Unit2 现代大学英语精读2

Tobias Wolff (1945-)
His Works
Short stories (O Henry Award): • “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs” (1981) • “Next Door” (1982) • “Sister” (1985) • Our Story Begins (short story collection in 2003, The Story Prize in 2004) Memoirs: • This Boy’s Life: A Memoir (1989) • In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War(1994) Novels: • The Barrack's Thief (1984, PEN/Faukner Award for Fiction) • Old School (2003)
The Author Hi s Life
• Born in Alabama USA in 1945. • Parents divorced when he was a boy; traveled widely with his mother; soon forced to endure life under his strict and cruel stepfather. • From 1964 to 1968, lieutenant with the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) in Vietnam. • B.A. (1972) and M.A. (1975) from Oxford University with First Class Honors in English, a second M.A. from Stanford. • A revered writer& teacher of creative writing and literature in Stanford and elsewhere.
Match the verbs with the nouns.
pitch in on pinch resort to mop spray snap through this trick the housework the silverware the floor her brows her indifference the pages
were hot on everybody’s mind and lips.
T 2. The story happened between two middle-aged people
who had been married for about 30 years.
T 3. The man had never thought that he was a racist and felt
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blur out come up with
the right answer
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Mark the following statements T, for true and F for false.
F 1. The story is set in the 1960s in the US when racial issues
Say Yes
Tobias Wolff
• What kinds of person you would like to marry? Have you ever thought of marrying a foreigner or a black person?
Questions / Activities
Culture Tips
Racism
• Definition: Racism is prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that race is the primary factor determining human traits and abilities. Racism includes the belief that genetic or inherited differences produce the inherent superiority or inferiority of one race over another. • Institutional racism: e.g. the Jim Crow laws in the US from 1876 to 1965 mandating segregation in all public facilities in the southern states of the former Confederacy with a supposedly “separate but equal” status for the black Americans; officially overruled with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. • Overt and subtle racism: The Civil Rights Movement did away much overt racism, but racism persists in many subtle forms, in many aspects and on many levels.
greatly wronged by his wife who implied this.
wife was selfish, emotional and ridiculous.
F 4. The man was considerate, rational and forgiving while his
F 6. After the husband turned off the light, someone broke
Objectives
• Know something about the author and his works. • Gather some background information about racism and sexism in the US. • Learn to appreciate the short story. • Master the language items listed. • Understand the story and appreciate its subtlety as much as possible. • Think about the themes of the story and form your own opinions.
Ku Klux Klan
• Ku Klux Klan also known as KKK: a secret white supremacist organization at various times in American history terrorized blacks and white sympathizers with violent acts of lynching, shootings and whippings. • Founded: 1866 • Founder: Confederate Civil War veterans • Headquarters: Powderly, Kentucky; Butler, Indiana; Jasper, Texas • Background: The Klan has fragmented into scores of competing factions. Most of these are nominally independent. • Estimated size: no more than a few thousand, organized into slightly more than 100 units
T 5. The husband had known all along what his wife wanted
from him, but simply didn’t want to give in to her.
into their house and made some strange noise.
• Media: mass mailings, leaflets and the Internet • Strategy: public rallies and protests Ideology: some Christian fundamentalist beliefs, Christian Identity, white supremacy • Financial support: little • Targeting those set free after the American Civil War—the African Americans, KKK designed to spread fear throughout the Black population that still lived in the southern states. The most hatred was directed against the poor black families in the south who were very vulnerable to attack. • With the enactment of Congressional legislation and enforcement of the law by the federal government, the Klan was extinguished in 1871—1872.
• Work in pairs and discuss the following two questions. Keep a record of your opinions to see whether they will change as the text is analyzed in detail.
This Boy’s Life Film Poster
His Style
• A direct writing style, obeying the “show, don’t tell” maxim, leaving much to the reader’s intuition • Non-dramatic, focusing more on the psychological dimensions of a character in dilemmas than on plot development • Often understated, forcing readers to become engaged in the collection of strands that will result in the full comprehension of a story. • Exploring alienation, the nature of lying, and the essential foundations of relationships • Hoping to instruct and inspire people to triumph over their situations through character change and development
1. Is the man a good husband? Cite textual evidence to support your view. 2. Is the man a racist? Cite textual evidence to support your view.
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