美国文学佳作欣赏—— 小说

Fiction(小说) novel, storybooks and stories about imaginative people and events Fiction: invention, imaginationFictional, fictitious(invented, not real)1.Plot: What happened?------the arrangement of events that make up a story------a sequence of incidents that bear significant causal relationship to each other.Exposition (background inf, character introduction) Complication (intensification, rising actions)Crisis (moment of great tension), crisis (turning point)resolution(denouement)Why attracted or delighted by plot?(intriguing, intense mystery stories; detective stories)----The writer controls our emotional responses by plot, varying the tempo, preparing us reversals and surprises.----The events are ordered with a view to both the overall meaning and the responses of the readers2.Character: What happened to them?----imaginary peopleWhile reading, we identify with them; we judge them1) major and minor character (role )hero, heroine; protagonist, antagonist2) dynamic and static character (development, change)3) Flat character and round character(content of character)扁平人物: one-dimesional; who represents a single characteristic, trait or idea; type character; sometimes distorted tocreate humor, as caricatures单一，突出，鲜明，某一性格特征始终如一，稳定性极强。

单质，单向，单义，漫画式的夸张，某种性格的抽象化，对生活的超越和深层把握，具有典型意义。

圆形人物：multi-dimesional; who embodies a number of qualities and traits; complex characteres of considerableintellectual and emotional depth who have thecapacity to graow and change.丰满，复杂，立体感强，有稳定的性格轴心，又有不同的性格侧面，性格层次。

稳定而不凝固，流动感强，呈现多姿、多采、多面的立体形象。

阿Q，王熙凤，安娜卡列尼娜, HamletCHARACTERIZATION:----Narrative summary without judgment.----Narrative description with implied or explicit judgment.----Details of dress, physical appearance.----Action, what they do.----Speech, what they say.----Consciousness, what they think and feel3.Setting：When（time）；Where（place, location）---They provide backdrop for action, both make and keep the character real, enhance our understanding of character and embody theme.Setting helps the reader visualize the action of the work and thus adds credibility and an air of authenticity to the characters.---It reveals historical and cultural context.A Rose For Emily；Balzac; 贾平凹写实环境:现实主义, 详实展示世态人情,时尚风俗和时代社会的真实面貌.假托环境:比较符合生活的逻辑, 但又不确指,假托一个时代,地点. 比确指环境具有更深广的概括力, 是整个时代社会的缩影.虚幻环境: 超现实主义. 超出生活的形貌, 逻辑, 但在更高层次上映现深广的社会历史内容. 对现时生活形而上的概括4.Point of View : Narrative Voice(叙述视角, 叙述声音)Who is narrating the story?叙事者全知: 非聚焦third person, omniscient叙事者不受时空限制(神的叙事观点), 上下几千年,纵横几万里, 洞晓所有人的举动、言行、心理；适合写错综复杂的关系,时间悠长的渊源, 波澜壮阔的场面Little space for the reader.叙事者参与: 内聚焦first person “I”，真切，感染力叙事者观察: 外聚焦third person, limited omniscient 客观观察，描写容貌、表情、动作、语言、环境，不写内心世界，不作主观解释、评论。

真切可信，强烈，悬念，留有空间回味Much space for the reader.5.Symbolism: A key to extended meaningSomething that stands for something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance…a visible sign of something invisible.Universal (cultural)symbolsContexual (private) symbols6.Irony: A key to extended meaninga disparity between what is said and what is meant andbetween what is presented and what finally turns out to be.verbal irony: what is said is the opposite of what is meant.Situational irony: an incongruity between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is andwhat would seem appropriate.Dramatic irony: the reader to know more than a character in the story knows.7.Theme: Meaning and Message in FictionFor open interpretation: Multi-level; Multi-dimensionThe EggI.What egg tricks do you know?What egg story do you know?The-egg-and-hen puzzleThe egg story of Christopher Columbus II. A detailed analysis of the short story1.plot:What is the story?My father’s failure in hen-raising and restaurant business How is the story told?Reversed chronology of the story’s climactic incident. Suspense: great shocks2. characterFather: dynamic characterWhat kind of life does father lead in the beginning?Carefree; seemed to be happy and contentedThe end:Physical change: the bald headSpiritual change: insane, hysterical, frustrated, and desperateWhat does this change reveal?3. Who is telling the story? The narratorpoint of view of “the son”: How effective is the author’s using a young boy as the narrator (observer, witness)?The pshchological impact of the family failure on the child.Limited knowledge of the speaker —Great space for the readerSarcastic comments about middle class values and the American myth of success —“the passion for getting up in the world”?“In later life I have seen how a literature has been built up on the subject of fortunes to be made out of the raising of chickens. It is intended to be read by the gods who have just eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a hopeful literature and declares that much may be done by simple ambitious people who own a few hens. Do not be led astray by it. It was not written for you. Go hunt for gold on the frozen hills of Alaska, put your faith in the honesty of a politician, believe if you will that the world is daily growing better and that good will triumph over evil, but do not read and believe the literature that is written concerning the hen. It was not written for you”.4. the symbolic meaning of “the egg”“… my tale if correctly told will center on the egg”. What does the egg come to stand for in the context of the story?“the American passion for getting up in the world”“the American spirit”; “the American dream”“As he stood glaring at us I was sure he intended throwing the egg at either mother or me. Then he laid it gently on the table beside the lamp and dropped on his knees beside mother's bed.”What is significant about the fact that the father lays the egg “gently” on the bedroom table?Epiphany (sudden realization) to life philosophy; peace again5. the theme of the story---The triumph of “the egg”, a family fooled, destroyed by “the egg”---the failure of a family in its dream of “rising in the world”---the frustration of a father who is bent on persuing“the American passion for getting up in the world”---the disillusionment of “the American dream”---contentment and peace in life6. the style---casual telling: simple, easy and almost conversational.---vivid showing: sences of action or details---sarcasm---thought-provoking humor6. About the authorSherwood Anderson (1876-1941)----a realistic writer of short story and novels----the first of America’s “psychological writers” who explored the motivations and frustrations of his fictional characters in terms of Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychology.His Point of View—He fought against industrialization and mechanization and found modern industrial life degrading, humiliating and disspiriting.—He wrote about lonely, sad people, deformed in their characters by frustrations imposed by their societies and environment.—He showed his sympathy for emotionally stunted people, who were the victims of modern existence.Major WorksWinesburg, Ohiohis most important work, combined short stories into a novel describing the lives of “grotesques”: emotionally deformed people)Poor Whitenovel: contrasted the harsh, dehumanizing advances of industrialization with the old, disappearing, harmony of the countrysideThe Triumph of the Egghis first collection of short storiesDark Laughernovel: idealized the life of Negroes in comparison with that of whites Beyond Desirenovel: described labour strugglesDeath In the Woodshis final collection of short storiesIII. Discussion Questions:1.The father was carefree and seemed to be contented with his life before he married. But afterward his life changed greatly. How? What does this contrast reveal?2.What effect is gained by reversing the chronology of the story’s climactic incident —of giving us the outcome before we are told about the events leading up to it? What is significant about the fact that the father lays the egg “gently” on the bedroom table?3.What does the narrator mean when he says that his story “if correctly told will center on the egg”? What does the egg come to stand for in the context of the story?4.What is the tone of the story? What comment does the story make about middle class values and the American myth of success —“the passion for getting up in the world”?5.How effective is the point of view of the story —using a young boy as the narrator (observer)?。