human perfectibility. Emerson believes that the possibilities for man to develop and improve himself are infinite.(3)nature as symbolic of God. In the eyes of Emerson,―nature is the vehicle of thought,‖ and ―particular natural facts are symbols of particular spiritual facts‖.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon Americanauthors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.How important is Emerson in history?He embodied a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period.His aesthetics marked the birth of true American poetry.He called for an independent culture, which representedthe desire of the whole nation to develop a culture of its own.His reputation declined somewhat in recent years because of his cheerful optimism.Washington Irving（华盛顿·欧文）1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the oldworld(3)father of American literature2.life作家3.works(1) A History of New York 《纽约外史》(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. 《见闻札记》）(He won a measure of international recognition with the publication of this.)(3)The History of the Life and Voyages ofChristopher Columbus《哥伦布传》(4) A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada《攻克格拉纳达》(5)The Alhambra《阿尔罕伯拉》4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageJames Fenimore Cooper（詹姆斯·费尼莫尔·库柏）1.life (―father of American novelists‖; the creation of the west frontier and its heroes)2.works(1)The Precaution (《戒备》（1820, his first novel,imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy 《间谍》(his second novel and greatsuccess)(3)Leather stocking Tales 皮袜子故事集(hismasterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie3.point of viewThe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law,order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature.Benjamin Franklin1.life (printer, enlightener, inventor, scientist, statesman, diplomat)2.works(1)Poor Richard’s Almanac(2)Autobiography——form: the first autobiography of Americanmeaning: American dream & individualismself-improvement; business (contents); prototype of American success (significance); Puritanism and enlightenment spirits3.contribution(3)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(4)He was called ―the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case) from heaven‖.(5)Everything seems to meet in this one man –―Jack of all trades‖. Herman Melville thus described him ―master of each and mastered by none‖.(6)Aid Jefferson in writing The Declaration of IndependenceThomas Paine托马斯·潘恩1.father of the American Revolution2.propagandist, pamphleteer, a master of persuasion who understands the power of language to move a man to action3.main works:(1)The American Crisis(2)Common Sense(3)The Right of Man(4)The Age of ReasonPoetry:1.Genre:Narrative Poetry 叙事诗Epic Poetry 史诗Dramatic Poetry 戏剧诗Satirical Poetry 讽刺诗Lyric Poetry 抒情诗2.Basic Elements of Poetry:(1)R hythm: the beat created by the sounds of the poem(2)Meter: a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllablesa)Foot: unit of meter 有几个重音就有几个footb)Types of Feet: Iambic——unstressed, stressed抑扬格（最常见）Trochaic——扬抑格Anapestic——抑抑扬格Dactylic——扬抑抑格Kinds of Metrical lines: monometer (1 foot on a line), dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, octameter(3)Rhyme3.Free Verse Poetry:(1)D oes not have repeating patterns of stressed & unstressed syllables(2)Very conversational: sounds like someone talking with you(3) A modern type of poetry: does not have rhyme4.Blank Verse Poetry:Written in lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter but does not use end rhymeUnrhymed iambic pentameter5.End Rhyme尾韵: a word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line6.Alliteration头韵: consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words7.Consonance一致: similar to alliteration except the repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words8.Internal Rhyme: in the same line9.Figures of speech修辞: simile明喻, metaphor暗喻，隐喻, personification拟人, onomatopoeia拟声, parallelism排比, allusion引喻。