美国文学选读课后习题答案

合集下载

陶洁《美国文学选读》课后习题详解(本杰明 富兰克林)【圣才出品】

陶洁《美国文学选读》课后习题详解(本杰明 富兰克林)【圣才出品】

第1单元本杰明•富兰克林1. Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Key: Because that when he was young, he has “never had a pleasure in obtaining any anecdotes” of his ancestors, and he held that it was a great pity because he was curious about them. So, he thought that his son would also want to know the story of him and he himself also had responsibility to share it with his son. In addition, he thought that his experiences and success would give some useful advice to his son. With such consideration in mind, Franklin wrote his autobiography.2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?Key: The altercation between Franklin and his brother made him decide to leave. His brother considered himself as Franklin’s master and treated him harshly and tyrannically. This kind of treatment annoyed Franklin, so he decided to leave.3. How did he arrive in Philadelphia?Key: He arrived in Philadelphia with great difficulties. At the very start, he set out in a boat for Amboy, and in crossing the bay he, along with his companions, met with a squall that tore the rotten sails to pieces and drove him upon Long Island.On approaching the island, they had to drop anchor and swim out their cable towards the shore, etc. In a word, he went through many hardships on the way to Philadelphia.4. What features do you find in the style of the above selection?Key: This selection is written in the form of letters to his son. By this way, it can show the author’s honesty and frankness, which will make the reader stand close to him and actually feel and understand his emotions and experiences. Another feature is that this biography has a good narrative and reads like a story, which can arouse the readers’ reading interest and curiosity.。

陶洁《美国文学选读》(第2版)课后习题详解(第5单元赫尔曼

陶洁《美国文学选读》(第2版)课后习题详解(第5单元赫尔曼

陶洁《美国⽂学选读》(第2版)课后习题详解(第5单元赫尔曼5.2课后习题详解1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Key:Ishmael describes the appearance and mysteries of Moby Dick.He thinks that Moby Dick is not only ubiquitous but immortal.Many whalers want to haunt and conquer it,but no one can do that.When Moby Dick fights with men,it always can survive and recover from its wound and injuries.On the contrary,men are usually injured by it seriously.2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?Ishmael suggests that Ahab is“crazy”and calls him“a raving lunatic.”Do you agree with him?Why or why not?Key:Because that the white whale bit off one leg of Ahab,and he resolved to take revenge on it.I agree with Ishmael.Because,on the one hand,the white whale not only injured Ahab’s body,but also injured his mentality and self-respect.His torn body and gashed soul bled into one another,which made him mad.So,he becomes a raving lunatic whose only aim is to revenge.On the other hand,it seems mad to try to fight the forces of nature and God,symbolized by Moby Dick in this story.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?Key:Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.。

实用文档之陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案

实用文档之陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案

实用文档之"美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)"Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography? Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat droppedhim off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant. He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur(鉴赏)in wine. Un der the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find thatthe danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses? The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow andgloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character? Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick? Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”(狠毒)in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale. Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab i s “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3. What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portrayMoby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificentworld around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem? The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem? The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self? It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereasphysiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and hadnothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby neverrealized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light”Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not onlyrepresents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so thathe can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial ofGatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the caféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well-lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not? (1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphoricaldark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, hecared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground?Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference,coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by people. Thespeaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed ageand showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted to buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”.The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods on the shelf but the things which contain the world and individual spirits.There is a difference between Walt Whitman’s poetry and the successor’s poetry.。

陶洁版美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案

陶洁版美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案

陶洁版美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案 SANY标准化小组 #QS8QHH-HHGX8Q8-GNHHJ8-HHMHGN#美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分) Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestionsdid Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, heis taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat itmade Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about e ight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poeis the narrator What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is coveredin a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence. Through the acts, words, and thoughts ofFortunato,we know He is greedy,he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himselfon hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watchout for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were strong er than him. For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was goodat connoisseur(鉴赏) in wine.Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the dangerwas approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was anevil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character. We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his hear t was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorneis the prison the setting of Chapter 1No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilizedlifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlastman's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.has happened to HesterAs a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them. How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melvilleare the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale. He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time andthat he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an“intelligent malignity”(狠毒) in his attacks on mendoes Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, andhe pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him Why or why no t?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3. What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreauindeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.Thoreau ever bought a farm Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn’t see the acqu isition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning ofregeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of thisselectionUnit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and songThe arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them againHe finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poemThe images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poemThe speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to deathWe should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28). The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's selfIt is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride,totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poemIn this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poemLife is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sadThey welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie In what sense can one really do itSome grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairieThe prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanzaAnyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poemThe real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody" Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think is so eager to tell these storiesFrom ’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these , when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about , he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And durin g the process oftelling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, even didn't notice it andstill asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories No. the audience does not show any interest in ’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of thelistener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understandit. So after the long time of ’ solo narration and when the audiencegot a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor Why How do you interpret their interactionsThe narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the thingslike ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go onseparately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgeraldyou think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great” Why(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves tobe ―great‖ or one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn moneyand social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖ than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.“the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality Why or why not(1)I think ―the green light‖ does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely vis ible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy b ack is doomed to be impossible. Daisy livedin ―a material world without being real, where poor ghost s, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. Thedistinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does itcreate in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all theactivities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story (1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the café in the text. The café was very clean and well- lighted. From the literarymeaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical darkWhy or why not (1)I don’t think our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that hedidn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it Tennessee seems to a placefull of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice Which one is moredestructive Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening The poet was deeply attracted by thenatural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty He realized that it was late at night and he wouldhave to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and hefeels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publicationof Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that thelack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation.Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”.What he wanted to buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images What herefers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young Americawhich is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods on the shelf but the things which contain the world and individual spirits.There is a difference between Walt Whitman’s poetry and the successor’s poetry.The former poetry focused on the point of the combing of the poetry and the real world. It extended the full of fruit of the history through he understood the meaning of lives living on earth.The latter’s poetry showed that the nature of material has been deprived from the former world. Our moral and spirit has become the goods in the supermarket or the desire in every family in the capitalism nations. Allen Ginsberg recalled the dream of poetry and moral in Walt Whitman’s age.In this poem, Allen Ginsberg imaged Walt Whitman passing through the death to come to the age which was so called the Golden Age of America.。

美国文学

美国文学

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen PoeQuestions1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur(鉴赏)in wine. Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montreso r’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and ―kind‖ businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel HawthorneQuestions :1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their ―Utopia,‖ for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a ―sweet moral blossom‖ or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the ―sin‖ and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present ―realities,‖ she takes them as they are rather thanresisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman MelvilleQuestions1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an ―intelligent malignity‖(狠毒)in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is ―crazy‖and call him ―a raving lunatic.‖ Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David ThoreauQuestions1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of lif e to bean exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word ―Captain‖ specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States. 2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody. Unit 8 Mark TwainQuestions1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he ― backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then s at down and reeled off the narrative‖. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.Question2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feveris h about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understa nd it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.Question3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions? The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light”Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely vis ible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope a nd bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghost s, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line ―He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,‖ what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. B oth of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the caféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not? (1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. ―Slovenly,‖ ―sprawl‖ and ―wild‖ are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more ―grassy,‖ which implies that it is less traveled by pe ople. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is ―free verse‖ in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence ―shopping for images‖. What he wanted t o buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---―dreaming of your enumerations‖. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsber g dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and。

陶洁版美国文学选读

陶洁版美国文学选读

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1. Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2. What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3. How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped himoff about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eightor nine o 'clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the MarketStreet wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, andconcision( 言简意赅). The narrative is lucid( 易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely( 朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1. Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress? Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2. What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar? He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3. What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4. Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn 't tolerate that others were strongerthan him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur (鉴赏)in wine.Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor 's terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn 't find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn 't realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well- educated and “kind ” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even madepeople tremble. Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character. Wecouldn 't see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1. Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia, ” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, whichputs heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin —the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder ofNature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom ” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2. Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of menand women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3. What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and hersecrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin ” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities, ” she takes them as they arerather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville1. What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin. In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth. Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an“intelligent malignity ”(狠毒)in his attacks on men2. Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale? First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale. Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy ”and call him “a raving lunatic. ” Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Ishmael describes Ahab as madin his narration, and it doesindeed seem madto try to fight the forces of nature or God.3. What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1. Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at aspiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson's property.2. Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn 't.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn 't see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth ofJuly as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration atWalden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4. How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow …1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen bythe speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk ofa tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as muchas possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led toovercome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28). The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1) One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which istypical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy? Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"? He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totallydifferent from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain ” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.3. Whydo people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3. Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. W hat things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"? Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The"pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poemand the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty commonpeople, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons. Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler 's behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed meinto a corner and blockaded mewith his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative ”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler ' stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing todo with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler ' solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour commonsense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F • Scott Fitzgerald1. Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great ” ? Why? (1 )I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsbydeserves to be —great II or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn moneyand social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy 's attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much —greater I than hiscontemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn 't the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn ' t sober enough to be great.Gatsby believed in exist in2. Does “ the green lightreality? Why or why not(1) I think —the green light || does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy ' s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby's unattainable dream. Although thecolor itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby's quest for Daisy back is doomedto be impossible. Daisy lived in —a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air| .( 2) After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby' s dream would not come true.In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history- his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3. What does Gatsby 's Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby 's determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal —to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class manso that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important ,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby's romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4. When you read the line “He (the manwith owl -eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in , ” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel ' s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. Hefeels sympathy for Gatsby 's tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg ' s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people 's life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. Howdo you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title —A Clean Well-Lighted Place || refers to thecaf e in the text. The caf e was very clean and well-lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warmand comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort. (2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go homeearly. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This cafe shouldbe warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark ?Whyor why not? (1)I don't think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one's inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never madefull use of them. As we can see, he didn 't understand the old man ' s suicide and excessive drinking,and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man' s present situation.(2)What's more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, whichcannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn ' t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors.In fact, we need someother factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3. The older waiter said to the younger waiter: “ We are of two different kinds. ” In what way do you think they are different? (1)I think they are different from each other in the following fouraspects :In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. Fromthe article, weknow the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go homeearly so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old manto leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future. (4)Finally, they have different attitudestowards nada. The older waiter had realized that it isimpossible to avoid nada in one 's whole life. The onlything he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada.On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn 't realize the nada in his heartat all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"? These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poemsymbolize? Whydoes the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. Whena new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. Howdid the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly, ” “sprawl ” and “wild ” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4. Robert Frost (1)Fire and Ice 1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem?Fire symbolizes natural disaster, humanpassion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of humanbeings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of humanbeings. Therefore weshould be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2) Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy, ” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one andfull of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?---- f rom Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poemwanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As weall know, Walt Whitman's poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted to buy is the things wh ich were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. Howcan we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations ”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman's poetry. The language in Walt Whitman's poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman's work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or therace opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods on the shelf but the things which contain the world and。

陶洁《美国文学选读》笔记和课后习题(含考研真题)详解(斯蒂芬克莱恩)【圣才出品】

陶洁《美国文学选读》笔记和课后习题(含考研真题)详解(斯蒂芬克莱恩)【圣才出品】

陶洁《美国⽂学选读》笔记和课后习题(含考研真题)详解(斯蒂芬克莱恩)【圣才出品】第10单元斯蒂芬?克莱恩10.1 复习笔记I. Introduction to author(作者简介)1. Life(⽣平)Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.斯蒂芬·克莱恩是美国⼩说家、短篇⼩说家、诗⼈、记者。

他在短暂的⼀⽣中著作颇丰,在现实主义传统下写了许多著名作品,也成为美国⾃然主义和印象主义的早期范例。

他被当代批评家认为是同时代最具有创意的作家。

2. Major Works(主要作品)Maggie: A Girl of the Street (1893) 《街头⼥郎麦姬》The Red Badge of Courage (1895) 《红⾊英勇勋章》“The Open Boat” (1897) 《海上扁⾈》The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky (1898)《新娘来到黄天镇》The Blue Hotel (1898) 《蓝⾊旅店》Ⅱ. Selected works(选读作品)◆The Open Boat《海上扁⾈》This story is based on Crane’s personal experiences. While traveling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent during the Cuban insurrection against Spain, Crane was stranded at sea after his ship the Commodore sank off the coast of Florida. Stephen Crane and three others endured the rage of the sea for thirty hours. Billy Higgins a friend of Cranes drowned while swimming to shore. This realistic story of their life-threatening ordeal captures the emotions of four men in a fight against nature.Th e most significant aspect of this struggle lies in the men’s attempts to help one another survive when they are confronted with danger and disaster.故事取材于克莱恩真实的个⼈经历。

(完整word版)美国文学选读 第三版 课后习题答案 陶洁

(完整word版)美国文学选读 第三版 课后习题答案 陶洁

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen PoeQuestions1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur(鉴赏)in wine. Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montreso r’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel HawthorneQuestions :1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather thanresisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman MelvilleQuestions1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”(狠毒)in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David ThoreauQuestions1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of lif e to bean exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States. 2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody. Unit 8 Mark TwainQuestions1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then s at down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.Question2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feveris h about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understa nd it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.Question3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions? The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light”Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely vis ible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope a nd bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghost s, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. B oth of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the caféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not? (1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by pe ople. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted t o buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsber g dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and。

陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案.doc

陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案.doc

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Streetwharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection? It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress? Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others werestronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur(鉴赏)in wine.Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montreso r’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming. Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate? It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying toatone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick? Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth. Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”(狠毒)in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale? First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale. Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3. What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter? In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and ata spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginningof regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song? The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death? We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"? He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down a nd reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted toleave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to bekind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizingthat his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light”Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope a nd bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’snumerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. B oth of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the caf éin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not? (1)I don’t thinkso.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is imp ossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing hecan do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certainperspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was lateat night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. Tofollow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted t o buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods on the shelf but the things which contain the world and individual spirits.。

陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案之欧阳文创编

陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案之欧阳文创编

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography? Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed? His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia? First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection? It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe 1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar? He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine. Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end? He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts? Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives. The color schemes here represent the irony ofFortunato's death sentence. Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado. This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine. At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance. When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant. He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him. For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur(鉴赏) in wine. Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap. In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him. He looked down upon Montresor and others. He didn’t realize his foolishness until t he deathwas coming. Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman. He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person. His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble. Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character. We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark. It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ? No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine,which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her. The second paragraph on page 30. The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them. How does this tell us about her character? Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville 1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick? Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale. He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin. In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth. Whales, for instance, have been known to travel withremarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”(狠毒) in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil. Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter? In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau 1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level? He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying? No, he hadn’t. He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificentworld around us. He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is. Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States. Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden. It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem? The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem? The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listenercouldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖ or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖ does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and goldenfuture always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream isdestined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes? (1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. TheOwl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖ refers to the café in the text. The café was very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that thebusiness was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not? (1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’trealize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean andwell-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On thecontrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order ofthe old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middleof the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more“grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in Americanliterature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of G rass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted to buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of langu ages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsbergfound the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods on the shelf but the things which contain the world and individual spirits.There is a difference between Walt Whitman’s poetry and the successor’s poetry.The former poetry focused on the point of the combing of the poetry and the real world. It extended the full of fruit of the history through he understood the meaning of lives living on earth.The latter’s poetry showed that the nature of material has been deprived from the former world. Our moral and spirit has become the goods in the supermarket or the desire in every family in the。

(完整word版)美国文学选读课后习题答案(word文档良心出品)

(完整word版)美国文学选读课后习题答案(word文档良心出品)
3.What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair witha Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?
3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth ofJuly as the day on which he began to stay in the woods?Why?
Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known asIndependence Day,the birthdayofthe United States.HereThoreau uses the day to express his beginningof regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of hisconquest of being.
This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life. What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.

陶洁版美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案解析

陶洁版美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案解析

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.W hy did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.W hat made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his wholelife .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.H ow did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reachedBurlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eightor nine o 'clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at theMarket Street wharf.selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision( 言简意赅 ). The narrative islucid( structure is simple, the imagery is homely(Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1. W ho is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2. W hat is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.4.What features do you find inthe style of the above易懂的 ), the 朴素的 ).Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.W hat happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.D escribe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor andFortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of??Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn 't tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur (鉴赏)in wine.Under the i mpulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor terrible trap. In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn 't find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn 't realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was awell- educated and “kind ” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But infact,he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even madepeople tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.Wecouldn 't see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead,his heart was cold anddark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evilvalley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies maybe, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery intheir “Utopia, ” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin — the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prisonbuilding to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale,some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2. D escribe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of menand women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3. W hat has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar,it will provide either asweet moral blossom ” or else he says,attitudeChillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth toPearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin ” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her presentrealities, ” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as ancapable. It is the extraordinarycircumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville1. W hat are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard theseorigin.at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus,intelligent, attacks as havingan intelligent, even supernaturalIn particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggestingthat he can be in more than oneplacesome withit is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an“intelligent malignity ”(狠毒) in his attacks on men2. W hy does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale , because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is Do you agree with him? Why or why not?3. What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter? In the selected charpter, Melville employed of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dickto achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreaucrazy ”and call himraving lunatic.” Ishmael describesAhab as madin his narration, and itdoesindeed seem madto try to fight the forces of nature or God. the technique1.W here indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged toEmerson's property.2.H ad Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn 't.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn 't see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be anexploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth ofJuly as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of??regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.H ow could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1)I Shot an Arrow1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2.In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3.What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2)A Psalm of Life1.What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as muchas possible in the short span of life.2.According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3.Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3.What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3)O Captain! My Captain!1.W hy is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the wordCaptain ” specially refers toAbraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2.What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3.Whydo people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2)Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3.Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3)I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The"pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poemand the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line28).It Implies the vain and empty commonpeople, whoare alwaysadmiring and pursuing thecelebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers tothisquestion. Personally, I prefer to benobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tellthesestories?From Mr.Wheeler 's behaviors and contents of his narrationwe can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when"I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley,hebacked meinto a corner and blockaded mewith his chair,and then sat down and reeled off the narrative ”. And duringthe process of telling his stories, he never paid anyattention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest inMr.Wheeler ' stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler ' solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the thingslike ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour commonsense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark TwainUnit 14 F • Scott Fitzgerald1.D o you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great ”Why?1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn moneyand social position; he threwluxurious parties just to draw Daisy ' s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.deserves to be ― great or not.For one thing, Gatsby was2 ) In this respect, he is much ― greater than hiscontemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn 't the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn t sober enough to be great.2. D oes “the green light ” Gatsby believed in exist inreality? Why or why not ?unattainable dream. Although the seen as hopeand bright future,Gatsby 's quest for Daisy back is doomedto beimpossible.Daisy lived in — a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air2) After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracleDaisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby ' s dream would not come true.In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but alsoDaisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge.As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3. W hat does Gatsby 's Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream? 1)I think ― the green lightdoes not exist in reality. Because the green lightwhich situated at the end of Daisy ' s East Egg dock andbarely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby 's color itself can bemeans his longing for the history —his happy p ast with1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby's determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself inpursuit of his goal —to be an upper-class man.2) On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.3)He tries his best to make money and learns everythingrequired to be an upper-class manso that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important ,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar andsuperficial as others in her circle, she isunable to meets Gatsby's romantic fantasy. So his dreamis destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4. W hen you read the line “He (the manwith owl -eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in , ” what image s does it create in your mind, given the novel ' s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes? 1) From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. Hefeels sympathy for Gatsby 's tragedy.2) After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of"all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr.Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people 's life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved Dr.Eckleburg billboard with itshuge yellow spectacles ins eyes arespectator god. They watch all the activities of the Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingwaythe story?lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warmand comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go homeearly.Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the oldman. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This caf be warm but theyounger waiter forced the lonely and deafhumans.1. Howdo you interpret the irony of the titleafter reading(1) The title — A Clean Well-LightedPlacerefers to thecaf e in the text. The cafe was very clean and well-e shouldto leave without any sympathy. This is the irony ofthetitle.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstandthe metaphorical darkWhy or why not? ( 1) I don' tthinkso.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada ,nothing in one' s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he nevermadefull use of them. As we can see, he didn t understand the old man ' s suicide and excessive drinking, andfailedto see his tomorrow through the old man' s presentsituation.2)What's more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn ' t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstandinghis metaphorical dark.3) I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do canhelp to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one canbravely face the reality and overcome the nada withyouthand confidence. But they only serve as two mainfactors.In fact, we need someother factors such as courage, dignityand so on if we want to withstand the metaphoricaldarksuccessfully.3.The older waiter said to the youngerWe are of waiter:two different kinds. ” In what way do you think they are different?1)I think they are different from each other inthefollowing four aspects :In the beginning, they are indifferent ages.The older waiter was in his middleage;while the other was much younger.2) Then, they have different attitudes towards theoldman. From the article, weknow the older waiter had suffereda lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place inhis heart, and he could understand the old man and showsympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish.He wanted to go homeearly so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old manto leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.3) Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was braveandwanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others.The younger one was totally different; he has a shadowunderstanding of life. He satisfied with his presentloveand work, he only care about himself and was reluctanttotake others into consideration. He even never thoughtofhis future. (4)Finally, they have differentattitudestowards nada. The older waiter had realized that itisimpossible to avoid nada in one 's whole life. The onlything he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in hisownmind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old manand was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. Butout of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada.On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn 't realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidstthedrizzlingrain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petalsreferto the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poemsymbolize? Whydoes the speakerplace it on top of a hill? The jar heresymbolizes acertain perspective on looking at this world. If theperspective of the viewing is creative and unique, itwill change the conventional order of the old world. Whena newperspective comes out, it will certainly holdattentionfrom therest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaningthatit has a stately importance. What effect does it haveonsurroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the roundjar assumes the air of a domineering figure, whichhelpsto form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. Howdid the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? Whatwords or phrases does the poet use to describe it?Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy.Slovenly, ” “sprawl ” and “wild ” are some of the wordsused to describe the place. (See Anecdote of theJar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire andIce1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem?Fire symbolizes natural disaster, humanpassion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also greatfordestruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of humanbeings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which oneismore destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy thisbeautiful world if they are beyond control of humanbeings. Therefore weshould be open-minded and reduce our prejudiceand pride so as to keep this world inpeace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that madethespeaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet wasdeeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2.Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3.Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4.What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines?The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1.What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2.Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except oneof them is more “grassy, ” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3.What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind?One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties.To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road forhimself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives. Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to WaltWhitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modernAmerica?from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poemwanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, WaltWhitman's poetry was a revolution inAmerican literature can be seen in the firstpublicationof Leaves of Grass in 1855. His po etry is “free verse ”in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as hismajortechnical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highlypraiseon him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsbergused poetry as weapon to express his own understanding ofBeat---beatific and beatdown.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted to buy is the things which werelisted by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in thesupermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit theneedsof customers and the families. We across a strangestatement: shopping for images. Howcan we shop for images?dreaming What he refers to us is still the pureimage---of your enumerations ”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman's poetry. The languagein Walt Whitman's poetry and the spirit in his poetry arethe things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young Americawhich is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman' s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation orthe。

陶洁《美国文学选读》课后习题详解(19世纪美国诗人)【圣才出品】

陶洁《美国文学选读》课后习题详解(19世纪美国诗人)【圣才出品】

第7单元19世纪美国诗人“I Shot an Arrow”1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?Key: Because that the arrow flew so swiftly and the song was invisible and no one had so knee and strong sight to catch them, he lost sight of his arrow and song.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?Key: After a long, long time, he found the arrow still unbroken in an oak, and the song, from beginning to end, in the heart of a friend. They were both well-preserved after a very long time.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?Key: Arrow and song stand for friendship, affections and true sentiments towards friends in this poem.“A Psalm of Life”1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?Key: The speaker of the poem is an optimistic person. He loves life and is enthusiastic about life. He is encouraging and invigorative. He encourages those who encountered hardships and were suffering. He is also a doer who always actsrather than yearns for future and makes plan for it. He knows that a person should “be up and doing, with a heart for any fate” and keep achieving and pursuing, and learning to labor and wait.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?Key: According the poem, “life is real, life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal.” Although we go towards death every day, it is not our destination, for the aim of life of ours is to pursue, achieve and improve ourselves. That is, “but to act, that each tomorrow / Find us farther than today.” So, we should“Be a hero in the strife” and “act in the living present!”3. Interpret the metaphor of “Footprints on the sand of time” (line 28).Key: “The sand of time”refers to the lifetime of a man. If a man has done nothing and achieved nothing, his whole life would be empty and worthless. There was no any “footprints”. “Footprints on the sand of time” refers a person’s traces of struggle and his ac hievement recognized by others.“Sonnet-To Science”1. What kind of image does science have in this poem?Key: According to the poem, science is “the daughter of Old Time” and changes all things with its “peering eyes”. It becomes formidable adversary toimagination and poetry, because it stops the poets’ wandering in the jeweled shies.2. According to Poe, what will a poet do, if he is free from the bondage of science? Key: If a poet is free from the bondage of science, he will wander in the jeweled skies to seek treasure, that is, writing materials, for his poems, and have the summer dream beneath the tamarind tree so as to send his imaginations fly.3. What might science deprive the speaker of?Key: Science might deprive the speaker of “wandering” and “the summer dream beneath the tamarind tree”, because science, like a vulture, preys “upon the poet’s heart” and it also ruins many beautiful legends. Science explains everything in a scientific way, leaving poets no place to imagine and wander. In the end, the speaker even cannot dream under the tamarind tree.“To Helen”1. Why does the poet compare Helen’s beauty to “those Nicean barks of yore”? Key: Because the poet thinks that Helen is a classical beauty and “those Nicean barks of yore” implies the same kind of beauty, which is gentle, dreamy and heart-shaking.2. What have brought the wayfaring speaker home?Key: Helen’s “hyacinth hair, classic face and Naiad airs” have brou ght the wayfaring speaker home.3. In what form does Helen appear in the final stanza? Why does she carry a lamp in her hands?Key: She stands “in yon brillia nt window-niche” like a statue.Because now, she appears in the incarnation of Psyche, who was very curious about his husband and carried a lamp to see him. And here, the poet reproduces the classic scene of the mythology so as to make Helen mysterious.One’s Self I Sing1. What is th e significance of singing about one’s, self?Key: Singing about one’s self is celebrating human beings’ individual spirit, which is typical of American people. This exaltation puts mankind at the first place and increases their confidence and self-esteem.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Key: Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of “the Modern Man”?Key: He means that “the Modern Man” should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one who is full of bias. The life of “the Modern Man” is full of passion, pulse and power, and people’s action are cheerful and freest under the divine laws.“O Captain! My Captain!”1. Why is the word “Captain” capitalized throughout the poem?Key: Because, in this poem, the word “Captain” especially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Key: The poet compares America to be the ship on the sea, and the sea symbolizes the Civil War of America. President, Abraham Lincoln, is compared to be the “Captain”, who is killed just before the victory.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring while the speaker remains so sad?Key: Because people on the shore welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.“To Make a Prairie”1. What things are needed to “make” a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Key: It needs grass and insects. One can really do it by imagination.2. How can “revery alone” create a prairie?Key: By imagination, everything on a prairie can come into our mind, and thus, we can create a prairie.“Success Is Counted Sweetest”1. W hy is success “counted sweetest by those who never succeed”?Key: Because those who never succeed have a strong desire to succeed and they think that being successful is the most meaningful and worthy thing that they pursue. For them, success is the most attractive goal and is counted sweetest.2. Who are “the purple host”?Key: “The purple host” refers to those so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is “he” in the last stanza?Key: “He” refers to anyo ne who is pursuing his success.“I’m Nobody!”1. Who are the “pair of us” and “they” in this poem?Key: The “pair of us” refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader. “They” refers to the public, especially those in power.。

陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案之欧阳地创编

陶洁版 美国文学选读_第三版_课后习题答案之欧阳地创编

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography? Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed? His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia? First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection? It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe 1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so hewanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar? He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine. Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end? He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts? Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motleycoloredcostume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives. The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence. Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado. This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance. When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant. He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur(鉴赏)inwine.Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap. In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him. He looked down upon Montresor and others. He didn’t realize his foolishness until th e death was coming. Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a welleducated and “kind” businessman. He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person. His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble. Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character. We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark. It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ? No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the faceof unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her. The second paragraph on page 30. The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after whichshe gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate? It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them. How does this tell us about her character? Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville 1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale. He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin. In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth. Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”(狠毒) in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against thewhite whale? First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale. Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale,because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil. Ishmael suggests th at Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter? In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau 1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level? He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying? No, he hadn’t. He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us. He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began tostay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is. Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden. It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem? The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life. 2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The socalled successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled orbothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain . Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖ or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention;he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)I n this respect, he is much ―greater‖ than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy o f him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖ does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Eg g dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material worldwithout being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream? (1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upperclass man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upperclass man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, s he is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owleyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owleyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owlwise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. OwlEyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rainsoaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "allseeing" eyes. The OwlEyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owleyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean WellLighted Place‖ refers to the café in the text. The café was very clean and well lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiterforced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not? (1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark,for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and welllighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. Hewanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failedto overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstand ing nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on lookingat this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to forma certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place f ull of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be openminded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowyevening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrainlike repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beatbeatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted to buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman manyyears ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods。

美国文学选读课后题答案

美国文学选读课后题答案

美国文学选读课后题答案1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?-------from F.Scoot.Fitzgerald The Great GatsbyGatsby pursuit ―a universe of ineffable gorgeous‖ in his young age. In fact, Gatsby from West Egg insists his Platonic fantasy. He fell in love with the blonde and his ineffable gorgeous ideal is combined with Daisy’s breathing and desire. Daisy becomes the image of ideal in his mind; though she marries Tom and may does not love him, though he can realize her soul full of money and desire, he cannot change his mind which back his love and be together as before. Maybe that is the shining and great part of his soul. Maybe that is the American dream which can show to us. But through the novel, we can have the clear idea that Daisy’s desire was not hi s dream, it is not Daisy’s fault but his dream has giant vitality and energy. His dream is far behind Daisy and everything exists. He does his best to build the perfect world and aim in his mind. So his spirit which pursuits on ideal and dedication is also far behind secular frolicking in the bed. For realizing his dream, he donated himself to mud of money in New York; he showed no interests in wealth itself and the life of debauchery. Just like the lotus lives in the pound around with mud but not be polluted. His soul no doubt is suffering in the social life but without any complain.3.What do “petals” and “bough” stands for?-----from Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro.First of all, this poem stands the points of economy by Imagism. Every word in this poem has its own unique meaning. For example, the color of black in this poem may represent thetrain’s color, the railway’s color, the pillar’s color or the dim light of the metro station. Ezra Pound was very sensitive to the color and usually used the ir different meanings in his poetry. He used the skill of painting in his process of creating the poem. In this poem, every word is used as the pigment. Petals stand for the mean ing of color from their unique image. The word ―wet‖ brings the feeling of fre sh and bright to the people. And the word ―apparition‖ gives the dim color of pale and weak to the ―faces‖ and ―petals‖. And the author put the petals and faces together let the faces have the feeling of tender and red. Several pretty faces appear in the metro station from the dimly lit, and they become the shining petals in the black bough which was wet by the rain. This transformation is based on our vision, but it also shows that the same point between the quiet nature scenery and the noisy industrial environment. Ezra Pound wants tell us that we can find the beauty everywhere in our daily life. And it also shows the metaphor of Imagism.1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be cal led “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby des erves to be ―great‖ or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.(2)In this respect, he is much ―greater‖ than his contemporarie s. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams areunwort hy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖ does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Eg g dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s un attainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being r eal, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.Wha t does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important,but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he lovesis as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is dest ined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream. 4.Whe n you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numero us references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.(2)After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow sp ectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖ refers to the café in the text. The café was very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go.So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came hereto find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not?(1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.(2)What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and wo rk. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.(3)I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of twodifferent kinds.” In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most importantfactors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.1. What are the qualities that Granny possesses which helpher live successfully?(1)Granny Weatherall is hard-working and able. She cooks food, keeps a good house for her family. She stays up throughout the night to look after sick horses, sick children or sick black servants.(2)She has endurance and is tough. She is able to face downfalls and frustrations in life. She gets over the jilting by George, herhusband-to-be and later the death of her husband, John. She single-handedly brings up her children, works on the land and keeps a good farm.(3)She is rather proud and will not admit that she is old and weak. She rebukes Cornelia and Dr.Harry for taking care of her. She even gets over the idea of dying when she was 60 years old.2. Does Granny have any weaknesses? If so, what are they?Yes. Her weakness is that she refuses to face the fact that she is badly hurt when George jilts her by not appearing at the wedding. She represses her anger and tries hard to believe she has had a successful life. However, the anger is hidden deep at heart all her life and explodes as she is dying. In a way, she does not have a happy life.3. What intelligent advice and wisdom does Granny give her family?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. Try to reorder the events told in the story as they would have happened in real lif e or as they flashed through Granny’s mind.(1)Sixty years ago, when Ellen Weatherall was young, she was to marry George. But he did not appear at the wedding.(2)She is later married to John, another young man.(3)She then has severalchildren with John—George, Jim, Cornelia, Lydia, and Hapsy.(4)John dies and she has to bring up the children and take care of the house and the land totally on her own.(5)At 60, she pays a farewell visit to each of her children because she thinks she is going to die soon.(6)Now she is 80 and is dying when the story opens.。

  1. 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性,平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
  2. 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
  3. 3、如文档侵犯您的权益,请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间:9:00-18:30)。

Unit 1 Benjamin Franklin1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine. Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.Unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne:1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life. What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he say s, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisti ng them or trying to atone for them. How does this tell us about her character? Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1. Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level? He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged t o Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying? No, he ha dn’t. He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us. He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3. Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is. Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day, the birthday of the United States. Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden. It also means a symbol of his conquest of being. Unit 7 19th Century American Poets 1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heartof a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1) One’s Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self? It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3. Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it? Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza? Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3)I'm nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they?"in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28). It implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons. Different persons would have different answers to his question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody. Unit8 mark twainQuestions1: Why do you think Mr. Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories? From Mr. Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration. First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W. Smiley, he “backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others' response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr. Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.Question2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories?No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr. Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but, in the eyes of the listener, the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the longtime of Mr. Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.Question3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor. During the intercourse, the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "without a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like, while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories. It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without an intersection. And their interaction was a complete failure according tour common sense about communication. But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit14 The Great GatsbyDo you think Gatsby deserv es to be called “the great”?Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsbydeserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could doanything to get Daisy back. In this respect, he ismuch ―greater‖ th an his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everythingon his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great. 2.Does “the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why orwhy not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at th e end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawnrepr esents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the coloritself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s questfor Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy livedin ―a materi al world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden pastand golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gats by’s Schedule reveal about him and howdoes it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determinationand ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent inpursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth andhappiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream. 4.Whenyou read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses)took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside andin ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to t he strikingly strangescene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gat sby’s tragedy. Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1.How do you interpret the irony of the title after readingthe story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖ refers to thecaféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted.From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was verywarm and comfortable, was a place where people needwarmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich butdeaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada.It was the only place he could go and could find somecomfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish.Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup ofwine by the excuse that the business was finished. This caféshould be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely anddeaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of thetitle.2.Do you think youth and confidence can help onewithstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not?(1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical darkmeans nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.3.The older wait er said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, the older waiter could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present loveand work, he only care about himself. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing h e can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1.Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1.Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2.Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1.What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill?The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it?Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar ) 3.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice 1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war. 2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings. 3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening 1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment. 2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken 1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time. 2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take?Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which impl ies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.(素材和资料部分来自网络,供参考。

相关文档
最新文档