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.life

2.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 to

fruition.

(2)He was convinced that romance was the

predestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yet not 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 view

6.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: allegory

Mr. Hooper: a Christ figure; moral ambiguity

the veil: a symbol of sin, separation

themes: isolation of the individual from society; guilt of sin

The 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: adultery

2.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